Decree 290/2025/NĐ-CP prescribing penalties for administrative violations against regulations on water resources.

On 06/11/2025, Vietnamese government promulgated Decree 290/2025/ND-CP prescribing penalties for administrative violations against regulations on water resources. 
This decree comes into force from December 25, 2025, and will replace penalties for administrative violations against on water resources in: and will replace penalties for administrative violations against on water resources in: 

• Decree No. 36/2020/ND-CP  
• Decree No. 04/2022/ND-CP  

Notable new points of Decree 290/2025/NĐ-CP are summarized as follows: 

1. Transitional provisions 

The Decree has clear requirements for violations which occur before effective date:  

• Violations occurred and were completed before 25/12/2025 

If violations have been detected afterwards à shall be imposed in accordance with provisions of the Decrees in effect at the time of the violation commission 

• Violations occurred but are still ongoing at the time this Decree takes effect 

shall be imposed in accordance with provisions of this Decree 290/2025/NĐ-CP. 

• The decision to impose penalties for an administrative violation in the field of water resources which has been issued or fully executed 

If there still be a complaint à shall be considered and settled in accordance with regulations of law on penalties for administrative violations in effect at the time of issuance of such decision. 

2. Prescriptive periods for imposing penalties 

• The prescriptive period for imposition of penalties for an administrative violation in the field of water resources is 02 years.  
• The prescriptive period for imposition of penalties for an administrative violation transferred by a presiding agency shall be extended by 01 more year. 

3. Rules for determination of violations 

• If an administrative violation involves multiple licenses, penalties shall be imposed separately for each license involved in the violation. 
• Penalties for an entity that repeatedly commits an administrative violation shall be imposed once while such repeated commission of the violation shall be considered as an aggravating factor as prescribed, except the cases in points a, to l clause 3 – Article 7 of this Decree where penalties shall be imposed separately for each commission of the violation. 

4. Notable levels of Administrative penalties

In general, the minimum penalty levels are increased under the new Decree: 

• Violations against regulations on land subsidence prevention and control (Failing to comply with relevant standards and technical regulations when drilling or digging wells for survey, assessment, exploration or exploitation of groundwater): a fine ranging from 60 - 160 million VND (for organization). With old regulations, a fine ranging from 20 – 80 million VND. 
• Violations against regulations on monitoring and supervision of exploitation of water resources: a fine ranging increased from 1 – 140 million VND to 60 – 180 million VND. 
• Altering or falsifying contents of the license: a fine ranging increased from 40 – 60 million VND to 60 – 80 million VND. Beside these, forging documents, declaring untruthful information in an application for water resource exploration or exploitation license or failing to carry out the collection of opinions from representatives of residential communities: a fine ranging from 160 – 200 million VND. 
• Violations against regulations on audit of compliance with law on water resources are addressed in the new Decree with fine ranging from 20 – 140 million VND. 
• Levels of Administrative Penalties related to wastewater discharging: a fine ranging from 10 – 500 million VND based on discharge capacity and kind of violation. Penalties for the act of discharging wastewater that has yet to be treated in accordance with environmental technical regulations on wastewater into surface water sources or seawater shall be imposed according to regulations of law on handling of administrative violations in the field of environmental protection.  

Conclusion 

ENVIAPAC hope this article helps you gain a clearer understanding of Decree No. 290/2025/NĐ-CP on penalties for administrative violations in the field of water resources. Any further questions or confusion, please feel free to contact us here. 

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