The 2025 Law on Science, Technology and Innovation officially took effect from October 1. The law stipulates for the first time that the concept of "Innovation" is included in a law.
The new law also stipulates the conditions for exemption and exclusion of responsibility in controlled testing activities.
Accordingly, during the controlled testing process, in case of damage and risks, the exemption and exclusion of responsibility in controlled testing activities is carried out according to the principle:
The competent authority that permits controlled testing; organizations and individuals directly participating in appraisal, licensing, and evaluation of controlled testing are exempted from or excluded from responsibilities when they have properly and fully implemented the regulations on controlled testing in this law and the provisions of law on controlled testing with a clear driving license, for the common good, except in cases where they know or are forced to know about the risk of risks for the controlled testing process but do not fully apply appropriate measures to prevent and limit the extent of damage that may occur.
Exempted and excluded responsibilities include:
- Exemption from civil liability for damage caused to the State, other organizations and individuals during the process of appraisal, licensing, control, and testing with control.
- Excluding administrative liability for violations of the law on handling administrative violations.
- Excluding criminal liability according to the provisions of the Penal Code for risks in research, testing, application of scientific, technical and technological advances.
Notably, Clause 3, Article 71 of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025 has added Clauses 18, 19, 20 after Clause 17, Article 4 on tax-exempt income stipulated in the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007 which has been amended and supplemented.
Accordingly, 3 additional types of income are exempt from personal income tax, including:
- Income from salaries and wages from performing scientific, technological and innovation tasks.
- Income from copyright of science, technology and innovation tasks when the results of the tasks are commercialized according to the provisions of law on science, technology and innovation, law on intellectual property.
- Income of individual investors, experts working for creative startup projects, founders of creative startup enterprises, individual investors contributing capital to the risk investment fund.
Article 58 stipulates the participation of civil servants in capital contribution, work, manage and operate at enterprises to commercialize research results as follows:
- Management officials and civil servants working at public science and technology organizations are allowed to contribute capital, participate in business management and operation, work at enterprises established by the organization or participate in the establishment to commercialize research results created by that organization when approved by the head of the organization.
- In case the management official is the head of a public science and technology organization, he/she must have the consent of the directly managing superior.
