Vietnamese law becomes increasingly difficult to understand and interpret. When facing with an unclear provision, one may be tempted to make an informal query with the relevant authorities about the true meaning of such provisions. However, informal response by the authorities cannot substitute for proper research and study. In addition, in relying on an informal response by the authorities, one should take into account the following:

•   if the authority providing the informal response is the authority in charge of both drafting the law and implementing the law then the response may be more reliable. It is even better if the official giving the response is in charge of both drafting and implementing the regulations. For example, the State Securities Commission (SSC) is the authority in charge of both drafting and implementing the Securities Law. Therefore, response by the SSC on a matter relating to the Securities Law only could be more reliable. On the other hand, while the Central Institute For Economic Management (CIEM) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment is in charge of drafting the Enterprise Law, the enforcement and implementation of the Enterprise Law is carried out by various entities including the courts, the Legal Department and the Business Registration Department of the MPI, and the Business Registration Authorities in 64 provinces. Therefore, an informal response by an authority regarding the Enterprise Law should only be relied on if it is consistent with the views of all other authorities.
•   whether the authority providing the informal response is aware of other conflicting provisions issued by other authorities when giving its response and provides reasons for its view. It is quite common that a Government authority in Vietnam only has good knowledge of the law and regulations drafted by such Government authority. Therefore, it is more likely than not that in giving response to an informal query an authority only considers the law and regulations that such authority is familiar with and does not consider other conflicting provisions. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. Had an authority been aware of other laws at the first place, there would have been no conflicting provisions.
• corruption may affect an informal response by an authority. Vietnam is ranked 116/177 by the Transparency Organisation in terms of corruption perceptions index. If an official has a personal interest or is affected by corruption in implementing a regulation then the response by such official may not be consistent or reliable.