Decree No.118/2015/ND-CP Guidelines for Some Articles of Law on Investment

DECREE

GUIDELINES FOR SOME ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON INVESTMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Government organization dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Investment dated November 26, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Investment dated November 26, 2014;

At the request of the Minister of Planning and Investment,

The Government promulgates a Decree to provide guidelines for some Articles of the Law on Investment

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. This Decree elaborates and provides guidelines for some Articles of the Law on Investment on application, control, announcement of conditions for investment; measures for investment assurance, investment incentives; investment procedures, execution of investment projects, and management of investment by regulatory bodies.

2. This Decree applies to investors, competent authorities, organizations, and individuals involved in investment.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Valid copy means a copy extracted from the master register or a copy authenticated by a competent authority, or a copy that has been compared with the original, or a copy printed from the national database about residents, enterprise registration, and investment.

2. Vietnam’s WTO Schedule of specific commitments in services (hereinafter referred to as “Vietnam’s WTO Schedule of commitments”) means the document No. WT/ACC/48/Add.2 dated October 27, 2006 of the Working Party on the Accession of Vietnam, including general commitments, commitments of sectors and sub-sectors, and list of MFN exemptions.

3. National Foreign Investment Web Portal means the web portal used to follow procedures for issuance, adjustment of the Investment Registration Certificate; posting and updating legislative documents, policies, investment conditions applied to foreign investors; updating and accessing information about investment promotion and foreign investment in Vietnam.

4. National Foreign Investment Database means a collection of information about foreign investment projects nationwide that is stored and managed in the National Foreign Investment Information System.

5. Incentive-applying authority means the authority having the power to apply tax incentives, land incentives, and other kinds of incentives prescribed by law.

6. Investment conditions applied to foreign investors are conditions that foreign investors must satisfy before making investment in the business lines subject to conditions applied to foreign investors specified in relevant Laws, Ordinances, Decrees, and international agreements on investment. Investment conditions applied to foreign investors are applied in the following cases:

a) Investment in establishment of a business organization;

b) Investment in the form of capital contribution, purchase of shares/stakes in a business organization;

c) Investment in the form of a business cooperation contract;

d) Receipt of an investment project;

dd) Change or addition of business lines of a foreign-invested business organization.

7. Investment conditions are conditions that every organization and individual must satisfy when making investment in the business lines specified in Appendix 4 of the Law on Investment according to relevant Laws, Ordinances, Decrees, and international agreements.

8. International agreement on investment means an agreement to which Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory which specifies rights and obligations of Socialist Republic of Vietnam to investment by investors from the nations that are signatories of the agreement. Such agreements include:

a) Protocol on the accession of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to WTO dated November 07, 2006;

b) Bilingual agreements on encouragement and protection of investment;

c) Other free trade agreements and regional economic integration agreements;

d) Other international agreements specifying rights and obligations of Socialist Republic of Vietnam to investment.

9. National Foreign Investment Information System is a system used for issuing, adjusting, revoking Investment Registration Certificates; sending, receiving, storing, displaying data to serve management of foreign investment by the State. National Foreign Investment Information System consists of: National Foreign Investment Web Portal, National Foreign Investment Database, National Investment Promotion Database, and infrastructure system.

10. Application for investment registration means an application compiled by an investor for issuance, adjustment, revocation of the Investment Registration Certificate, decision on investment guidelines, and following other investment procedures prescribed by the Law on Investment and this Decree.

11. A valid application means an application that contains sufficient documents specified in the Law on Investment, this Decree, and such documents contain sufficient information as prescribed by law.

12. The Law on Investment means the Law No. 67/2014/QH13 ratified by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on November 26, 2014.

13. The Law on Investment 2005 means the Law No. 59/2005/QH11 ratified by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on November 29, 2005.

14. Sectors and sub-sectors excluded from commitments are those specified in Vietnam’s WTO Schedule of commitments and other international agreements on investment in which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is entitled to regulate or not to regulate investment conditions, or prohibit foreign investors from making investments in such sectors and sub-sectors of services.

15. Investment capital of a project means the capital contributed by the investor and capital raised by the investor to execute the investment project written on the decision on investment guidelines and/or Investment Registration Certificate.

16. Rural area means an administrative division that does not include wards and districts in urban areas.

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Section 2. IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSES

Article 66. Effect

1. This Decree comes into force from December 27, 2015 and replaces the Government's Decree No. 108/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006.

2. The following documents are annulled:

a) List of areas eligible for corporate income tax incentives promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 218/2013/ND-CP dated December 26, 2013;

b) List of business lines eligible for import duty incentives promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 87/2010/ND-CP dated August 13, 2010;

c) Clause 4 Article 19 and “List of administrative divisions eligible for land rent incentives” in Clause 3 Article 19 of the Government's Decree No. 46/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014.

3. If the Investment Registration Certificate is required while following administrative procedures but the project is not required to have an Investment Registration Certificate as set out in the Law on Investment, the investor is not required to submit the Investment Registration Certificate.

Article 67. Responsibility for implementation

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall promulgate specific regulations on establishment, management, and operation of venture capital funds; provide instructions on transition in the cases not specified in Section 1 Chapter VI and other regulations of this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial agencies, Heads of Governmental agencies, Presidents of the People’s Committees of provinces shall provide guidance on the implementation of this Decree within the scope of their competence./.