Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Question 1: What constitutes a valid copy in the application dossier for an Investment Registration Certificate?
Answer:
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP dated November 12, 2015 detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Investment, a valid copy is a copy issued from the original register or certified from the original by a competent agency or organization, or a copy that has been compared and reconciled with the original, or a printout from the national database in cases where the original information is stored in the national database on population, enterprise registration, and investment.
Question 2: Can I use English in the investment registration dossier?
Answer:
Article 4 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP dated November 12, 2015 detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Investment provides:
1. Investment registration dossiers, documents, and reports submitted to competent state agencies must be prepared in Vietnamese.
2. In cases where the investment registration dossier contains documents in a foreign language, the investor must provide a valid Vietnamese translation accompanied by the foreign language documents.
3. Where papers and documents in the investment registration dossier are made in both Vietnamese and a foreign language, the Vietnamese version shall be used for carrying out investment procedures.
4. The investor shall be held legally responsible for any discrepancies between the content of the translation or copy and the original, as well as discrepancies between the Vietnamese version and the foreign language version.
Question 3: Besides the documents specified in the investment registration dossier under the Law on Investment and Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP, am I required to submit any additional documents?
Answer:
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP, the investment registration authority shall not request investors to submit any additional documents other than those prescribed in the investment registration dossier under the Law on Investment and this Decree.
Question 4: What is the implementation sequence for an investment project?
Answer:
Depending on the nature, scale, and conditions of each specific project, the investment project shall be executed in accordance with one or more of the following procedures:
a) Decision on investment policy and issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate in accordance with the Law on Investment and this Decree;
b) Establishment of an economic organization under Article 44 of this Decree for foreign investors investing in the form of establishing an economic organization;
c) Carrying out procedures for land allocation, land re-allocation, land lease, land sub-lease, or permission for land repurposing in accordance with land legislation (if applicable);
d) Carrying out construction procedures in accordance with construction legislation (if applicable).
Question 5: What is the procedure for granting an Investment Registration Certificate for investment projects not subject to an investment policy decision?
Answer:
Article 29 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP stipulates specifically:
1. The investor submits 01 set of investment registration dossier as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on Investment to the Investment Registration Authority.
2. For an investment project that has already commenced operations, the investor submits the dossier as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, in which the investment project proposal is replaced by an investment project execution status report covering the period from the commencement date to the date of requesting the Investment Registration Certificate.
3. The Investment Registration Authority shall issue the Investment Registration Certificate to the investor within 15 days from the date of receiving a valid dossier as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article if the following conditions are met:
a) The objectives of the investment project do not fall into sectors or trades prohibited from business investment;
b) The investment project meets the investment conditions applicable to foreign investors in accordance with Clause 1, Article 10 of this Decree (if any).
Question 6: What is the time limit for granting an Investment Registration Certificate for projects subject to the investment policy decision of the provincial People’s Committee?
Answer:
– Within 25 days from the date of receiving a valid dossier as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the Investment Registration Authority shall prepare an appraisal report and submit it to the provincial People’s Committee. Within 07 working days from the date of receiving the appraisal report, the provincial People’s Committee shall consider and decide on the investment policy.
– Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the investment policy decision document from the provincial People’s Committee, the Investment Registration Authority shall issue the Investment Registration Certificate to the investor.
– For investment projects where the State allocates or leases land without auction, bidding, or transfer of land use rights or assets attached to land, and investment projects requiring land repurposing under Point a, Clause 1, Article 32 of the Law on Investment implemented in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, or economic zones consistent with approved master plans, the Investment Registration Authority shall seek appraisal opinions under Clause 3 of this Article to issue the Investment Registration Certificate within 25 days from the date of receiving a valid dossier without having to submit to the provincial People’s Committee for an investment policy decision.
Question 7: Our company wishes to transfer our project to another investor; what are the required procedures?
Answer:
Execute the procedure for changing the investor in case of investment project transfer as specified in Article 37 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP.
Question 8: Our company has lost our Investment Registration Certificate; please advise on the reissuance procedure?
Answer:
In case the Investment Registration Certificate is lost or damaged, the investor shall submit a written request for reissuance of the Investment Registration Certificate to the Investment Registration Authority. The Investment Registration Authority shall consider reissuing the Investment Registration Certificate within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written request for reissuance.
Question 9: The information on the Investment Registration Certificate is inconsistent with the information in the investment registration dossier; we now need to amend it, which procedure should be followed?
Answer:
In case the information on the Investment Registration Certificate does not match the information in the investment registration dossier, the Investment Registration Authority shall rectify the information on the Investment Registration Certificate within 03 working days from the date of receiving the investor’s request.
Question 10: What procedure should be followed if we wish to terminate an investment project?
Answer:
Follow the procedures for terminating investment project operations and revoking the Investment Registration Certificate as specifically provided for in Article 41 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP.
Question 11: What are the investment conditions applicable to foreign investors?
Answer:
Investment conditions applicable to foreign investors under Clause 6, Article 2 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP include:
a) Conditions regarding the ownership ratio of charter capital held by foreign investors in economic organizations;
b) Conditions regarding investment forms;
c) Conditions regarding the scope of investment activities;
d) Conditions regarding Vietnamese partners participating in investment activities;
đ) Other conditions prescribed in laws, ordinances, decrees, and international investment treaties.
Question 12: Which entities are eligible for investment incentives?
Answer:
Beneficiaries of investment incentives pursuant to Clause 2, Article 15 and Article 16 of the Law on Investment include:
a) Investment projects in sectors or trades eligible for investment incentives or special investment incentives as specified in Appendix I of this Decree;
b) Investment projects in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions or areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions as specified in Appendix II of this Decree;
c) Investment projects with an investment capital scale of VND 6,000 billion or more, disbursing at least VND 6,000 billion within 03 years from the date of issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate or from the date of the investment policy decision for projects not required to obtain an Investment Registration Certificate;
d) Investment projects in rural areas employing 500 or more laborers (excluding part-time workers and employees with labor contracts under 12 months);
đ) High-tech enterprises, science and technology enterprises, and science and technology organizations as prescribed by legislation on high technology and science and technology.
Question 13: What are the principles for applying investment incentives?
Answer:
Principles for applying investment incentives under Clause 2, Article 16 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP are provided as follows:
a) Investment projects prescribed in Point c, Clause 1 of this Article shall enjoy investment incentives as applied to investment projects in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions;
b) Investment projects prescribed in Point d, Clause 1 of this Article shall enjoy investment incentives as applied to investment projects in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions;
c) Investment projects in sectors or trades eligible for investment incentives implemented in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions shall enjoy investment incentives as applied to investment projects in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions;
d) An investment project meeting the conditions for different levels of investment incentives shall be entitled to the highest incentive level;
đ) Corporate income tax incentives for investment projects in industrial parks and export processing zones prescribed in Section 55, Appendix II of this Decree shall be implemented in accordance with corporate income tax legislation;
e) Land rental incentives based on the location of industrial parks and export processing zones under Section 55, Appendix II of this Decree do not apply to investment projects located in industrial parks and export processing zones within urban districts of special-class cities, centrally-governed class-I cities, and province-governed class-I cities.