What Goods Allowed to Be Imported into Vietnam?

Foreign owned companies in Vietnam wishing to import and distribute physical goods into Vietnam must comply with many regulations. It is imperative that the right to conduct import business of foreign investors and FDI companies differ from the right of Vietnamese traders having no foreign direct investment capital because trading activities are considered conditional investment area.

1. General Principles of Imported Goods

In principle, as other countries, the importers have to follow the general rules when importing and distributing physical goods into Vietnam:

• Not to import goods specified under the list of goods banned from import or suspended from import provided, published by Vietnam government;

• Follow the guideline or import regulations and conditions required by ministries and ministerial-level agencies. There are specific conditions for importing certain goods which the importers have to follow i.e. certain medical equipment have to be approved by the Ministry of Health; Food, cosmetics products need to be testedReceiving and transmitting telecom equipment must be inspected by Ministry of Information and Communication; Books, CDs will be checked and scanned for contents to be approved by Ministry of Cultures, Sport and Tourism; Equipment must satisfy energy, environmental regulations to be inspected and labeled by Ministry of Science and Technology…

• Implement other relevant laws, commitments of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in treaties which it has signed or acceded to, and the roadmap announced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

2. Goods Prohibited to Be Imported into Vietnam

• For the goods being banned to be imported and distributed in Vietnam, the importers have to follow strictly to avoid penalties:
• Weapons, ammunitions, explosives (excluding industrial explosives), military technical equipment.
• Assorted fireworks, sky lanterns, assorted devices causing interference to vehicle speedometers.
• Used consumer goods: Textiles and garments, footwear, clothes; Electronic appliances; Refrigerating appliances; Home electric appliances; Medical equipment; Interior decoration goods;
• Assorted publications banned from dissemination and circulation in Vietnam
• Assorted cultural publications banned from dissemination and circulation or decided to be suspended from dissemination and circulation in Vietnam.
• Right-hand drive means of transport; assorted automobiles and their spare parts which have their frame or engine numbers erased, modified or tampered with; Assorted motorcycles, special-use motorbikes and motorbikes which have their frame or engine numbers erased, modified or tampered with
• Used supplies and vehicles
• Chemicals in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention.
• Pesticides banned from use in Vietnam.
• Wastes and scraps, refrigerating equipment using C.F.C.
• Products and materials containing asbestos of the amphibole group
• Schedule-I toxic chemicals; Chemicals on the list of banned chemicals

It is important for foreign trader wishing to establish a trading company in Vietnam to not only study the market demand in Vietnam but also the country’s law on import, export, customs law to ensure their compliance during the operation.  If doubted, the Client is suggested to reach out for help and advisory of law firm in Vietnam by qualified lawyers in the area of import, export and customs.

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Draft cyber security law mismatches WTO rules

HANOI - The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has pointed out discrepancies between some provisions of the draft Law on Cyber Security and the nation’s commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

VCCI has written to the National Assembly Security and Defense Committee detailing the incompatibility between the draft law and Vietnam’s commitments to WTO and EVFTA. The draft law, crafted by the Ministry of Public Security, is now on the table of the National Assembly (NA) for discussion.

VCCI said Article 34 of the draft law specifies: “Foreign firms providing telecommunication and Internet services in Vietnam shall comply with Vietnamese regulations, respect national sovereignty, interests and security, user interests, obtain licenses, locate their representative offices and servers in Vietnam, and secure user data and accounts...”

However, according to Vietnam’s WTO and EVFTA commitments, foreign telecommunication and Internet service providers are not required to locate their representative offices in Vietnam.

Besides, Article 14.13 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement which Vietnam signed in February 2016 says: “The Parties agreed not to require the use of computing facilities within their territories as a condition for doing business.”

Although the NA has not approved the TPP, Vietnam and 10 other Pacific Rim countries are still conducting negotiations to finalize a deal without the United States. Therefore, VCCI said the draft law should run counter to the TPP.

VCCI said the country’s Cyber Information Security Law crafted by the Ministry of Information and Communications came into effect on July 1, 2016, so there is no need to issue a law on cyber security.

Article 11 of the draft law states the Ministry of Public Security is responsible assessing providers of cyber information security services. However, Article 44 of the Cyber Information Security Law regulates the Ministry of Information and Communications is in charge of coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to issue licenses for those entities providing cyber information security products and services.

This is a clear indication that the Draft Law on Cyber Security and the Cyber Information Security Law overlap to some extent.

VCCI noted some requirements in the Ministry of Public Security’s draft law would make life difficult for businesses and push up the cost of doing business in the cyber security domain.

VCCI suggested the Ministry of Public Security eliminate Article 49 of the draft law that requires enterprises to ask the ministry for permission before finalizing their contracts because the draft law does not provide the procedures for doing so.

Source: The Saigon Times

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Australia seen becoming huge market for Vietnam exporters

CAN THO – Australia will be a huge market for Vietnamese exporters in the years to come though shipments from Vietnam to this country remain limited, said Le Thanh Tung, general director of Tien Thinh International Migration and Investment Consulting Company, at a seminar in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho last Friday.

“Australia ranks 15th among Vietnam’s important trading partners. This is a market full of great potential in years to come, so Vietnamese companies should prop up their exports to the country,” he told the seminar on investment and trade promotion between the two countries.

He cited data of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, saying that Vietnam exported goods worth around US$480 million to this market in 2016, mostly farm produce. Tung said Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fisheries exports to Australia reached an estimated US$450 million a year between 2011 and 2016, a year-on-year rise of 8.3%.

However, products which posted strong growth lately included cameras and accessories (up a staggering 315.3%), iron and steel products (127.1%), material for textile, garment, leather and footwear (up 89.9%), computers, electronic products and their components (up 59.4%), and non-wood furniture products (up 47.1%).

He stressed the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement opens up opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises that want to make business deals with their Australian partners.

Tien Thinh International Migration and Investment Consulting Company has organized many seminars in Hanoi and HCMC, and has facilitated many companies and local governments to survey the Australian market.

He told the Daily that the company is willing to serve as a bridge between Australia’s state governments and Vietnamese companies who have achieved quality and reputation in production and business activities.

“I am optimistic about the consulting work to Vietnamese small and medium enterprises that have capability and prestige to help them become successful businesses in Australia,” he said.

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Swiss firm interested in Vietnam airport projects

Switzerland’s Zurich Airport AG has shown interest in airport development projects in Vietnam, including the big-ticket Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The corporation has sent a delegation to Vietnam to learn about airport projects here. Speaking at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue in Hanoi on October 25, Lukas Brosi, chief financial officer of Zurich Airport AG, said his business trip to Vietnam this time was aimed at getting detailed information about airport projects in Vietnam, according a report on the Government news website.

Deputy PM Hue expressed appreciation of Zurich Airport AG’s intention to participate in airport projects in Vietnam, saying he would tell relevant ministries and agencies to assist the company to explore these projects here.

Vietnam is looking for domestic and foreign investors to develop airports including Long Thanh International Airport, Hue told the Zurich Airport AG mission.

In his visit to Switzerland last month, Hue met with Zurich Airport AG leadership.

The Vietnamese aviation sector has grown significantly in recent years and is expected to be among the world’s top five markets in terms of passenger traffic in 2015-2035. Therefore, Vietnam will need huge capital to build and upgrade airports, said Hue.

Besides Long Thanh International Airport, Hue introduced Van Don, Chu Lai and Lao Cai airport projects to the Zurich Airport AG delegation.

Source: The Saigon Times

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Vietnam trade ministry slashes 675 business and investment conditions

The move aims at reducing business obstacles and boosting Vietnam’s business climate.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on Friday has decided to cut down more than half of the total business and investment conditions, from around 1,200 terms to just 675.

“It is such a breakthrough and it's beyond my expectations,” said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. More than half of the business conditions were cut, meaning there will be less administrative burden placed on businesses.

The move is a part of the ministry’s ongoing institutional reform to improve business climate, Minister Tran Tuan Anh commented.

A simplified inspection process will also be applied to a wide range of goods. Only products at high risk of violating food safety regulations will fall under customs’ specialized inspection. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will work with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to later publish a list of exempted goods.

Accordingly, customs checks will take three to fours days less to clear, which will help save an estimated VND2 million ($100) per batch of goods.

However, a lot remains to be done to improve ease of doing business in Vietnam, which according to the World Bank, lags behind Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

PM Phuc urged the ministry to accelerate privatization of state owned enterprises and come up with better solutions to deal with 12 long-term loss projects.

Meanwhile, businesses wish the ministry could reduce the time it takes to issue some certificates and provide better support.  

Source: e.vnexpress

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Danang seeks investors for infrastructure, tourism projects

HCMC – Danang City’s government organized two conferences to lure investors for the central coast city’s infrastructure and tourism projects under the framework of the Invest Danang 2017 Forum taking place on October 14-15.

In the infrastructure sector, local authorities continued attracting investment, especially from the private sector, into key projects in the coming time.

According to city vice chairman Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, the conference aimed to introduce important projects to international and domestic investors, donors and overseas organizations. The city wished to draw attention, feedback and suggestions from potential investors to complete the projects.

Specifically, the city is seeking investors for huge projects such as Lien Chieu Port which is able to handle 100,000 DWT ships and container vessels from 6,000 to 8,000 TEUs, and Danang railway station relocation.

To secure connectivity with neighboring localities, authorities of Danang and Quang Nam Province approved in principle to develop a tramway project linking Danang with Hoi An City.

In addition, local government is preparing a solid waste treatment complex and a water environment improvement project. The two projects are expected to deal with urban and beach pollution in the central city.

Given the importance of information technology application, Danang is calling for private investors to take part in its smart traffic management project and media and information technology development project.

The conference is a forum to exchange experiences in official development assistance project implementation and public-private partnership, helping partners and investors learn about key infrastructure projects in Danang. Many international financial organizations committed to give capital support for the city’s projects.

At the tourism conference, enterprises said the city has large potential for tourism development. However, slow-moving port and yacht wharf projects have dampened waterway tourism growth.

Besides, the city is short of incentives for investors of entertainment services, especially night entertainment spots, shopping and cuisine centers, large-scale art performance programs and distinctive tourism products.

In the coming time, Danang will launch programs and plans to assist investors, speed up promotion activities, develop tourism products and call on investment for the manpower and technology sectors.

According to the tourism department, the city will concentrate on three main groups of products including sea tourism and high-class leisure, shopping and meeting-incentive-conference-exhibition (MICE) tourism, and cultural, historical and ecological tourism. There will be auxiliary products such as spiritual, culture-culinary, healthcare and sports tourism.

The city will also focus on manpower training for the tourism sector and strengthen regional connection to promote advantages of coastal central localities.

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The Benefits of Mediation Services in Vietnam

The process of integrating with market economy is developing strongly, which creates many opportunities for businesses to extend their operation and cooperate with international companies. As a result, dispute arising is inevitable. To coincide with benefits, especially information confidentiality under parties’ agreement, commercial mediation is one of the commercial alternative dispute resolution which is more and more popular.

Commercial mediation is a dispute resolution negotiated by parties and the mediator is the third party as an intermediary to support parties to resolve dispute under the regulations of Decree 22/2017/ND-CP on February 24th, 2017. Following the regulations, commercial mediation can be negotiated by parties before, after or at any time of dispute resolution process. By Decree 22, commercial mediation is applied in cases of a dispute between parties with at least one party practicing commercial activities or another dispute under the laws can be resolved by the commercial mediation. Moreover, participating in commercial mediation is voluntary and all the information of mediation shall be kept secret under parties’ agreement, provided that agreement’s content is legal.

Commercial mediation is becoming a popular dispute resolution because of its simple and flexible procedure, economical cost for parties. Parties have chance to choose a suitable procedure and avoid complicated legal procedure. Under the law on parties’ self-determination to choose any mediator and a place to proceed procedures, which helps parties select a mediator with professional skills on dispute resolution. Furthermore, parties could reach an agreement with good will and cooperating spirit. Both still continue to develop and protect business relationship because of parties’ benefits. Under the Decree, all the information involving dispute must be kept secret, unless parties have written agreement or current law has other regulations.

Under the law, parties are entitled to choose a mediator to resolve dispute. According to Decree 22/2017/ND-CP, commercial mediators include commercial case mediators and mediators from commercial mediation institutions selected by the parties or appointed by a commercial mediation institution at the request of disputing parties to support them to resolve dispute pursuant to regulations of this Decree. A person who wants to become a mediator must qualify conditions of Article 7 of Decree 22. Apart from general moral standards following Law on Civil, mediators must have a university or higher qualification and at least two years of working experience in their educated discipline, also mediation skills as well as legal understanding, knowledge of business and commercial practice. Instead of bringing the case to court, which parties cannot predict the result, even inextricable, choosing a mediator who is knowledgeable and experienced could help parties resolve dispute smoothly.

Pursuant to Civil Procedure Code 2015, time for resolving commercial disputes belonging to the jurisdiction of the Court could take years. Meanwhile, choosing mediation, parties take less time to resolve dispute. Moreover, dispute is absolutely resolved by parties’ agreement because in the mediating procedure, with mediator’s support, parties can show their decision on dispute resolution. Then, they can save significant cost.

Another benefit of dispute resolution is that parties decide themselves how to resolve dispute and can know the result. This is a prominent advantage of dispute resolution compared with other resolutions, which have unpredictable result. Importantly, mediation is a private procedure so that parties’ name is not revealed publicly during mediating procedure, decrease hazards to parties’ business reputation.

According to Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group, Alternative Dispute Resolution Center Manual: A Guide for Practitioners on Establishing and Managing ADR Centers, mediating resolution has brought many benefits. For individual benefits, mediation reduces the need for enforcement proceedings to ensure one party complies with an agreement, since the parties enter into their settlement agreements consensually. For private sector benefits, mediation enhances private sector development by creating a better environment for business. It lowers the direct and indirect costs that businesses incur in enforcing contracts and resolving disputes.

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