1. What is an Investment Registration Certificate?

Clause 11, Article 3 of Law on Investment 2020 gives the definition of Investment Registration Certificate as follows:

“Investment registration certificate” means a physical or electronic document bearing information registered by an investor about an investment project.

Investor registration information about investment projects recorded includes:

- Name of investment project.

- Investors.

- Investment project code.

- Location of investment project, land area used.

- Objectives and scale of investment projects.

- Investment capital of the investment project (including investor's capital contribution and mobilized capital).

- Operational term of the investment project.

- Progress of investment project implementation, including: Progress of capital contribution and mobilization of capital sources; Progress in implementing the main operational objectives of the investment project. In case the investment project is divided into stages, the progress of each stage must be specified.

- Forms of incentives and investment support and grounds and conditions for application (if any).

- Conditions for investors implementing investment projects (if any).

Accordingly, it can be understood that the Investment Registration Certificate is a type of license issued by a competent state agency to investors and is also a condition for investors to make investments in Vietnam.

2. Authority to issue Investment Registration Certificate

According to Article 39 of Law on Investment No. 61/2020/QH14, the agency competent to issue Investment Registration Certificates is prescribed as follows:

- Management boards of industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech zones and economic zone shall issue, adjust and revoke investment registration certificates with regard to the investment projects located therein.

- Provincial Departments of Planning and Investment shall issue, adjust and revoke investment registration certificates with respect to the investment projects outside industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech zones and economic zones.

- The investment registration authority of the administrative division where the investor executes the investment project, places or intends to place the head office or operating office to execute the investment project shall issue, adjust and revoke investment registration certificates with respect to the following investment projects:

a) Investment projects that are executed in at least 02 provinces;

b) Investment projects that are executed both inside and outside industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech zones and economic zones;

c) Investment projects which are executed inside industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech zones or economic zones where the industrial park, export processing zone, hi-tech zone or economic zone management boards have not yet been established or which are not under the management of the industrial park, export processing zone, hi-tech zone or economic zone management boards.

- The authority that receives investment project dossiers is the one that has the power to issue investment registration certificates.