THE
PRIME MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT
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SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness
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No:
53/2001/QD-TTg
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Hanoi,
April 19, 2001
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DECISION
ON POLICIES
TOWARD BORDER GATE ECONOMIC ZONES
THE PRIME MINISTER
Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the
Government of September 30, 1992;
At the proposal of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Report No.
2933/BKH/QLKT of May 18, 2000, and the suggestions of the ministries and
central-level branches and concerned provinces;
DECIDES:
Article 1.- Types of
business in border gate economic zones.
1. The following types of business are allowed
in the border gate economic zones: export-import, temporary import for
re-export, transport of transit goods, bonded warehouse, duty-free shop,
exhibition-fair, product show-room, establishments producing or processing
imports and exports, representative branches of domestic and foreign companies,
border gate markets, investment in infrastructure, service, tourism...
2. It is allowed to set up a tax suspension area
in the border gate economic zone, but it must be located separately from other
functional areas in the border gate economic zone.
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1. Investment in building infrastructure in
border gate economic zones
a/ On the basis of the actually collected annual
revenues of the State budget in the border gate economic zone (excluding value
added tax and special consumption tax on imports, revenues not involved in the
local budget balance according to the assignment of responsibilities, such as:
confiscation of smuggled goods, contributions by the population, school fees,
hospital charges, foreign aid...), the State shall invest back to build the
infrastructure of the border gate economic zones at the following rates:
- Reinvestment of 100% in the border gate
economic zones with budget revenues of less than VND 50 billion/year.
- Reinvestment of VND 50 billion and 50% of the
remaining actually collected revenues of the border gate economic zones with
budget revenues of VND 50 billion/year upward.
- Reinvestment of no more than 50% of the
actually collected revenues of the border gate economic zones having operated
for 5 years (after the test operation) and with actually collected revenues of
more than VND 100 billion/year.
b/ Border gate economic zones are eligible for
preferential loans from the State (the Development Assistance Fund) to develop
their infrastructure and for the use of funds stipulated at Point a, Clause 1,
Article 2, to repay principal and interest.
c/ The provincial Peoples Committee shall make
dispositions in the annual budget to invest in the border economic zones with
low actually collected budget revenues. The investment in the infrastructural
works in the border gate economic zone shall be decided by the provincial
Peoples Committee according to the current regulations and on the basis of the
approved planning and plans.
d/ If the infratructual projects in the border
gate economic zone have received all- embracing and complete investments, it
can use the remaining fund stipulated at Point a, Clause 1, Article 2 as
assistance investment in other projects outside the border gate economic zone
(including new border gate economic zones) which are related to and directly
serve the border-gate economic zone. The president of the provincial Peoples
Committee shall take responsibility for his(her) investment decision. At the
same time he (she) shall inform the Ministry of Planning and Investment thereof
for integration and overseeing.
2. Trade and tourism
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b/ Commercial activities shall enjoy border
trade preferences according to the current regulations of the State and the
commitments that our country has signed with neighboring countries.
c/ The non-duty mechanism shall apply at the tax
suspension areas as at the bonded warehouses.
d/ Investors of touristic investment projects
are eligible for preferences as stipulated in Article 15 of Domestic Investment
Promotion Law (amended) No. 03/1998/QH10 of May 20, 1998.
3. Land
Domestic and foreign investors investing in a
border gate economic zone, when renting land and water surface, besides
enjoying the current preferences, are eligible for another 50% reduction of the
land and water surface rent rates compared to those currently applied at this
border gate economic zone.
4. Taxation
Enterprises in the border gate economic zones
shall enjoy preferences in taxation in specific cases as currently stipulated
and in accordance with the laws and decrees on taxes and guiding documents of
the Ministry of Finance.
Article 3.- Management of
some domains
1. Entry and exit
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b/ Bearers of passports not in the visa
exemption category (citizens of the neighboring country or a third country) are
exempt from entry visa and allowed to stay at the border gate economic zone for
no more than 15 days. If they are on a tour to other areas of Vietnam according
to tours organized by international travel enterprises of Vietnam, the entry
and exit managing agency (Ministry of Public Security) shall consider the
issuance of visas right at the border gate economic zone.
c/ Goods transport means of the neighboring
country and a third country are allowed to enter the border gate economic zone
according to business contracts between Vietnamese enterprises and their
foreign partners. In case these transport means need to deliver or receive
goods at other places outside the territory of the border gate economic zone,
they shall have to observe the current regulations.
Conductors of transport means (crew members of
ships, car drivers, assistant drivers) are allowed to enter or go out of the
border gate economic zone with passports, crew member cards, border identity
cards or border laissez-passers issued by competent agencies of the foreign
country.
d/ It is allowed to broaden the reception at the
border gate economic zone of tourists of the foreign country going on tours
with passports, cards or other equivalent papers and bound for provinces and
cities in the whole country as stipulated in Clause b, Article 3.
e/ Vietnamese owners of goods and transport
means who have business relations with partners in the neighboring country are
allowed to accompany their goods and means to the neighboring country to
deliver or receive goods with identity cards or border laissez-passers issued
by competent Vietnamese agencies.
f/ Vietnamese citizens working or living in the
district or town where the border gate economic zone is located, are allowed to
go to the neighboring country with border identity cards or border
laissez-passers issued by competent Vietnamese agencies.
2. Banking
The installation of exchange counters and the
buying and selling of the currency of the bordering country at the border gate
economic zone shall comply with Decision No. 140/2000/QD-TTg of December 8,
2000 of the Prime Minister issuing the Regulations on the management of
currencies of the bordering countries in the border areas and in the border
gate economic zones of Vietnam, and the current regulations.
3. Animal and plant quarantine, inspection of
the quality of imports
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Article 4.- Organization of
implementation
1. Central agencies
a/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall
draw up an integrated report to submit to the Prime Minister for supplementing
and amending the policies of economic development promotion at the border gate
economic zones, assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry
of Finance and the concerned ministries and branches in proposing to the
Government the ending of investment in each border gate economic zone.
b/ The Ministry of Finance shall study and guide
the provinces having border gate economic zones in materializing the policies
on taxes, charges and fees aimed at creating the most favorable conditions for
the enterprises and the export operations at the border gate economic zones.
c/ The Ministry of Trade shall assume the prime
responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the concerned
ministries and branches in studying trade policies toward the border gate
economic zones and the market regulations in the border gate economic zones to
assure more preferential treatment of these zones than the border markets, the
regulations on the tax suspension areas in the border gate economic zones, and
guide the implementation by the provinces having border gate economic zones.
The ministries and branches namely the Ministry
of Construction, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Public
Security, the Ministry of Defense, the General Tourism Department, the General
Land Administration, the General Customs Department... shall, depending on
their functions and tasks, guide the provinces having border gate economic
zones in the implementation.
2. Provincial level
a/ The Peoples Committees of the provinces
having border gate economic zones shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate
with the ministries and branches at the central level in unifying the content
of State administrative management with regard to the activities in the border
gate economic zones on the principle: there shall be only one agency to conduct
a single inspection and control of the commodities and a single collection of
taxes and charges on the goods and services.
The provincial Peoples Committee shall set up
the Management Board of the border gate economic zone (the coordinating agency
of the related organizations) to help the provincial Peoples Committee to unify
the State administrative management with regard to the border gate economic
zone and to solve questions arising in the process of carrying out the policies
stipulated in this Decision. The Management Board of the border gate economic
zone shall have an operating regulation to be adopted by the provincial Peoples
Committee.
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Article 5.- Implementation
provision.
The border gate economic zones which are
experimenting with policies according to earlier decisions of the Prime
Minister shall now change to implementing policies based on this Decision, (for
the Lao Bao trading zone in particular, Decision No. 219/1998/QD-TTg of
November 12, 1998 of the Prime Minister shall apply).
With regard to the establishment of a number of
new border gate economic zones, the provincial Peoples Committees shall draw up
the projects to submit to the Prime Minister for approval before the policies
defined in this Decision can be applied in these zones.
This Decision takes effect 15 days after its
signing.
The ministers, the heads of ministerial-level
agencies, the heads of agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of
the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to
implement this Decision.
PRIME MINISTER
Phan Van Khai