Special Investment Procedures under the Law on Investment 2025: procedures and dossiers

I. Scope of Application

According to Article 28 of the Law on Investment 2025 ("LOI 2025") regarding special investment procedures: "1. Investors have the right to choose to register their investments in accordance with this Article for investment projects located in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, concentrated information technology zones, free trade zones, international financial centers, and functional areas within economic zones, except for projects subject to investment policy approval as prescribed by the Government."

Accordingly, investors with projects located in the following areas may apply for special investment procedures:

a) Industrial parks;

b) Export processing zones;

c) High-tech zones;

d) Concentrated digital technology zones;

e) Free trade zones;

f) International financial centers;

g) Functional areas within economic zones.

These procedures shall be implemented in compliance with the Law on Investment 2025 and Decree No. 96/2025/ND-CP, which provides detailed guidance on the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Investment 2025.

Investment projects in high-tech zones must satisfy the principles and criteria for high-tech activities prescribed by the Law on High Technology and Government regulations on high-tech zones.

Pursuant to Article 28 of the Law on Investment, when implementing special investment procedures, investors are exempt from performing procedures for investment policy approval, technology assessment, environmental impact assessment reports, detailed planning formulation, construction permits, and other approvals/permissions in the fields of construction, fire prevention, and fighting. Investors must provide a written commitment to satisfy the conditions, standards, and technical regulations prescribed by laws on construction, environmental protection, and fire prevention and fighting. The investment project proposal must include identification and forecasting of environmental impacts, as well as measures to mitigate adverse environmental effects, as a substitute for the preliminary environmental impact assessment and the use of restricted technology transfer (if any).

Before commencing construction, investors shall submit a notice of commencement to the competent local state management agency in charge of construction order and the Management Board of the relevant industrial park, export processing zone, high-tech zone, or economic zone, accompanied by the following documents: a) An economic-technical report on construction investment, including contents prescribed by construction law, prepared, appraised, and approved by the investor; b) An appraisal report of the economic-technical report, conducted by qualified organizations or individuals as prescribed by law, regarding project safety, environmental protection, fire prevention and fighting, and compliance with technical standards and regulations.

The Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) shall serve as the legal basis for the State to allocate land, lease land, or permit the change of land use purpose; to perform administrative procedures; and for inspection, examination, monitoring, evaluation, handling of administrative violations, and state management of the project.

II. Procedures for Issuance of Investment Registration Certificates

1. The investment registration dossier consists of documents as specified [here], in which the application for project implementation must include a commitment to satisfy conditions, standards, and technical regulations regarding construction, environmental protection, technology transfer, and fire prevention and fighting. It must also include an investment project proposal identifying and forecasting environmental impacts and mitigation measures as a substitute for a preliminary environmental impact assessment and the use of restricted technology transfer (if any).

2. The investor's commitment in the application for project implementation shall include: a) Relevant conditions, standards, and technical regulations according to laws on construction, environmental protection, technology transfer, and fire prevention and fighting; b) A preliminary assessment of the project's compliance with the conditions, standards, and technical regulations mentioned in point (a); c) A commitment to satisfy the conditions, standards, and technical regulations mentioned in point (a), to refrain from prohibited acts, and to take full responsibility in case of failure to fulfill the committed contents.

3. The dossier evaluation shall cover:

a) The project's consistency with planning according to the principles in Clause 4 of this Article;

b) The legal status and experience of the investor;

c) Land use requirements (if any);

d) For projects requesting land allocation, land lease, or permission for change of land use purpose: an assessment of the ability to satisfy land-related conditions; the consistency of land use needs with the objectives, scale, investment capital, location, and progress of the project;

đ) Project implementation schedule;

e) The content of the investor's commitment;

g) Investment incentives and conditions for enjoying such incentives (if any).

The assessment of project consistency with planning under Article 28 of the Law on Investment is conducted as follows:

a) Assessment of consistency with the subdivision planning of industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, concentrated digital technology zones, and free trade zones. If the project is proposed in an area where subdivision planning is not required or is subject to adjustment but not yet approved, the consistency shall be assessed against relevant general planning that remains valid;

b) For projects in functional areas of economic zones: assessment against the general planning of the economic zone or other relevant valid general planning;

c) For zones with valid subdivision planning under the Law on Urban and Rural Planning: assessment against such subdivision planning.

III. Sequence and Procedures for Issuance of Investment Registration Certificates

a) The investor submits one (01) set of investment registration dossiers to the Management Board of the industrial park, export processing zone, high-tech zone, or economic zone.

b) Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Management Board shall evaluate the dossier as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and issue the Investment Registration Certificate.

c) The Investment Registration Certificate, along with the investor's commitment, shall be sent simultaneously to the local state management agencies in charge of construction order, science and technology, environmental protection, and fire prevention and fighting.

d) In cases where two or more investors propose projects at the same location with requests for land lease or change of land use purpose, the Management Board shall consider and issue the Investment Registration Certificate to the investor who submitted the first valid dossier and notify the remaining investors in writing. If the first investor is rejected, the Management Board will proceed with the next investors in order of submission.