Circular 03/2014/TT-BKHCN conditions for establishment and operation registration of science and technology organizations

CIRCULAR

Guiding conditions for establishment and operation registration of science and technology organizations and representative offices and branches of science and technology organizations

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 20/2013/ND-CP dated February 26, 2013, defining functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP dated January 27, 2014, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Science and Technology;

At the request of the Chief of the Office for Registration of Scientific and Technological Activities;

The Minister of Science and Technology hereby promulgates the Circular guiding conditions for establishment and operation registration of science and technology organizations and representative offices and branches of science and technology organizations.

Chapter 1.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation:

This Circular guides the implementation of a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP dated January 27, 2014, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP) regarding conditions for establishment and dossiers of operation registration of science and technology organizations; dossiers and procedures for establishment and operation registration of the representative offices and branches of science and technology organizations; operation reports of the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches.

2. Subjects of application:

a) Agencies, organizations, and individuals establishing science and technology organizations in Vietnam;

b) Public, non-public, and foreign-invested science and technology organizations or foreign science and technology organizations whose representative offices or branches are established in Vietnam;

c) Public, non-public, or foreign-invested science and technology organizations establishing their affiliated science and technology organizations, representative offices, and branches in foreign countries;

d) Agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the operation registration of science and technology organizations and their representative offices or branches.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. Science and technology organization established by individuals means to a science and technology organization that is established by a person or a group of people.

2. Registered science and technology organization domain means a domain specified in the establishment decision or the organization and operation charter of a science and technology organization, approved by a competent agency or organization or individual, in line with the scientific and technological domains provided by law and the functions and tasks of this science and technology organization.

3. Conditional business lines and domains mean business lines and domains of which conditions for operation are prescribed in the National Assembly’s Laws, the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Ordinances, and the Government’s Decrees.

4. Charter capital means the required capital specified in the charter which is invested or shall be invested under a commitment within a specific period by organizations and individuals who establish the science and technology organization (in cash or assets) for the performance of its targets, direction, charter, and domains of operation.

5. Material and technical facilities mean assets (including headquarters, workshops, laboratories, machinery, equipment, and other assets, etc.) and cash that are under the ownership or lawful use rights of the organization for the performance of its targets, direction, charter, and domains of operation.

Article 3. Language and method of dossier submission

1. Dossiers and official documents submitted to the Vietnamese state agencies shall be made in Vietnamese. Documents made in foreign languages must be translated into Vietnamese.

Documents and files included in the dossier, which are granted or certified by the foreign competent agencies must be translated into Vietnamese with the consular legalization.

2. Dossiers shall be submitted directly or by post to the certificate issuing or licensing agency.

Article 4. Consideration of dossiers

1. In the course of consideration of dossiers, in case of necessity, the certificate issuing or licensing agency may:

a) Request organizations and individuals to explain dossiers’ contents;

b) Send written requests for opinions to the related agencies or organizations and individuals, for conditional business lines and domains as prescribed by the law;

c) Consult experts or establish an advisory council for considering and evaluating dossiers submitted by the organizations and individuals.

The members of the advisory council include qualified and prestigious scientists, managers, and legal experts in relevant domains.

2. If the science and technology organization registers to operate in the domains of state management of the Ministry of Science and Technology which have specific conditions on establishment and operation, the Office for Registration of Scientific and Technological Activities or Departments of Science and Technology of provinces or centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as the Departments of Science and Technology) shall send written request for opinions to the agencies and units assigned to perform the state management in such domains, except for the case of requesting for opinions when appraising for establishment.

Article 5. Registration for operation in Vietnam of science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches

1. Science and technology organizations and their Vietnam-based representative offices and branches shall register their operations at the Ministry of Science and Technology, or Department of Science and Technology as prescribed in Article 8 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

2. The foreign science and technology organization shall request the Ministry of Science and Technology to grant a license for the establishment of its Vietnam-based representative offices and branches under Article 21 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

3. Science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches that register their scientific and technological activities or request for granting establishment licenses must pay fees and charges according to the Ministry of Finance’s regulations.

4. Forms of Certificate and License:

a) Certificate of registration of scientific and technological activities (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate) which is issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology to the science and technology organization made according to the Form 1 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

b) License for establishment of Vietnam-based representative offices or branches of foreign science and technology organizations (hereinafter referred to as the License) which is issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology made according to the Form 2 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

c) The Certificate which is issued by the Department of Science and Technology to the science and technology organization made according to the Form 3 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

d) Certificates of operation of the representative offices or branches (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate of operation) which is issued by the Department of Science and Technology to the representative offices and branches of the public, non-public, or foreign-invested science and technology organizations made according to the Form 4 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

Chapter 2.

PUBLIC, NON-PUBLIC, OR FOREIGN-INVESTED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION

Article 6. Conditions for the establishment and initial registration of science and technology organizations

For public science and technology organizations that are prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 55/2012/ND-CP dated June 28, 2012, prescribing the establishment, reorganization, and dissolution of public non-business units (hereinafter referred to as the Decree No. 55/2012/ND-CP), the conditions, order, and procedures for establishment shall comply with the Decree No. 55/2012/ND-CP and the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

For science and technology organizations that are not prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 55/2012/ND-CP, conditions, orders, and procedures for establishment shall comply with the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

Conditions for establishment and dossiers for operation registration of science and technology organizations are prescribed in Article 4 and Article 9 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP as follows:

1. Written request for operation registration of science and technology organization:

A written request for operation registration of the science and technology organization shall comply with the Form 5 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

2. Establishment decision:

The science and technology organization shall submit the lawfully certified copy of the establishment decision which has been granted by the competent agencies or organizations under Article 12 of the Law on Science and Technology (except for the organization established by the individuals).

a) For public science and technology organizations:

The competent agency shall issue establishment decisions to the public science and technology organization after obtaining appraisals from the appraisal agencies or organizations that are established under the Decree No. 55/2012/ND-CP and the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

b) In case the science and technology organization is established by the contribution of capital for business cooperation of the agencies and organizations and individuals:

The establishment decision made by one contributor (which is an agency or organization) authorized by the others is required.

c) In case the science and technology organization is established by individuals:

The meeting minutes with the signatures of the founders, approving the basic contents related to the charter of organization and operation, the titles of leaders and managers, and other contents is required.

d) For foreign-invested science and technology organizations:

The foreign-invested science and technology organization shall be established after the Minister of Science and Technology permits the establishment and approves its charter.

Dossiers of request for permitting the establishment of the foreign-invested science and technology organization include documents prescribed in Article 7 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP. A written request for establishment shall be made according to the Form 6 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

3. The charter of organization and operation:

a) The charter of the science and technology organization must satisfy the conditions prescribed in Article 4 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

The charter must be approved by the publishing agency or organization. Main functions and tasks stated in the charter must be in compliance with the business lines and domains of operation of that governing agency or organization. Amendments and supplements to the charter shall be decided by the agency or organization approving that charter or prescribed in the charter.

Regarding the public science and technology organization, the regulation on organization and operation promulgated by the competent state agencies may replace the organization’s charter.

In case the science and technology organization is established by the contribution of capital, its charter must have the signatures of the capital contributors and be approved by one contributor (that is an agency or organization) authorized by the others.

Regarding the foreign-invested science and technology organization, the contents and domains of operation must comply with Clause 3 Article 11 of the Law on Science and Technology.

b) The charter of a science and technology organization established by individuals shall be made according to the Form 7 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

The charter must have the signature of the organizations and individuals establishing such organization, be appraised by the certificate-issuing agency before issuing, and shall take effect from the issuing date of such certificate. Domains of operation of the science and technology organization established by individuals shall comply with the Prime Minister’s regulations.

c) The charters of higher education institutions shall comply with the regulations of the Prime Minister.

d) The organization's name shall comply with Article 4 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP as follows:

Full name in Vietnamese includes the form of the organization (institute, center, etc.) and private name of the organization which must be consistent with its registered domains of science and technology organizations.

The international trading name means the name of the science and technology organization in a foreign language which is translated from the corresponding name in Vietnamese; the private name may be unchanged or translated into corresponding meaning in a foreign language.

Abbreviated name: if the science and technology organization has an abbreviated name (including Vietnamese and foreign language), the abbreviated name must include the first letters of the keywords (or phrases) of the organization's name.

The science and technology organization shall be responsible for its selection of names, including full name in Vietnamese, international trading name, an abbreviated name.

dd) Charter capital:

The charter of a public science and technology organization shall be decided by the competent state agency.

The charter of a non-public or foreign-invested science and technology organization shall be decided by the establishing organizations and individuals. In which, the cash capital at the time of registration must meet its recurrent expenditure (including salaries, wages, and payments for its apparatus's operations, etc.) within at least 01 year.

Regarding the foreign-invested science and technology organization, the foreign party’s capital contribution percentage must account for at least 10% of its charter capital.

e) The at-law representative is the head of the science and technology organization as prescribed in its charter or decided by the competent state agency.

4. Human resources of science and technology:

a) Conditions on human resources

The human resources of a science and technology organization must satisfy conditions specified in Article 4 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

The science and technology organization that is an institute must have at least one person with a Ph.D. degree and work on a full-time basis in the key domains registered for operation.

The cadres, civil servants, and public employees who work in the non-public and foreign-invested science and technology organizations must comply with the law on cadres, civil servants, and public employees.

b) The lists of human resources of the public science and technology organizations and higher education institutions shall be made according to the Form 8 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

For higher education institutions, the list only includes the human resources engaged in research and development of registered domains of science and technology organizations.

c) Regarding the non-public and foreign-invested science and technology organizations, in addition to the list of human resources made according to the Form 8 provided in Appendix to this Circular, the following documents are required:

- Regular members:

+ Written request for regular employment using the Form 9 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

+ Certified true copies of degrees;

+ Curriculum vitae certified within 01 year by the local authority where such employee resides or the agency, organization where he/she works for before starting his/her employment at the science and technology organization. In case the regular member is not a Vietnamese citizen, the judicial record certified by the competent agency in a foreign country within 01 year, and consular legalization is required.

In case of necessity, the certificate-issuing agency may request the applicant to present the original documents in his/her dossier for comparison.

- Members holding concurrent positions:

+ Written request for holding concurrent positions made according to the Form 10 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

+ Certified true copies of degrees;

+ Curriculum vitae certified within 01 year by the local authority where such person resides or the agency or organization where he/she is working for. In case the member holding concurrent positions is not a Vietnamese citizen, the judicial record certified by the competent agency in a foreign country within 01 year and consular legalization is required;

+ Written approval for holding concurrent positions granted by the agency of his/her official working place.

5. The head of the science and technology organization is the institute's director, center's director, or equivalent position.

a) The head of the science and technology organization must have a university degree or higher with appropriate professional capacity and have at least 01 year of management experience.

If the science and technology organization is an institute, its head must have a Ph.D. degree. In case the public institutes are established in several specific sectors and domains, their heads shall be decided by the Minister of Science and Technology.

b) The heads of the non-public and foreign-invested science and technology organizations must have university degrees or higher with management experience, appropriate professional capacity, and work on a full-time basis.

c) Dossiers of the head of the public science and technology organization comprises:

- Lawfully certified copy of the decision on appointment granted by the competent agency or organization;

- Academic curriculum vitae made according to the Form 11 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

- Certified true copies of degrees.

d) Dossiers of the head of the non-public and foreign-invested science and technology organization comprises:

- Proof documents which are required for regular members prescribed at Point c Clause 4 of this Article;

- Lawfully certified copy of the decision on appointment granted by the competent agency or organization (except for the organizations which are established by individuals);

- Academic curriculum vitae made according to the Form 11 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

6. Material and technical facilities:

a) Total capital stated in the Certificate of the science and technology organization is the total value of its material and technical facilities converted to cash at the time of operation registration. This capital may be the partial or entire charter capital of such a science and technology organization.

b) Lists of material and technical facilities of the public science and technology organizations and higher education institutions made according to the Form 12 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

c) For non-public and foreign-invested science and technology organizations, in addition to the lists of material and technical facilities made according to the Form 12 provided in Appendix to this Circular, the following documents are required:

- Minutes of the meeting of the founders/capital contributors with the following contents: capital contribution percentage; total capital (in cash and assets converted to VND), in which the capital contributed in cash must meet conditions on recurrent expenditures within at least 01 year according to the organization's human resources and scale of operation;

- Commitment to capital contribution (in cash and assets) of each individual/capital contributor (if any);

- Documents proving the ownership or use right toward the capital to be contributed as committed.

7. Headquarters:

a) The headquarter is a separate working place for transactions, contact and is located in the territory of Vietnam. The head quarter’s address must include house number, name of the street (alley) or commune, ward, township, district, town, provincial city, province, centrally-run city; telephone number, fax number, and email address (if any).

b) One of the following documents proving the headquarter is required:

- Lawfully certified copies of documents proving that the ownership and use right of the house and land plot where the headquarter of the science and technology organization is located;

- Lawfully certified copies of the lessor or lender’s documents proving the house ownership and the land use rights or documents proving that the leasing or lending is executed with permission and the lease or lending contracts. In case the copy of the contract is not lawfully certified, the organization must produce the original to the receiver of dossiers for comparison and making certification in such copy.

c) Apart from the headquarter, the science and technology organization may register other operating locations in the same province or city where its headquarter is located.

Dossiers for registration of other operating locations shall be the same as those of the headquarter.

Article 7. Dossiers of request for amending, supplementing, or re-issuing Certificates

1. Dossiers of request for amendments or supplements:

a) Any amendments or supplements to the contents of the Certificate must comply with conditions prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

A dossier of requests for amendments or supplements comprises:

- Written request for amendments or supplements submitted by the science and technology organization made according to the Form 13 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

- Issued Certificate;

- Documents related to amended or supplemented contents. To be specific:

+ Amendments or supplements to domains of operation:

Lawfully certified copies of decisions granted by the competent authority on amendments or supplements to the domains of operation of the science and technology organization; documents of human resources and material and technical facilities for meeting the conditions in the amended or supplemented domains as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular (if any).

+ Rename the organization:

Lawfully certified copies of the decision granted by the competent authority on renaming the science and technology organization.

+ Rename the agency deciding the establishment or directly managing the science and technology organization:

Lawfully certified copies of decisions on renaming the agency deciding the establishment or directly managing such organization or change of the agency directly managing such organization.

+ Change of the organization's head:

Dossiers of the head (as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular).

+ Change of the organization headquarters (except for cases prescribed at Point b Clause 1 of this Article):

Documents relating to the headquarter (as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular).

+ Change of total capital as requested by the organization:

Documents relating to the capital (as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular).

b) In case the change of the headquarter (moving to the province or centrally-run city other than the registered location) results in the change of the certificate-issuing agency, the organization shall submit the written request for change of the headquarter, operation reports, and original Certificate to the agency that had issued the certificate. Within 07 working days, the certificate-issuing agency shall grant certification of having fulfilled procedures to the science and technology organization and send the copy of the certificate and dossier of request for operation registration of such organization to the certificate-issuing agency in the new location of the headquarter.

The science and technology organization shall submit dossiers to the agency issuing a new certificate. A dossier comprises:

- Written request for change of the Certificate made according to the Form 13 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

- Documents relating to the headquarter (as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular).

Information of the old certificate (number, issuing date, and issuing agency) shall be recorded in the new one to ensure the continualness of operations of the science and technology organization.

2. Request for re-issuance of the certificate:

a) In case the certificate is lost, the science and technology organization must request for the re-issuance after reporting such loss to the police office where the certificate is found lost and after announcing such loss on the mass media.

Within 30 days from the date on which such loss is published, the science and technology organization must submit a dossier of request for the re-issuance of the certificate. A dossier comprises:

- Written request for re-issuance of the Certificate made according to the Form 13 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

- Certificate of the police office;

- Receipts of the organizations and individuals publishing the notice of such loss.

b) In case the certificate is torn, the science and technology organization may make a request for the re-issuance. The dossier of the request comprises:

- Written request for re-issuance of the Certificate made according to the Form 13 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

- Issued certificate.

Chapter 3.

VIETNAM-BASED REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES AND BRANCHES OF NON-PUBLIC AND FOREIGN-INVESTED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS

Article 8. Conditions for establishment and dossiers of operation registration of the representative offices and branches

The conditions for the establishment of the representative offices and branches and dossiers, order, and procedures for operation registration of the representative offices and branches shall comply with Article 20 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

1. Initial registration:

The conditions for establishment and dossiers of operation registration of the representative offices and branches shall comply with Article 20 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP. Documents included in the dossier:

a) Written request for operation registration of the representative offices and branches made according to the Form 14 provided in Appendix to this Circular;

b) Decision on the establishment of the representative offices and branches;

c) Documents of the heads, human resources, headquarters of the representative offices and branches of the science and technology organizations prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular;

d) Lawfully certified copies of Certificate and Charter of organization and operation of the governing science and technology organization.

2. Registration for amendments, supplements, or re-issuance of the certificate of operation registration:

In case of amendments or supplements to one or a certain contents recorded in the Certificate of operation registration or in case the certificate is lost or torn, the representative office or branch shall register for amendments, supplements, or re-issuance of the certificate at the Department of Science and Technology where its headquarter is located under regulations applicable to the science and technology organizations prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular.

In case of registration for amendments or supplements to the certificate of operation registration, the representative office or branch must ensure the conditions stated in Clause 1 Article 20 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

A written request for amendments, supplements, or re-issuance of the certificate of operation registration of the representative offices and branches shall comply with the Form 13 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

Article 9. Suspension or cancellation of certificate of operation registration

1. The validity of the certificate of operation registration of the representative office or branch shall be suspended within 06 months in the following cases:

a) The representative office or branch fails to operate for 12 months from the date of issuing the Certificate of operation registration;

b) The representative office or branch stops its operation for more than 12 consecutive months without any legitimate reason;

c) The representative office or branch fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 1 Article 20 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP within 12 consecutive months;

d) The certificate of operation registration of the governing science and technology organization is suspended;

dd) The representative office or branch fails to register for amendments, supplements, or re-issuance of Certificate of operation registration within 12 months from the date of the amendment, supplement, or loss.

2. The certificate of operation registration of the representative office or branch shall be canceled in the following cases:

a) Falsifying the contents declared in the dossier for issuance of such Certificate;

b) Under the decision or request of competent agencies when the representative office or branch commits acts of violation in its activities;

c) The representative office or branch fails or does not take the remedial measures as required by the competent agency upon the excess of suspension period of Certificate operation registration;

d) The Certificate operation registration of the governing science and technology organization is canceled;

dd) Under decision on termination of operations of the representative offices and branches of the governing science and technology organization.

3. The Department of Science and Technology shall grant a decision on suspension or cancellation of the certificate of operation registration to the representative office or branch prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article and notify such to relevant agencies and organizations.

Chapter 4.

VIETNAM-BASED REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES AND BRANCHES OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS

Article 10. Dossiers of registration for the issuance of License for establishment of the Vietnam-based representative offices and branches of foreign science and technology organizations

1. Dossiers of registration for License:

Conditions, dossiers, order, and procedures for establishing Vietnam-based representative offices and branches of foreign science and technology organizations are prescribed in Article 21 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP; the domains of operations of such Vietnam-based representative offices and branches must comply with Clause 3 Article 11 and Clause 2 Article 15 of the Law on Science and Technology.

A written request for License shall comply with the Form 15 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

2. Request for amendments or supplements to the License:

Upon requesting amendments or supplements to the License, the representative offices and branches must comply with minimum conditions stated in Clause 1 Article 20 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP and Clause 2 Article 15 of the Law on Science and Technology. The amended or supplemented License shall take effect within the effective period of the old one.

A dossier of requests for amendments or supplements comprises:

a) The written request for amendments or supplements to the License signed by the competent representative of the representative office or branch;

b) The issued License;

c) Documents relating to the amended or supplemented contents. To be specific:

- Amendments to the information of the foreign science and technology organization specified in the License:

Copy of certificate of operation registration or equivalent papers of the foreign science and technology organization with consular legalization.

- Renaming the representative office or branch:

Documents relating to the renaming of the foreign science and technology organization which results in the renaming of its representative offices and branches.

- Changing the headquarter of the representative office or branch:

Documents of the headquarter of the representative office or branch (as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular).

In case the headquarter is moved to another province/city, the approval on locating the headquarter of the representative office or branch granted by the People's Committee of province/city is required.

- Change of the head:

Conditions and dossiers of the head shall comply with Article 20 and Article 21 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

- Amendments or supplements to domains of operation of the representative offices and branches:

Copy (with consular legalization) of the amended charter of organization and operation or the branch or decision on amendments or supplements to the domains of operations of the representative office; documents of the human resources for meeting conditions on amended or supplemented domains of operations shall apply those of the science and technology organization (as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular).

3. Request for renewal of the License:

Within 30 days before the expiry date of the License, the foreign science and technology organization wishing to continue its operation in Vietnam must carry out procedures for renewal of its License.

Renewal period of the establishment Licenses of the Vietnam-based representative offices and branches of the foreign science and technology organization shall comply with the operating period of such organization (if any) and not exceed 5 years.

A dossier of requests for renewal comprises:

a) The written request for renewal of the License signed by the competent representative of the foreign science and technology organization.

b) Copies (with consular legalization) of audited financial statements or other documents of equal validity proving the existence and actual operations of such foreign science and technology organization in the latest financial year;

c) The issued License;

d) Copy (with consular legalization) of certificate of operation registration or equivalent papers of such foreign science and technology organization.

4. Request for re-issuance of the License:

a) In case the License is lost, it is required to register for re-issuance after such loss has been reported to the police office and published on the mass media.

Within 30 days from the date on which the final publishing is made, the representative office or branch must submit a dossier of request for re-issuance of the License. A dossier comprises:

- The written request for re-issuance of the License submitted by the representative office or branch;

- Certification of the police office;

- Receipts of the organizations and individuals publishing the notice of such loss.

b) In case the License is torn, the representative office or branch may make a request for re-issuance. Such a dossier comprises:

- The written request for re-issuance of the License submitted by the representative office or branch;

- The issued License.

5. The dossier shall be appraised, and the license shall be issued within 15 working days after receiving the valid dossier, for the case of changing, supplementing, or re-issuing the license. The duration for the renewal of the license is 30 working days. In case the issuing agency refuses to grant the license, a written response with legitimate reasons is required.

Article 11. Suspension and cancellation of the License

1. The license’s validity is suspended up to 06 months in the following cases:

a) The representative office or branch fails to operate for 12 months from the date of issuing the License.

b) The representative office or branch stops its operation for more than 12 consecutive months without any legitimate reason;

c) The representative office or branch fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Article 21 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP within 12 consecutive months;

d) The representative office or branch fails to register for amendments, supplements, or re-issuance of the License within 12 months from the date of the amendment, supplement, or loss of the License.

2. The license shall be canceled in the following cases:

a) Falsifying the contents declared in dossiers for issuance of the License;

b) The representative office or branch fails or does not take the remedial measures as required by the competent agency upon the excess of suspension period of the License;

c) Under the decision or request of the competent agency when the representative office or branch commits acts of violation in its activities;

d) Under the decision of the foreign science and technology organization on termination of operations of the representative office or branch.

dd) The foreign science and technology organization terminate its operation.

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall grant a decision on suspension or cancellation of the license which has been issued to the representative office or branch as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article and notify such to relevant agencies and organizations.

Chapter 5.

AFFILIATED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS, REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES, AND BRANCHES OF VIETNAMESE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Article 12. Establishment of affiliated science and technology organizations in foreign countries

Conditions, dossiers, and procedures for establishing affiliated science and technology organizations of a Vietnamese science and technology organization in a foreign country shall comply with Article 18 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

Written requests for establishment shall comply with the Form 16 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

Article 13. Establishment of representative offices and branches of Vietnamese science and technology organizations in foreign countries

Conditions, dossiers, and procedures for establishing representative offices and branches of a Vietnamese science and technology organization in a foreign country shall comply with Article 23 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

Written requests for establishment shall comply with the Form 17 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

Chapter 6.

OPERATION REPORTS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS

Article 14. Forms of operation reports

1. Forms of operation reports of science and technology organizations:

a) The public organizations shall make reports using the Form 18 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

b) Non-public and foreign-invested organizations shall make reports using the Form 19 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

c) Higher education institutions shall make reports using the Form 20 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

2. Forms of operation reports of representative offices and branches of science and technology organizations:

a) The representative offices and branches of domestic science and technology organizations shall make reports using the Form 21 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

b) Vietnam-based representative offices and branches of foreign science and technology organizations shall make reports using the Form 22 provided in Appendix to this Circular.

Article 15. Reporting regime, responsibility for preparing and submitting operation reports

1. Reporting regime:

a) The science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches shall submit their annual reports before the 15^th of December.

b) At the request of the competent state agencies, the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches shall submit reports, provide documents and explanations for relevant matters.

2. Responsibility for preparing and submitting reports:

a) The science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches shall make operation reports with sufficient and accurate norms stated in each report form; prepare reports in accordance with regulations on reporting time and period; take responsibility for the accuracy of reported information.

b) Mode of report submission: organizations shall prepare operation reports in writing and send report data files (by email) to the certificate issuing or licensing agency.

Chapter 7.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES ISSUING CERTIFICATES OR LICENSES, GOVERNING AGENCIES AND SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS

Article 16. Responsibilities of the agencies issuing certificates or licenses

1. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology:

a) Grant Certificates and Licenses to the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches within the ambit of competence.

b) Monitor and inspect operations of the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches according to the contents specified in their Certificates or Licenses granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, handle or propose competent agencies to handle violations in accordance with law provisions.

c) Disclose information about the foreign science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches that have certificates or licenses granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the website of the Ministry of Science and Technology; disclose information of suspension or cancellation of certificate or license.

d) Guide Departments of Science and Technology about professional operations of registration of science and technology organizations.

2. Responsibilities of the Department of Science and Technology:

a) Grant Certificates or Certificates of operation registration to the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches within the ambit of competence.

b) Monitor and inspect operations of the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches according to the contents specified in their Certificates granted by the Department of Science and Technology, take actions, or propose the competent agencies to handle violations in accordance with law provisions.

c) Report the Ministry of Science and Technology on results of the issuance of Certificates or Certificates of operation registration to the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches on an annual or irregular basis.

d) Disclose information about the science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches that have certificates or certificates of operation registration granted by the Department of Science and Technology on the website of the Department of Science and Technology; disclose information of suspension or cancellation of certificate or certificate of operation registration.

Article 17. Responsibilities of the governing agencies or organizations and science and technology organizations

1. Responsibilities of the agency or organization governing the science and technology organization:

a) Approve or propose the competent authorities for approval of the charter of organization and operation of the science and technology organization as prescribed in this Circular.

b) Manage the science and technology organizations within the ambit of competence; dissolve, divide or merge the science and technology organizations in accordance with regulations.

c) Cooperate with functional agencies to handle violations committed by the science and technology organizations in accordance with regulations.

2. Responsibilities of science and technology organizations:

a) Take responsibility before the law for any contents declared in dossiers of request for operation registration of science and technology organizations.

b) Proclaim the establishment and registration of science and technology organizations on the mass media.

c) Hang the signboards at the headquarter and operating locations and at the headquarters of the representative offices and branches of the science and technology organization within 15 working days from the date of issuing the certificate or license. The minimum dimension of the signboard is 30cm x 50cm.

d) Comply with regulations on annual or irregular report regimes at the request of the agencies issuing certificates or licenses.

dd) Report the Ministry of Science and Technology and relevant agencies of the establishment of the affiliated science and technology organizations, representative offices, and branches in foreign countries within 30 days from the day on which the licenses for operation are granted by the foreign competent agencies.

e) Comply with the domains of science and technology specified in the issued Certificate or License and law; carry out registration for any amendments, supplements, and re-issuance of certificate or license as prescribed.

g) Comply with the Charter of organization and operation which has been approved by the competent agencies or organizations.

h) Science and technology organizations must apply for the permission of the competent state agencies before engaging in any conditional domains of operation as prescribed by the law.

i) In case the science and technology organization engages in specific domains in which the conditions for the establishment of such organization are prescribed in the official documents promulgated by the competent superior agencies (such as the National Assembly, the Government or the Prime Minister), such official documents shall prevail.

k) In case the issued certificate, certificate of operation registration, or license is canceled, it must be returned to the issuing agencies and relevant agencies or organizations must be notified of such cancellation.

Chapter 8.

IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 18. Implementation

1. The Office for Registration of Scientific and Technological Activities directly under the Ministry of Science and Technology shall act as the focal point to implement this Circular.

2. The science and technology organizations and their representative offices and branches shall check their conditions for establishment as prescribed in the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP and this Circular and self-fulfill unsatisfactory conditions as prescribed before March 15, 2016.

3. Any amendments, supplements, or re-issuance of the certificate, certificate of operation registration, or License of the science and technology organization which has registered its operations at the Ministry of Science and Technology or Department of Science and Technology shall be carried out at the agencies making the first issuance.

4. Regarding the foreign-invested science and technology organizations having the certificates or written approval on their charters granted as prescribed in the Government's Decree No. 80/2010/ND-CP dated July 14, 2010, providing for foreign cooperation and investment in science and technology, competence to decide on amending or supplementing the charters of organization and operation of such organizations shall comply with Article 7 of the Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP.

Article 19. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect from May 15, 2014.

2. This Circular replaces the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 02/2010/TT-BKHCN dated March 18, 2010, guiding the establishment and operation registration of science and technology organizations and the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BKHCN dated March 16, 2011, guiding the establishment and operation registration of foreign-invested science and technology organizations and Vietnam-based representative offices and branches of foreign science and technology organizations.

3. Any difficulties arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported in writing to the Ministry of Science and Technology for study, amendment, and supplementation./.

For the Minister

The Deputy Minister

Le Dinh Tien

* All Appendices are not translated herein.