Decree 58/2024/ND-CP on a number of policies on investment in forestry

DECREE

On a number of policies on investment in forestry^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the November 15, 2017 Law on Forestry;

Pursuant to the June 25, 2015 Law on the State Budget;

Pursuant to the June 13, 2019 Law on Public Investment;

Pursuant to the June 17, 2020 Law on Investment;

Pursuant to the June 18, 2014 Law on Construction; and the June 17, 2020 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Construction;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Government promulgates the Decree on a number of policies on investment in forestry.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree provides a number of policies on investment in forest protection and development and forest product processing.

Article 2. Subjects of application 

State agencies, organizations, households, individuals and residential communities involved in forest protection and development and forest product processing.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Investment means the use of the state budget and other lawful funding sources for programs, projects and other investment activities for the purposes of forest protection and development and forest product processing in accordance with law.

2. Investment support means the use of the state budget and other lawful funding sources to provide certain investment capital amounts as support for forest protection and development and forest product processing in accordance with law.

3. Post-investment support means the use of the state budget and other lawful funding sources to provide support for organizations, households, individuals and residential communities that have carried out forest protection and development and forest product processing activities and undergone acceptance testing of the results of such activities by competent agencies.

4. Hi-tech forestry zone means a hi-tech zone in the field of agriculture as defined by the law on high technology; and a zone serving the research and application for development and manufacturing of hi-tech products and new technologies in the field of forestry, including forest tree cultivars, mechanization of forest planting, tending and exploitation and forest product processing, and manufacturing of auxiliary products for the wood and forest product processing industry.

5. Silvicultural work means an agricultural and rural development work formed through the performance of silvicultural investment activities, including zoning for promotion of natural forest regeneration, zoning for promotion of natural forest regeneration with additional planting and nurturing, enrichment and renovation of natural forests, forest planting, tending and nurturing of planted forests; and building of necessary technical infrastructure items and infrastructure facilities to serve forest protection and development.

6. Region-II commune means a commune in a geographical area with difficult socio-economic conditions; region-III commune means a mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited commune in a geographical area with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions as specified in the Prime Minister’s regulations on criteria for classification of geographical areas.

7. Coastal land areas include coastal communes, wards and townships.

8. Residential community means a community defined in Clause 24, Article 2 of the Law on Forestry.

Article 4. Principles of investment in forestry

1. The State shall ensure resources for the management, protection and development of special-use forests and protection forests; allocate funds for the protection and development of production forests being natural forests during the forest closure period as suitable to the capacity to balance state budget funds in medium-term and annual plans.

2. The State shall encourage and create favorable conditions for organizations and individuals to make investment in and mobilize lawful capital for the implementation of investment projects on forest protection and development and forest product processing.

Chapter II

POLICIES ON FOREST PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT AND FOREST PRODUCT PROCESSING

Section 1

POLICIES FOR SPECIAL-USE FORESTS

Article 5. Allocation of funds for protection of special-use forests

1. Subjects entitled to funds:

a/ Special-use forest management boards;

b/ Protection forest management boards;

c/ Residential communities;

d/ Other subjects specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4, Article 8 of the Law on Forestry.

2. Fund levels:

a/ A subject specified at Point a or b, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State an average level of funds for forest protection of VND 150,000/hectare/year for the total area of assigned special-use forests, in addition to regular non-business funds for activities of the forest management board.

b/ A subject specified at Point c or d, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State an average level of funds for forest protection of VND 500,000/hectare/year for the total assigned forest area.

c/ The fund level for forest protection for region-II and region-III communes or coastal land areas is equal to 1.2 times or 1.5 times the average level specified at Point a or b of this Clause, respectively.

d/ Expense for making an initial dossier for forest protection for the subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article is 50,000 VND/hectare; the fund level for forest protection management, inspection and acceptance testing is equal to 7% of the total annual fund for forest protection.

3. Spending items:

a/ The subjects specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article shall:

Sign contracts on forest protection with households, individuals and residential communities in localities under Article 19 of this Decree;

Pay remuneration to specialized forest protection forces that are not entitled to salaries from the state budget; and hire forest protection workers;

Procure and repair equipment for forest protection and supporting and personal protective equipment for forest protection forces;

Provide support for forces participating in patrolling, inspecting and supervising forest protection activities; provide professional training for specialized forest protection forces; organize the signing of conventions and commitments on forest protection and forest fire prevention and fighting; provide support for training to raise the public awareness about forest protection; carry out law dissemination and education in residential communities;

Pay expenses for formulation of forest fire prevention and fighting plans; organize forest fire fighting drills; assign on-duty guards for around-the-clock forest fire prevention and fighting in the dry season months, and pay expenses for forest protection conferences;

Cover part of expenses for travel, guidance, inspection, supervision and holding of meetings with residential communities for organizing the activities specified in Article 8 of this Decree;

Carry out other forest protection activities in accordance with the law on forestry.

b/ The subjects specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall signs contracts on forest protection with local households, individuals and residential communities under Article 19 of this Decree and pay expenses for:

Hiring forest protection workers; paying remuneration to specialized forest protection forces that are not entitled to salaries from the state budget;

Procuring and repairing equipment for forest protection and supporting and personal protective equipment for forest protection forces;

Providing support for forces participating in patrolling, inspecting and supervising forest protection activities; providing professional training for specialized forest protection forces; organizing the signing of conventions and commitments on forest protection and forest fire prevention and fighting; providing support for training to raise the public awareness about forest protection; carrying out law dissemination and education in residential communities;

Paying expenses for the formulation of forest fire prevention and fighting plans; organizing forest fire fighting drills; assigning on-duty guards for around-the-clock forest fire prevention and fighting in the dry season months and for forest protection conferences;

Carrying out other forest protection activities in accordance with the law on forestry.

c/ The subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article shall carry out forest protection activities decided by forest owners in accordance with the law on forestry.

d/ For the subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article: State enterprises shall sign contracts on forest protection with local households, individuals and residential communities under Article 19 of this Decree and other forest protection activities as decided by forest owners in accordance with the law on forestry. Other organizations shall carry out forest management and protection under sustainable forest management plans and as decided by forest owners in accordance with the law on forestry.

dd/ Based on annually allocated state budget funds, the subjects specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall prioritize the implementation of forest protection spending items for areas with high risk of forest resource infringement, and forests with high biodiversity value in need of protection.

4. Procedures for implementation:

a/ For the subjects specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article:

Based on annually allocated fund estimates for forest management and protection, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall decide to allocate specific funds to forest management boards under the Ministry; chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide to allocate specific funds to forest management boards in their localities;

Based on fund estimates allocated by competent authorities, forest management boards shall make dossiers and approve designs and budget fund estimates for the spending items specified in Clause 3 of this Article under Articles 28, 30 and 32 of this Decree.

b/ For the subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article:

Funding method shall be based on assigned forest areas and forest protection results agreed between forest owners being residential communities and commune-level People’s Committees. Funds shall be allocated annually or under 3-year or 5-year plans;

Annually, commune-level People’s Committees shall work with local forest protection forces in carrying out acceptance testing and evaluation of forest protection results for residential communities;

In case forest protection fund recipients let forest loss or deforestation occur or fail to comply with approved plans, minutes of determination of lost or degraded forest areas shall be made, clearly identifying causes of forest loss or deforestation, and violations shall be handled in accordance with current regulations;

Annual acceptance testing results serve as a basis for payment and final settlement of funds.

c/ For the subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article: Enterprises shall comply with the Government’s Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP of April 10, 2019, on the assignment of tasks, placement of orders or bidding for the provision of public products and services using state budget funds for recurrent expenditure. Other organizations shall be allocated funds by the State according to fund estimates approved by competent authorities.

Article 6. Allocation of funds for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting under special-use forest master plans

1. Subjects entitled to funds: Forest owners being organizations and residential communities that carry out zoning for promotion of natural regeneration or zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting.

2. Contents and levels of funds:

a/ Zoning for promotion of natural regeneration: The average fund level is VND 1,000,000/hectare/year for the period of 6 years. For coastal land areas, the fund level is equal to 1.5 times the average level;

b/ Zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting: The average fund level is VND 2,000,000/hectare/year for the first 3 years and VND 1,000,000/hectare/year for the next 3 years;

c/ Expense for making an initial dossier for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration is VND 50,000/hectare; expense for making a design dossier and fund estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting shall be determined according to approved fund estimates; expense for management, inspection and acceptance testing of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration or zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting is equal to 7% of the total annual expense for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration or zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting.

3. Approval of designs and fund estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional planting of special-use forests must comply with Article 32 of this Decree.

Article 7. Investment in afforestation, nurturing of natural forests and enrichment of special-use forests

1. Subjects entitled to investment: Forest owners that are organizations and residential communities engaged in afforestation, nurturing of natural forests and enrichment of special-use forests.

2. Investment level shall be based on techno-economic norms, designs and fund estimates of silvicultural works approved by competent state agencies.

3. The order and procedures for formulation, appraisal and approval of designs and fund estimates for investment in afforestation, nurturing of natural forests and enrichment of special-use forests must comply with Articles 29, 30 and 31 of this Decree.

Article 8. Funds as support for development of livelihood and improvement of lives of people in buffer zones of special-use forests

1. Subjects entitled to and levels of support: Residential communities in buffer zones of special-use forests are entitled to an average support level of VND 50,000,000/residential community/year.

2. Support contents:

Based on funding sources used for support, residential communities shall determine support contents in the following order of priority:

a/ Agricultural and forestry extension activities, plant varieties and livestock breeds; and small-scale agricultural and forest product processing equipment;

b/ Construction materials for public works of residential communities, such as clean water, lighting, communications, village roads, cultural houses and other works.

3. Conditions for a residential community to receive support:

a/ Having shown a good process of forest protection and not let serious violations occur in forest protection; 

b/ Having plans and fund estimates approved; and having made a forest protection commitment with the special-use forest management board;

c/ Ensuring that the support content is not identical to that of another project receiving the state budget’s investment or support as approved by a competent authority.

4. Procedures for support provision:

a/ Making of plans and fund estimates and approval of funds for support:

Annually, the village chief shall hold a meeting with the residential community to propose contents, plans and estimates of funds for support to be provided and included in the meeting minutes made according to Form No. 01 and make a plan and estimates of funds for support according to Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix to this Decree, then send them to the commune-level People’s Committee and special-use forest management board;

The special-use forest management board shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the commune-level People’s Committee in, holding a meeting with the residential community to make a request for support and reach agreement on joint approval of the plan and estimates of funds for support of the residential community.

b/ Support provision:

The residential community shall organize the implementation of the approved plan and estimates of funds for support. For contents that cannot be implemented by the residential community by itself, it shall request the commune-level People’s Committee or the special-use forest management board to support the implementation;

If wishing to modify the plan and funds for support, the residential community shall request the special-use forest management board and the commune-level People’s Committee to consider and modify them.

c/ Acceptance testing and supervision of implementation:

Residential communities shall organize and supervise the implementation of plans and funds for support in accordance with the law on implementation of grassroots democracy;

After completely implementing contents of the approved support plans or at the end of the year, special-use forest management boards shall coordinate with commune-level People’s Committees in organizing acceptance tests. Acceptance testing results shall be included in acceptance testing minutes. Participants in acceptance testing include representatives of the special-use forest management board, commune-level People’s Committee and residential community. Contents of acceptance testing include:

For agricultural and forestry extension activities: Such contents must comply with plans and estimates of funds for support;

For support in terms of plant varieties and livestock breeds and small-scale agricultural and forest product processing equipment: Such contents must comply with plans and estimates of funds for support and invoices or receipts (in case there are no invoices) and the list of signatures of support-receiving households, individuals or cooperative groups (if any);

For support in terms of construction materials of village public works: Acceptance testing of quantity and volume of support materials shall be carried out under plans and estimates. Particularly for works entitled to joint support, signatures for certification of received materials of project/work management units are additionally required.

Section 2

POLICIES FOR PROTECTION FORESTS

Article 9. Allocation of funds for protection of protection forests

1. Subjects entitled to funds:

a/ Protection forest management boards;

b/ Special-use forest management boards;

c/ State enterprises;

d/ Households, individuals and residential communities;

dd/ Commune-level People’s Committees that currently manage forest areas neither assigned nor leased yet;

e/ Other subjects specified in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 8 of the Law on Forestry.

2. Fund level:

a/ A subject specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State an average level of funds for forest protection of VND 500,000/hectare/year for the total area of assigned protection forests, in addition to regular non-business funds for activities of the forest management board.

b/ A subject specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State the funds for forest protection under Point a, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Decree.

c/ The subjects specified at Points c, d and e, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State funds for forest protection under Point b, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Decree.

d/ A subject specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State an average level of funds for forest management and protection of VND 150,000/hectare/year for the total assigned forest area.

dd/ Funds for forest protection for region-II and region-III communes or coastal land areas is equal to 1.2 times or 1.5 times the average level specified at Points a, b, c and d of this Clause, respectively.

e/ Expense for making an initial dossier for forest protection for the subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article is VND 50,000/hectare; the fund amount for forest protection management, inspection and acceptance testing is equal to 7% of the total annual funds for forest protection.

3. Spending items:

a/ The subjects specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

b/ The subjects specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point a, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

c/ The subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article shall sign contracts on forest protection with local households, individuals and residential communities under Article 19 of this Decree and other forest protection activities as decided by forest owners in accordance with the law on forestry.

d/ The subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article shall carry out the activities specified at Point c, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

dd/ The subjects specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article shall:

Maintain regular activities of forest protection groups and teams; communicate, disseminate and educate the law on forest protection;

Sign labor contracts for forest protection and forest fire prevention and fighting and other activities in forest management and protection; and organize anti-deforestation activities;

Pay expenses for the formulation of forest fire prevention and fighting plans and forest fire fighting drills;

Pay expenses for forest protection management, inspection and supervision; pay expenses for making and receipt of dossiers of request for forest assignment, forest lease and forest land allocation and lease to organizations, households, individuals and residential communities according to their competence.

e/ The subjects specified at Point e, Clause 1 of this Article shall carry out forest management and protection under sustainable forest management plans and as decided by forest owners in accordance with the law on forestry.

g/ Based on annually allocated state budget funds, the subjects specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall prioritize the implementation of forest protection spending items for areas with high risk of forest resource infringement and risk-prone forest areas in need of protection.

4. Procedures for implementation:

a/ The subjects specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point a, Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree.

b/ The subjects specified at Points c and e, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point c, Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree.

c/ The subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point b, Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree.

d/ For the subjects specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article:

Before May 30 every year, commune-level People’s Committees shall formulate plans and estimates of funds for forest protection for the forest areas neither assigned nor leased for the subsequent year and include them in commune budgets’ fund estimates of the same year and submit them to competent authorities for approval and allocation of annual funds in accordance with the Law on the State Budget from funding sources for non-business activities.

Article 10. Allocation of funds for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting under protection forest master plans

1. Subjects entitled to funds: Forest owners being organizations, households, individuals and residential communities that carry out zoning for promotion of natural regeneration or zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting.

2. Contents and levels of funds must comply with Clause 2, Article 6 of this Decree.

3. Approval of designs and fund estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional planting of protection forests must comply with Article 32 of this Decree.

Article 11. Investment in afforestation, nurturing of natural forests, enrichment of protection forests

1. Subjects entitled to investment: Forest owners being organizations, households, individuals and residential communities that plant forests, nurture natural forests and enrich protection forests.

2. The level of investment in afforestation, nurturing of natural forests and enrichment of protection forests must comply with Clause 2, Article 7 of this Decree.

3. The order and procedures for formulation, appraisal and approval of designs and fund estimates for investment in afforestation, nurturing of natural forests and enrichment of protection forests must comply with Articles 29, 30 and 31 of this Decree.

Section 3

POLICIES FOR PRODUCTION FORESTS

Article 12. Funds as support for protection of production forests being natural forests during the forest closure period

1. Subjects entitled to support:

a/ Special-use forest management boards;

b/ Protection forest management boards;

c/ State enterprises that are assigned by the State production forests being natural forests before January 1, 2019;

d/ Households, individuals and residential communities;

dd/ Commune-level People’s Committees that currently manage forest areas neither assigned nor leased yet;

e/ Other subjects specified in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 8 of the Law on Forestry.

2. Fund levels:

a/ The subjects specified at Points a, b and dd, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State an average fund level for forest protection of VND 150,000/hectare/year for the total assigned area of production forests being natural forests.

b/ The subjects specified at Points c, d and e, Clause 1 of this Article shall be allocated by the State an average fund level for forest protection of VND 500,000/hectare/year for the total assigned area of production forests being natural forests.

c/ Funds for forest protection for region-II and region-III communes or coastal land communes is equal to 1.2 times or 1.5 times the average level specified at Points a or b of this Clause, respectively.

d/ Expense for making an initial dossier for forest protection for the subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article is VND 50,000/hectare; the funds for forest protection management, inspection and acceptance testing is equal to 7% of the total annual funds for forest protection.

3. Spending items:

a/ The subjects specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point a, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

b/ The subjects specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

c/ The subjects specified at Points c and e, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point d, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

d/ The subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point c, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

dd/ The subjects specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article shall implement the contents specified at Point dd, Clause 3, Article 9 of this Decree.

dd/ Based on annually allocated state budget funds, the subjects specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall prioritize the implementation of forest protection spending items for areas with high risk of forest resource infringement.

4. Procedures for implementation:

a/ The subjects specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point a, Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree.

b/ The subjects specified at Points c and e, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point c, Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree.

c/ The subjects specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point b, Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree.

d/ The subjects specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Point d, Clause 4, Article 9 of this Decree.

Article 13. Support for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting under master plans on production forests being natural forests

1. Subjects entitled to support: Forest owners being organizations, Kinh ethnic group’s households classified as poor households, ethnic minority households, individuals and residential communities living stably in border communes, islands, ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas under the Prime Minister’s regulations on zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting under master plans on production forests being natural forests.

2. The average support level is VND 8,000,000/hectare. Expenses for making design dossiers and fund estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting shall be determined according to approved fund estimates; expenses for the management, inspection and acceptance testing for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting is equal to 7% of total annual expenses for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting.

3. Approval of designs and fund estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting must comply with Article 32 of this Decree.

Article 14. Support for investment in planting of production forests and development of non-timber forest products

1. Subjects entitled to support: Forest owners being Kinh ethnic group’s households classified as poor households, ethnic minority households and residential communities living stably in border communes, islands, ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas under the Prime Minister’s regulations that plant production forests and non-timber forest plants on land areas assigned or leased under production forest land master plans.

2. Support level:

a/ Average one-off support of VND 15,000,000/hectare/cycle for purchase of seedlings, supplies and fertilizers for planting of timber trees and non-timber forest plants within business cycles of plant species.

b/ Funds as support for forestry extension: VND 500,000/hectares/4 years (1 year of planting and 3 years of tending).

c/ One-off support for survey and designing expenses; expenses for management, inspection and acceptance testing according to approved estimates.

3. Conditions for subjects to receive support:

a/ Having land areas for planting production forests which are assigned or leased by competent authorities or for which land use rights certificates have been granted or which have been used stably in accordance with the land law without dispute; investment support will not be provided for areas that have received the State’s investment or investment credit capital; support will not be repeatedly provided for the same program or project;

b/ Seedlings for afforestation by forest owners must be accompanied by sufficient dossiers under the Government’s regulations on management of forest tree cultivars.

4. Mode of support: investment support or post-investment support under projects approved by competent authorities.

Provincial-level People’s Committees shall assign specialized agencies in the field of forestry or district-level People’s Committees to formulate, and act as owners of, projects to support investment in planting of production forests and development of non-timber forest products in their localities, and submit them to provincial-level People’s Committees for approval.

Article 15. Credit support for investment in planting of large timber forests

1. Subjects entitled to support: Forest owners being enterprises, households and individuals that plant large timber forests on assigned or leased forest land areas.

2. For forest owners being households and individuals

They are entitled to support from local budgets in terms of commercial loan interest rates as follows:

a/ The support level is equal to the difference between the commercial loan interest rate and the State’s investment credit interest rate, calculated on the actual outstanding loan amount at the time of consideration for support;

b/ The interest-rate support period shall be calculated from the date of commencement of disbursement under the investment credit contract signed with the commercial bank and must not exceed 12 years;

c/ Loans eligible for interest rate support must not exceed 70% of the total loan amount borrowed from the commercial bank;

d/ Conditions for subjects to receive support:

Having land areas for planting of production forests which are assigned or leased by competent authorities or for which land use rights certificates have been granted or have been used stably in accordance with the land law without dispute;

Having not yet received interest rate support from the state budget or support under other policies.

dd/ Order and procedures for provision of interest rate support:

The forest owner shall hand-deliver, or send by post or via the cyber environment 1 dossier set to the district-level People’s Committee. Such a dossier must comprise: a written request for bank loan interest-rate support, made according to Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix to this Decree; a design for forest planting and first-year tending, made according to Form No. 04 provided in the Appendix to this Decree; and a copy of the credit contract signed between the forest owner and the commercial bank;

In case the dossier is invalid, the district-level People’s Committee shall reply in writing to the forest owner within 2 working days after receiving the dossier;

Within 20 days after receiving a valid dossier, the district-level People’s Committee shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, verifying the dossier of request for interest rate support and making a minutes of verification of conditions for credit interest-rate support according to Form No. 05 provided in the Appendix to this Decree, and submit it to the provincial-level People’s Committee for decision. In case of refusal to provide support, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall reply in writing, clearly stating the reason;

e/ Provincial-level People’s Councils shall decide on specific levels of interest-rate difference support suitable to local socio-economic conditions;

g/ The estimation, payment and final settlement of interest-rate support amounts must comply with the Law on the State Budget and other relevant laws.

3. For forest owners being enterprises

They are entitled to investment support policies; the order and procedures for receiving investment support must comply with the Government’s regulations on policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas and regulations on credit policies to promote agricultural and rural development.

Article 16. Funds as support for formulation of sustainable forest management plans and grant of sustainable forest management certificates

1. Subjects entitled to support: Forest owners with production forests being planted forests, except those being foreign-invested enterprises.

2. Support level and form:

a/ Support level: one-off support for the formulation of sustainable forest management plans and grant of sustainable forest management certificates of up to VND 400,000/ha.

b/ Support form: post-investment support.

3. Conditions for a subject to receive support:

a/ Having a project on sustainable forest management and grant of a sustainable forest management certificate as approved by the provincial-level People’s Committee;

b/ Having obtained a sustainable forest management certificate for the area of production forests being planted forests.

4. Procedures for support provision:

a/ The provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall formulate a project on sustainable forest management and grant of sustainable forest management certificates in the province, clearly determining the scale, location, area, list of forest owners and funding sources for support, and submit such project to the provincial-level People’s Committee for approval;

b/ Annually, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall assign fund estimates to support the formulation of sustainable forest management plans and grant of sustainable forest management certificates under approved projects specified at Point a of this Clause to the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in order to provide funds as support to forest owners being organizations and assign fund estimates for the formulation of sustainable forest management plans and grant of sustainable forest management certificates to the district-level People’s Committee for the latter to provide funds as support for forest owners being households, individuals and residential communities through the commune-level People’s Committee;

c/ For forest owners being organizations: After having obtained a sustainable forest management certificate for the forest area, a forest owner shall send a request for funds as support for the formulation of a sustainable forest management plan and grant of a sustainable forest management certificate, made according to Form No. 06 provided in the Appendix to this Decree, to the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall examine the dossier and provide funds as support to the forest owner and make payment and final settlement of the funds in accordance with the Law on the State Budget. In case of refusal to provide funds as support to the forest owner, the provincial-level Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall reply in writing, clearly stating the reason.

d/ For forest owners being households, individuals and residential communities that agree to form a group of households and appoint their representatives: After having obtained a sustainable forest management certificate from the certifying organization, the representative of the group of households shall send a request for funds as support for the formulation of a sustainable forest management plan and grant of a sustainable forest management certificate, made according to Form No. 07 provided in the Appendix to this Decree to the commune-level People’s Committee;

The commune-level People’s Committee shall base itself on the fund estimates assigned annually by the district-level People’s Committee to examine the dossier and provide funds as support to the representative of the group of households and make payment and final settlement of the funds in accordance with the Law on the State Budget. In case of refusal to provide funds as support to the representative of the group of households, the commune-level People’s Committee shall reply in writing, clearly stating the reason.

Article 17. Investment support for construction of forestry roads and firebreaks in production forests

1. Construction of forestry roads

a/ Subjects entitled to and conditions for them to receive support: Concentrated production forest areas of 500 hectares or larger;

b/ The maximum level of investment support for construction of forestry roads is VND 450,000,000/kilometer;

c/ Procedures for provision of investment support for construction of forest roads must comply with Clause 5, Article 27 of this Decree.

2. Construction of firebreaks

a/ Subjects entitled to and conditions for them to receive support: Firebreaks in concentrated production forest areas of 500 hectares or larger;

b/ The maximum level of investment support for construction of firebreaks is VND 100,000,000/kilometer;

c/ Procedures for provision of investment support for construction of firebreaks must comply with Clause 5, Article 27 of this Decree.

Article 18. Investment support for development of cooperation and linkage in production forest planting associated with forest product processing and consumption

1. Subjects entitled to support: Forest owners that enter in cooperation and establish linkage with forest product processing and trading enterprises.

2. Conditions for receiving support:

Parties establishing linkage are entitled to support if satisfying the following conditions:

a/ They enter into cooperation or establish linkage under contracts or projects on linkage in production forest planting associated with forest product processing and consumption under Articles 4, 5 and 6 of the Government’s Decree No. 98/2018/ND-CP of July 5, 2018, on policies to promote development, cooperation and linkage in agricultural product production and consumption;

b/ Linkage projects combining production forest planting with forest product processing and consumption under local socio-economic development master plans;

c/ The minimum linkage period is 7 years.

3. Support contents and levels and procedures for provision of investment support must comply with Articles 7, 8, 9 and 12 of Decree No. 98/2018/ND-CP.

Section 4

GENERAL POLICIES ON FOREST PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT AND FOREST PRODUCT PROCESSING

Article 19. Contracting of forest protection

1. Subjects specified at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 5; Points a, b and c, Clause 1, Article 9; and Points a, b and c, Clause 1, Article 12 shall prioritize signing contracts for forest protection with regard to the forest areas adjacent to residential areas with ethnic minority households, Kinh ethnic group’s households classified as poor households in region-II and region-III communes, and households, individuals and residential communities in localities; and the forest areas adjacent to areas highly prone to forest resource infringement.

2. Conditions and limits of contracting for forest protection must comply Article 4; and Clause 2, Article 6, of the Government’s Decree No. 168/2016/ND-CP of December 27, 2016, on contracted allocation of forests, orchards and water surface areas to special-use forest and protection forest management boards and state-run agriculture or forestry single-member limited liability companies.

3. Fund levels for contracting for forest protection:

a/ The average level of state budget funds for contracting for protection of special-use forests, protection forests and production forests being natural forests is VND 500,000/hectare/year; for forest areas in region-II and region-III communes or coastal areas, the fund level is equal to 1.2 times or 1.5 times the average level, respectively.

b/ The expense for making of first-time dossiers for contracting for forest protection is VND 50,000/hectare; the expense for management, inspection and acceptance testing for forest protection is equal to 7% of the total annual funds for forest protection.

4. Funding sources for contracting for forest protection include state budget funds allocated to forest owners under Clause 2, Article 5; Clause 2, Article 9; and Clause 2, Article 12, of this Decree and other lawful funding sources.

5. The method of contracting for forest protection shall be applied in the form of annual forest protection contracts. Contracting parties shall annually carry out acceptance testing and evaluate results of the contract performance by contracted parties under regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 20. Funds for forest fire fighting

1. Subjects entitled to funds:

a/ Forest owners specified in Article 8 of the Law on Forestry;

b/ Commune-level People’s Committees that currently manage forest areas neither allocated nor leased yet;

c/ Forest protection offices at all levels, agencies, organizations, individuals and forces participating in forest fire fighting.

2. Expense items and levels:

a/ The maximum meal expense for forest fire-fighting forces and participants (including those salaried and not salaried by the state budget) under mobilization orders of competent persons is equal to 0.4 of the region-based per-diem minimum salary/meal;

b/ Persons directly mobilized to participate in or serve forest fire fighting under mobilization orders are entitled to the regimes and policies provided in Article 34 of the Government’s Decree No. 136/2020/ND-CP of November 24, 2020, detailing a number of articles of, and measures to implement, the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting. The period of forest fire fighting shall be calculated from the time a fire fighting participant receives the mobilization order of a competent person to participate in the forest fire fighting to the time the fire is extinguished and the competent person issues a notice of conclusion of the fire fighting period;

When the forest fire fighting takes place far from the place of residence of a fire fighting participant who has no condition for daily commuting, the competent authority issuing the mobilization order shall arrange accommodations, provide vehicles or travel expenses or pay one-time round trip fare for him/her according to the working regime of the Ministry of Finance; he/she may also be provided with a meal allowance at a level specified by the provincial-level People’s Committee.

c/ Expenses for drinking water for forest fire fighting participants, fuels (petrol, oil), repair and payment of compensation for damage caused to vehicles and equipment mobilized or hired for forest fire fighting. Owners of vehicles and equipment (excluding forest owners) mobilized for forest fire fighting may have expenses for fuels, repair or payment of compensations (if any) paid under current regulations.

3. Funding sources:

a/ Funds for the items specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 2 of this Article shall be allocated from the state budget’s contingency reserves in accordance with the Law on the State Budget and the Law on Disaster Prevention and Control and other lawful financial resources;

b/ Based on forest fire fighting activities and relevant regimes and policies, the provincial-, district- and commune-level People’s Committees shall decide to allocate funds from local budgets and other lawful financial sources to meet fund requirements for forest fire fighting in their localities in addition to approved annual expenditure estimates;

c/ Based on forest fire fighting activities and relevant regimes and policies, ministries and sectors shall decide to allocate funds from their budgets and other lawful financial sources to meet fund requirements for forest fire fighting in forest areas under their management and for affiliated units mobilized to participate in forest fire fighting in addition to approved annual expenditure estimates.

4. Authorities competent to decide on the mobilization of forces to participate in forest fire fighting shall use state budget funds to cover expenses for the forces they have mobilized for forest fire fighting. Forest owners shall use their own funding sources to cover expenses for the forces they have mobilized for forest fire fighting.

Article 21. Rice subsidies for forest protection and development

1. Subjects entitled to and contents of subsidies: Poor households, ethnic minority households in region-II and region-III communes engaged in forest protection, zoning for promotion of regeneration with additional forest planting, protection forest planting, production forest planting and non-timber forest product development, forest planting to change slash-and-burn farming practices, forest planting in slash-and-burn farming areas, and other subjects decided by the Prime Minister.

2. Subsidy level: 15 kilograms of rice/person/month during the period of food insufficiency. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on subjects entitled to and levels of subsidies and specific forms of subsidy provision based on area and number of persons in conformity with practical conditions of their localities and the period of subsidy provision, which, however, must not exceed 7 years, adhering to the following principles:

a/ The maximum rice subsidy level for households engaged in forest planting in slash-and-burn farming areas in a year must, based on the actually planted forest areas and the food insufficiency period not longer than 6 months, not exceed 450 kilograms/year;

b/ The maximum rice subsidy level for households engaged in forest protection and development in a year must, based on the areas benefitting from forest protection and development and the food insufficiency period not longer than 4 months, not exceed 300 kilograms/year;

c/ Households engaged in all forest planting activities in slash-and-burning farming areas and forest protection and development are entitled to higher subsidy levels;

d/ The calculation method of rice subsidy levels is specified in Form No. 08 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

3. Conditions for receiving rice subsidies:

The subjects specified in Clause 1 of this Article are entitled to rice subsidies for forest protection and development if they satisfy one of the following conditions:

a/ Possessing a land use rights certificate or a land allocation or land lease decision issued by a competent authority or having used land stably without dispute in accordance with the land law; having engaged in forest protection under Articles 5, 9 and 12; zoning for promotion of natural regeneration with additional forest planting under Articles 6, 10 and 13; planting protection forests under Article 11 and planting production forests and developing non-timber forest products under Article 14, of this Decree with acceptance testing of implementation results annually carried out by competent authorities;

b/ Having entered into a forest protection contract under Clause 5, Article 19; having engaged in forest protection contracting under Article 19, of this Decree with acceptance testing of implementation results annually carried out by competent authorities.

4. Categories of rice to be provided as subsidies must meet the national technical regulation on national reserve rice.

5. Provision of rice subsidies funded by programs and projects:

a/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall assign project owners or affiliated organizations or units to formulate rice subsidy projects serving forest protection, zoning for promotion of regeneration with additional forest planting, protection forest planting, production forest planting, non-timber forest product development, and forest planting in slash-and-burn farming areas; organize periodical provision of rice to households in project areas in villages where such households reside. Based on practical conditions of their localities, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on frequency of subsidy provision, which must not exceed once every 3 months;

b/ Based on approved rice subsidy projects, project owners or organizations and units assigned to provide rice subsidies shall make lists of households registered for rice subsidies and rice volume to be provided to each household according to Forms No. 09 and No. 10 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

c/ Rice subsidies shall be provided to households that start their forest protection activities, zoning for promotion of regeneration with additional forest planting, protection forest planting, production forest planting, non-timber forest product development, and forest planting in slash-and-burn farming areas, and prepare their dossiers according to Forms No. 11 and No. 12 provided in Appendix to this Decree.

6. Provision of rice subsidies from national reserves:

a/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall sum up lists and to-be-provided rice volumes and period of subsidy provision, and report thereon to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. Based on proposals of localities and opinions of the Ministry of Finance and Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for reporting on the provision of rice subsidies to localities to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

b/ Based on the Prime Minister’s decisions, the Ministry of Finance shall assign the General Department of State Reserves to provide rice subsidies from the national reserves to localities under regulations. Project owners or organizations and units assigned to provide rice subsidies shall organize the rice subsidy provision for households under Clause 5 of this Article.

Article 22. Support for investment in forest tree cultivar production facilities

1. Subjects entitled to support: Organizations, households and individuals investing in the production of forest tree cultivars.

2. Support contents:

a/ Building seedling stands, seedling orchards, hedge orchards;

b/ Building centers for production of high-quality forest tree cultivars;

c/ Building seedling nurseries.

3. Support levels:

a/ Support for a project or work specified in Clause 2 of this Article is equal to 50% of its total investment but must not exceed the level specified at Points b, c and d of this Clause;

b/ The maximum support level for building a newly planted seedling stand on an area of 2 hectares or larger, or a newly planted seedling orchard on an area of 1 hectare or larger is VND 55,000,000/hectare; the maximum support level for a converted seedling forest on an area of 1 hectare or larger, or a hedge orchard on an area of 500 square meters or larger is VND 25,000,000/hectare;

c/ The maximum support level for a project or work on building a center for production of high-quality forest tree cultivars on the minimum production scale of 1 million cultivars/year is VND 5,000,000,000;

d/ The maximum support level for a project or work on building a new forest tree nursery using the tissue-culturing method on the minimum area of 0.5 hectare is VND 300,000,000.

4. Conditions for a subject to receive support: Having a separate investment project or a jointly-formulated project under a forest protection and development project approved by a competent state agency.

5. Procedures for making, appraising and deciding on designs and fund estimates for projects to support the production of forest tree cultivars are specified in Clause 5, Article 27 of this Decree.

Article 23. Support for scattered tree planting

1. Subjects entitled to support: Organizations, households, individuals and residential communities engaged in scattered tree planting.

2. The average support level is VND 15,000,000/hectare of scattered trees (or 1,000 trees/hectare) for buying seedlings and fertilizers and partially covering labor cost for planting and tending of scattered trees; organizing management, inspection and supervision of scattered tree planting.

3. Forms of support and standards for seedlings must comply with the scattered tree planting plans approved by competent state agencies.

4. Conditions for a subject to receive support: Having a land area and demand for scattered tree planting.

5. Procedures for support provision:

Provincial-level Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development shall review and sum up demands for support for scattered tree planting of the subjects specified in Clause 1 of this Article that satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 4 of this Article in their provinces, formulate scattered tree planting plans with fund estimates for supporting scattered tree planting and submit them to provincial-level People’s Committees for approval; organize the implementation of such plans, carry out acceptance testing, summarize implementation results, and report them to provincial-level People’s Committees and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development under regulations.

Article 24. Support for investment in hi-tech forestry zones

Small- and medium-sized enterprises investing in construction, production, business and service provision in hi-tech forestry zones are entitled to support in terms of technology, information, consultancy, human resource development, innovative startups, and participation in industrial clusters and value chains; and the order and procedures for entitlement to support must comply with the Government’s Decree No. 80/2021/ND-CP of August 26, 2021, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Article 25. Other specialized activities

1. The State shall adopt investment policies for other specialized activities, including:

a/ Monitoring and supervising forest resource and biodiversity changes; surveying and inventorying forests; inspecting, monitoring, supervising and evaluating results of the implementation of forestry strategies, programs and projects;

b/ Managing forestry information and forest databases;

c/ Collecting forest plant and animal specimens;

d/ Organizing scientific research, human resource training and development, and forestry extension;

dd/ Formulating and implementing plans on sustainable management of special-use forests, protection forests and production forests being natural forests;

e/ Assigning forests, determining boundaries of forests and planting forest boundary markers;

g/ Maintaining and developing seedling forests and national botanical gardens;

h/ Carrying out basic surveys on forestry;

i/ Protecting and rescuing endangered, precious and rare forest plants and animals;

k/ Building, maintaining, upgrading and renovating infrastructure to serve the protection and development of special-use forests and protection forests under Clause 6, Article 87 of the Government’s Decree 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Forestry;

l/ Procuring and repairing vehicles, equipment, devices and supporting tools for forest protection; forest fire prevention and fighting; monitoring and warning of forest fire risks; and prevention and elimination of forest pests;

m/ Surveying, collecting and evaluating genetic resources of forest tree cultivars; building gene banks and data on genetic resources of forest tree cultivars; researching to select, create and test forest tree cultivars;

n/ Formulating national forestry master plans.

2. The performance of the activities specified in Clause 1 of this Article must comply with projects and plans approved by competent authorities and in the order of priority as suitable to the budget capacity of sectors and localities.

3. The order and procedures for carrying out activities using development investment and non-business funding sources must comply with Clause 5, Article 27 of this Decree.

Chapter III

MECHANISM AND FUNDING SOURCES

Article 26. Funding sources for implementation

1. The central budget:

a/ Allocations in annual budget expenditure estimates of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, and other related central agencies for performance of the activities specified in this Decree;

b/ Annual budget-balancing transfers and targeted additional transfers for localities that are unable to balance their budgets and other localities in accordance with law for performance of the activities specified in this Decree;

c/ Development investment capital from the central budget allocated in detail for sectors and fields, and balanced by ministries, central agencies and localities under assigned medium-term and annual public investment plans.

2. Local budgets:

a/ For localities that are able to balance their budgets, except other localities as specified by law, all funds for performance of the activities specified in this Decree shall be allocated from local budgets;

b/ For localities that are unable to balance their budgets and other localities as specified by law, funds for performance of the activities specified in this Decree shall be allocated from local budgets in combination with the central budget’s support and other resources for efficient performance of such activities.

3. Other funding sources, including collected forest environment service charge amounts, ODA loans and other lawful funding sources for forest protection and development activities specified in this Decree.

Article 27. Investment mechanism and investment support

1. State budget funds for investment in and investment support for activities must comply with the state budget and public investment laws, specifically as follows:

a/ Development investment capital shall be prioritized for the following activities: forest planting, natural forest nurturing, and special-use forest enrichment under Article 7 of this Decree; forest planting, natural forest nurturing, and protection forest enrichment under Article 11 of this Decree; planting of production forests and development of non-timber forest products under Article 14 of this Decree; construction of forest roads and firebreaks in production forests under Article 17 of this Decree; investment in forest tree cultivar production establishments under Article 22 of this Decree; investment in hi-tech forestry zones under Article 24 of this Decree; other specialized activities specified in Article 25 of this Decree;

b/ Recurrent expenditure shall be prioritized for the following activities: protection of special-use forests under Article 5 of this Decree; development of livelihoods and improvement of lives of people living in special-use forests’ buffer zones under Article 8 of this Decree; protection of protection forests under Article 9 of this Decree; protection of natural production forests during their closure period under Article 12 of this Decree; zoning for promotion of natural regeneration, zoning for natural regeneration with additional forest planting under Articles 6, 10 and 13 of this Decree; credit support shall be provided for investment in planting of large-timber forests under Article 15 of this Decree; formulation of sustainable forest management plans and grant of sustainable forest management certificates under Article 16 of this Decree; forest fire fighting under Article 20 of this Decree; provision of rice subsidies for the forest protection and development under Article 21 of this Decree; provision of support for scattered tree planting under Article 23 of this Decree; and other specialized activities specified in Article 25 of this Decree.

2. Collected forest environment service charge amounts shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Forestry. Funds outside the state budget for forest protection and forest protection contracts may be used according to investment levels and investment support levels specified in this Decree.

3. Provincial-level People’s Councils shall base themselves on investment levels, investment support levels and forest protection contracting levels specified in Articles 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22 and 23 of this Decree to decide on investment levels and investment support levels in conformity with local socio-economic conditions.

4. Related ministries and sectors shall base themselves on investment levels and investment support levels specified in Articles 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19 and 22 of this Decree to decide on investment levels and investment support levels for forest owners under their management.

5. Procedures for formulation and appraisal of, and decision on, investment policy, and approval of investment projects for the activities specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article must comply with the investment and public investment laws and other relevant laws. For silvicultural activities under approved investment projects, the formulation, appraisal and approval of designs and funding estimates must comply with Chapter IV of this Decree. For other work items, the formulation, appraisal and approval of designs and funding estimates must comply with the public investment and construction laws. Procedures for making of funding estimates, payment and final settlement of expenses for the activities specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article must comply with the Law on the State Budget and its guiding legal documents.

6. State budget funds shall be allocated for projects on silvicultural works according to the cycle of silvicultural measures. The payment of the previous year’s funds for forest planting projects shall be completed on June 30 of the following year at the latest.

7. Funds for forest protection and forest protection contracting shall be allocated according to design dossiers of forest protection and forest protection contracting and forest protection contracts and used according to the levels specified in this Decree in the budget year.

Chapter IV

FORMULATION, APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF DESIGNS AND COST ESTIMATES FOR INVESTMENT IN SILVICULTURAL AND FOREST PROTECTION WORKS

Article 28. Principles of formulation of design dossiers and funding estimates

1. For silvicultural works that constitute one of items of an approved investment project, the project owner shall formulate their designs and cost estimates and submit them to a competent authority for approval. For a project that requires only an econo-technical report, designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works shall be formulated at the same time with the formulation of the econo-technical report.

2. For a silvicultural work to construct necessary technical infrastructure facilities to serve the forest protection and development, its design and cost estimate shall be formulated in accordance with the construction law.

3. For silvicultural works other than those specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the formulation of designs and cost estimates must comply with Articles 29, 30, 31 and 32 of this Decree.

4. For zoning for promotion of natural regeneration, zoning for natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting and forest protection using state budget funds, state budget-using units shall formulate one-off designs and cost estimates for many years or annual designs and cost estimates according to budget plans assigned to them.

5. Designs and funding estimates shall be formulated by project owners or state budget-using units or hired consultancy organizations.

Article 29. Cost estimates

1. Cost estimates of silvicultural works, except those classified in Clause 2 of this Article

a/ Construction costs of silvicultural works:

Direct costs include material, labor, construction machinery and equipment costs;

Indirect costs include overhead costs, makeshift housing costs for accommodation and construction management, and expenses for works whose volume is unable to be determined from their designs. Indirect costs shall be determined by a percentage (%) in accordance with the construction law;

Pre-determined taxable income shall be calculated by a percentage (%) of the total of direct costs and indirect costs in accordance with the construction law;

Value added tax shall be calculated under current regulations.

b/ Equipment costs include procurement of tools, machinery and technological equipment (including technological equipment that need to be manufactured), installation, testing, calibration, transport and insurance of equipment, technology training and transfer for silvicultural works;

c/ Management costs shall be calculated by a percentage (%) of total construction costs and equipment costs or determined by detailed cost estimates, including costs of the management of silvicultural works from the stage of work preparation to completion, acceptance testing and putting of works into use;

d/ Costs of construction investment consultancy shall be determined by a percentage (%) in accordance with the construction law or by detailed cost estimates based on the scope and volume of work, implementation plan, including costs of survey; formulation of design and cost estimates; supervision and other related consultancy costs;

dd/ Contingency costs and other costs/expenses.

e/ Management costs, construction investment consultancy costs, contingency costs and other costs shall be determined by percentage (%) applicable to agricultural and rural development works.

2. Cost estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting and forest protection

a/ Costs of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection, formulation of dossiers and other costs must comply with Clauses 2 and 3, Article 5; Clause 2, Article 6; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 9; Clause 2, Article 10; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 12; and Clause 3, Article 13, of this Decree.

b/ For costs of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection implemented by the method of contracting to households, individuals, and residential communities, the funding level for contracting to forest protection parties, dossier formulation cost and other costs must comply with Clause 2, Article 6; Clause 2, Article 10; Clause 2, Article 13; and Clause 3, Article 19; of this Decree.

Article 30. A dossier of request for approval of design and cost estimate

1. A report for requesting approval of design and cost estimate, made according to Form No. 13 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

2. Commentaries of the design, including a cost estimate and a design plan of the silvicultural work, made according to Form No. 14 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

3. A copy of the decision on approval of the investment project or assigned funding plan for activities using state budget funds and other relevant documents.

Article 31. Appraisal and approval of designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works using public investment capital

1. Agencies competent to appraise designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works:

a/ For projects subject to investment decision by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, agencies in charge of forestry management shall assume the prime responsibility for appraising designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works;

b/ For projects subject to investment decision by other ministries and sectors, their attached professional agencies shall assume the prime responsibility for appraising designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works;

c/ For projects subject to investment decision by chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments shall assume the prime responsibility for appraising designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works;

d/ For silvicultural works under projects subject to investment decision by chairpersons of district-level or commune-level People’s Committees, district-level functional divisions or district-level forest protection offices shall assume the prime responsibility for appraising designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works.

2. Procedures for appraisal of design and cost estimate of a silvicultural work:

a/ The project owner shall hand-deliver 1 set of dossier specified in Article 30 of this Decree or sent it by post or via the network (the national public service portal or ministerial or provincial public service portal) to an agency assuming the prime responsibility for appraising specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ The agency assuming the prime responsibility for appraising shall check the validity of the dossier, and immediately issue a receipt or refuse to receive the dossier in case the project owner hand-delivers the dossier; or issue such receipt within 2 working days after receiving the dossier in case the dossier is sent by post or submitted via the network;

c/ Within 15 days after receiving a valid dossier, the agency assuming the prime responsibility for appraising shall organize the appraisal and make a report on appraisal results according to Form No. 15 provided in the Appendix to this Decree; and notify appraisal results to the project owner.

3. Agencies competent to approve designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works:

Project owners shall approve designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works after receiving appraisal opinions from specialized agencies assigned to carry out the appraisal under Clause 1 of this Article. Contents of the approval of designs and cost estimates of silvicultural works are specified in Form No. 16 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

Article 32. Approval of designs of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection using state budget funds

1. Dossiers for approval of zoning designs and cost estimates must comply with Article 30 of this Decree.

2. State budget-using units may appraise by themselves or hire consultants to appraise designs of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection.

3. State budget-using units may approve by themselves designs of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection.

4. The formulation and approval of cost estimates for zoning for promotion of natural regeneration combined with additional forest planting, zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection must comply with the Law on the State Budget and other relevant laws.

Article 33. Adjustment of designs and cost estimates

1. Designs and cost estimates shall be adjusted in the following cases:

a/ Investment projects require adjustments of designs and cost estimates of their silvicultural works;

b/ Funds annually allocated for works of zoning for promotion of natural regeneration and forest protection using state budget funds have changed;

c/ It is required to adjust designs in the course of implementation to ensure work quality.

2. Dossiers of adjustment of designs and cost estimates must comply with Article 30 of this Decree; appraisal and approval of adjustments of designs and cost estimates must comply with Articles 31 and 32 of this Decree.

3. In case of adjusting only the structure of cost items without changing the approved estimate value, including also contingency costs, the project owner or the state budget-using unit shall decide on adjustment and report on adjusted cost estimate contents to the investment decision maker or the fund-allocating agency.

4. Project owners or state budget-using units shall determine adjusted cost estimates to serve as a basis for adjustment of contract value.

Article 34. Handling of risks during the investment stage

1. Causes of risks:

a/ Disasters as specified in the natural disaster prevention and control law;

b/ Causes of other risks shall be identified by project owners or budget-using units before making dossiers and reporting thereon to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

2. Handling of risks:

a/ The collection of statistics, evaluation and reporting of damage caused by disasters shall be carried out in accordance with law;

b/ Project owners or state budget-using units shall make minutes of evaluation of damage, identify causes of damage, and report thereon to competent authorities for consideration and decision the adjustment of investment projects or assigned funding plans; and adjust designs and cost estimates under Article 33 of this Decree.

Chapter V

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 35. Responsibilities of ministries and ministerial-level agencies

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance and related agencies in, guiding and inspecting localities in organizing the implementation of this Decree;

b/ To promulgate standards and techno-economic norms for implementation of this Decree.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in, balancing and arranging development investment capital for implementation of this Decree;

b/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Finance in guiding and inspecting organizations and individuals in implementing this Decree.

3. The Ministry of Finance

To assume the prime responsibility for balancing and arranging annual public expenditures in accordance with the Law on the State Budget and relevant legal documents; to coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in submitting to competent authorities for consideration of and decision medium-term and annual investment capital plans in accordance with the Law on the State Budget and the Law on Public Investment.

4. Other related ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall implement this Decree according to their assigned functions and tasks.

Article 36. Responsibilities of provincial-level People’s Committees

1. To direct, organize, inspect and evaluate the implementation of, and periodically report on the implementation results of, this Decree.

2. To allocate local budget funds and integrate funding sources (the central budget, local budgets and other funding sources) for the achievement of set objectives and effective forest protection and development in their localities in accordance with this Decree and relevant current legal documents.

3. To assign provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, intensifying the public communication and dissemination of the policies specified in this Decree.

4. Based on current forest planting norms, to direct or authorize their professional agencies to guide the formulation of cost estimates of silvicultural works in conformity with local conditions.

Article 37. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on July 15, 2024.

2. The following documents and provisions cease to be effective from the effective date of this Decree:

a/ Points a, d, dd, e, g and h, Clause 1, Article 91 of the Government’s Decree No. 156/2018/ND-CP of November 16, 2018, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Forestry Law;

b/ Chapter II, Article 20 of, and Appendices I and III to, Circular No. 15/2019/TT-BNNPTNT of October 30, 2019, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, guiding a number of provisions on management of investment in silvicultural works.

3. In case the legal documents referred to in this Decree are revised or replaced, the revising documents or new documents shall apply.

Article 38. Transitional provisions

1. For programs, projects and investment activities that have been approved in accordance with legal documents issued before the effective date of this Decree, they shall continue to be implemented, with investment and investment support levels, order and procedures specified in this Decree.

2. For programs, projects and investment activities that are formulated in accordance with current legal documents, of which dossiers have been submitted but have not been approved by the effective date of this Decree, this Decree shall apply.

Article 39. Responsibility for implementation

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
TRAN LUU QUANG

* The Appendices to this Decree are not translated.