Resolution No. 43/NQ-CP dated June 06, 2014 of the Government on a number of key tasks of reforming administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects for improvement of the business environment

RESOLUTION

On a number of key tasks of reforming administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects for improvement of the business environment[1]

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP of January 7, 2013, on major solutions for directing and administering the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget estimates of 2013;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP of January 2, 2014, on major solutions for directing and administering the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget estimates of 2014;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice,

RESOLVES:

Article1.To reform administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects with the aims to improve the legal system on investment and ensure the effective enforcement of the Land Law; create a transparent, fair, open and favorable business environment; reduce at least 40% of the implementation time associated with cutting to the utmost administrative procedure compliance costs for investors of all economic sectors; heighten Vietnam’s rankings in the Ease of Doing Business Index and the Global Competitiveness Index; promote investment attraction and make contribution to corruption prevention and control and socio-economic development.

Article2.Key tasks of reforming administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects:

1. To simplify regulations on administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using projects toward:

a/ Standardizing and specifically, simply and clearly defining constituents of the procedure of selecting land-using investors in 3 forms: auction of land use rights, bidding for selection of investors of land-using investment projects, and land allocation and lease not through auction and bidding.

- For auction of land use rights: To clearly and specifically provide constituents of the procedure of auction of land use rights for implementation of investment projects, which includes the selection of investors eligible for implementing investment projects.

- For bidding for selection of investors of land-using investment projects:

+ To specify conditions for bidding for selection of investors of land-using investment projects, including: the project is on the list of bidding for selection of investors approved and announced under planning by competent authorities; the project is located in an area with approved detailed planning of 1:500 scale; the project is located in an area with approved compensation and support cost estimates; and the project has its land use levy or land rental unit approved.

+ To clearly and specifically provide constituents of the procedure of selection of investors of land-using investment projects.

+ The result of settlement of this administrative procedure is the written approval of the result of investor selection, which must include the following contents: project name; name of investor/owner; form of investment; investment objectives; site of construction; project scale; land use area; land use boundary; planning and architectural norms such as land use coefficient, construction density, etc.; total investment of the project; land use levy/land rental unit; implementation time and schedule (divided into phases); funding sources; project management and operation plan; and investment incentives (if any).

- For land allocation or lease for implementation of investment projects not through auction or bidding:

+ To incorporate the procedures of approving investment policy, introducing project sites and providing planning information into the procedure of approving investment policy. To clearly define state management agencies’ responsibility for submission to competent authorities for approval of and decision on the investment policy.

+ The result of settlement of this administrative procedure must cover the following contents: project name; name of investor/owner; form of investment; investment objectives; site of construction; project scale; land use area; scope, boundary and scale of land, population of the urban planning area (if any); planning requirements (1- For projects to build concentrated works: land use norms for housing and commercial services; social infrastructure facilities, trees, traffic; land use norms for urban planning for the entire planned area; requirements on organization of architectural space, landscape and environment; requirements on norms and key urban technical infrastructure facilities as the basis for the investor to work out tasks and detailed planning design; 2- For projects to build separate facilities: land use norms for urban planning regarding construction height, land use coefficient, construction density for the land plot; requirements on architecture and environment; requirements on urban technical infrastructure norms and other requirements as the basis for the investor to formulate the work construction investment project); total investment of the project; implementation time and schedule (divided into phases); funding sources; project management and operation plan; investment incentives and supports.

b/ For the procedure of investment registration or verification and grant of investment certificates

- To abolish the procedure of investment registration or verification and grant of investment certificates for land-using investment projects not subject to conditional investment.

- For land-using investment projects subject to conditional investment:

+ To replace the procedure of verification and grant of investment certificates in case of auction of land use rights or bidding for selection of investors to implement land-using investment projects and investors to implement investment projects on land under the use rights of investors with the procedure of investment registration with simple registration contents which only include information on investment projects.

+ To incorporate the approval contents of the procedures of investment registration and verification and grant of investment certificates into the approval contents of the procedure of approving the investment policy to become a uniform administrative procedure for land allocation or lease for implementation of investment projects not through auction or bidding. The result of settlement of this administrative procedure is the investment registration certificate.

c/ For construction planning-related procedures

- Not to require investors to carry out the planning licensing procedure;  contents of the planning license must be shown right in the result of settlement of the procedure of approving the investment policy.

- Based on the result of settlement of the procedure of approving the investment policy, project investors shall elaborate and approve detailed planning tasks as the basis for making plans.

d/ Not requiring investors to submit cadastral map extracts or conduct cadastral measurement of land lots in the course of carrying out administrative procedures for implementation of investment projects. This task rests with natural resources and environment state management agencies in the course of settling administrative procedures for investors;

dd/ Studying and applying the one-stop-shop mechanism in the implementation of the procedure of appraising land use demand and conditions for land allocation and lease, for the procedures of land allocation and lease to investment projects subject to these appraisal procedures;

e/ Studying and providing the bidding procedure for selecting land valuation consultants to provide consultancy within a definite time to shorten the consultant selection time and the time for determination of specific land prices;

g/ Studying and applying a mechanism for coordination between natural resources and environment state management agencies and tax administration agencies in settling land-related administrative procedures for investors, with natural resources and environment state management agencies acting as the focal point for receiving and notifying results to investors;

h/ Not requiring construction licensing for works of investment projects located in areas with approved detailed master plans of 1:500 scale;

i/ For work construction investment projects subject to certification and pre-acceptance inspection of works by different state management agencies, the construction state management agency shall assume the prime responsibility for receiving requests of investors and forming an inter-sectoral work team to make certification and conduct pre-acceptance inspection rather than forming different examination and pre-acceptance inspection teams. The number of examination and pre-acceptance inspections must depend on the size and technical specifications of each work but must not exceed 4  for special-grade works;  3 for grade-I works; and 2 for other works, except for works with quality-related incidents in the course of construction or otherwise requested by investors;

k/ Studying and reviewing production and business requirements and conditions toward step by step removing the requirement on possessing a practice certificate prior to enterprise establishment registration, an operation eligibility certificate or operation license. For cases subject to operation licensing or certification of operation eligibility, promulgating complete and specific policies, criteria, regulations and technical-economic norms as the basis for implementation.

2. To develop, standardize and promulgate the process and detailed provisions on administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects to ensure consistent implementation nationwide toward:

a/ Pending the amendment, supplementation, replacement, annulment or cancellation of related provisions of laws and ordinances for the performance of the tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article, completing and standardizing the process for implementation of administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects according to Appendix I to this Resolution, adhering to the following principles:

- Applying to the utmost the one-stop-shop mechanism which allows investors to go to only one place and submit 1 set of dossier once and receive settlement results from different agencies.

- Permitting the concurrent implementation of different administrative procedures to shorten implementation time for investors.

- Accepting previous results of settlement of administrative procedures to reduce costs for investors in preparing dossiers and papers and meeting requirements and conditions for being considered and settled administrative procedures by state management agencies.

b/ After completing the amendment, supplementation, replacement, annulment or cancellation of related provisions of laws and ordinances for the performance of the tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article, standardizing and uniformly implementing the process for implementation of administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects according to Appendix II to this Resolution;

c/ On the basis of the processes for implementation of administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects provided in Appendices I and II to this Resolution, studying, creating, standardizing, concretizing and publicizing the process of administrative procedures for implementation of particular projects of different sectors.

3. To make public and transparent administrative procedures in investment project implementation:

a/ Properly announcing and publicizing administrative procedures as the basis for organizing their implementation and preventing and limiting corruption and negative practices, focusing on announcement and publicization of administrative procedures in investment project implementation on the national database on administrative procedures and posting up them at head offices of agencies and units directly settling administrative procedures;

b/ Increasingly appling information technology in the receipt and settlement of administrative procedures; publicizing information on the results of settlement of administrative procedures in investment project implementation, particularly cases of and reasons for delayed implementation, on the websites of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees for public supervision.

4. To increase inspection and examination of the implementation of administrative procedures in investment project implementation at administrations of all levels; to strictly and promptly handle cadres, civil servants and public employees committing acts of harassment or failing to implement or improperly implementing regulations on administrative procedures, and agencies and organizations failing to seriously make public and transparent administrative procedures or delaying the revision of unnecessary, unreasonable, unlawful and ineffective regulations on administrative procedures in investment project implementation as directed by competent state agencies or persons.

Article3.Organization of implementation

1. For legal documents to be promulgated by the Government, the Prime Minister, ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies (provided in Appendix III to this Circular):

a/ Within the ambit of their competence, ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall elaborate documents amending, supplementing, replacing, canceling or annulling regulations on administrative procedures according to the  tasks approved under Article 2 of this Resolution for promulgation according to their competence or submission to the Government or the Prime Minister for promulgation before October 15, 2014, prioritizing the promulgation of omnibus legal documents according to the fast-track order and procedure;

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Construction and related ministries and sectors in, promulgating documents on the inter-sectoral process for settlement of administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects for promulgation according to competence or for submission to the Government or the Prime Minister for promulgation before October 15, 2014, according to the tasks approved at Point a, Clause 2, Article 2 of this Resolution. For the tasks specified at Point b, Clause 2, Article 2 of this Resolution, the modification and supplementation of the inter-sectoral process shall be made after the promulgation of relevant laws and ordinances.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall study the incorporation of solutions for reforming administrative procedures approved by the Government under this Resolution into the draft Investment Law (amended) in the process of drafting and finalizing this Law for submission to the National Assembly. For administrative procedures provided in laws or ordinances to be amended and supplemented according to the tasks approved under this Resolution which have not been included in the law- and ordinance-making program, the Minister of Justice is assigned, under the authorization of the Prime Minister and on behalf of the Government, to report before December 31, 2014, to the National Assembly Standing Committee the Government’s proposal for permission to add to the 2015 law- and ordinance-making program the draft laws and ordinances for implementation of the Government-approved solutions to reforming administrative procedures.

3. In the course of implementation, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Construction and related ministries and sectors shall proactively detect and promptly amend, supplement, replace, annul or cancel related regulations under their competence or send to the Ministry of Justice and the Government Office written requests on laws, ordinances, government decrees and prime ministerial decisions which contain administrative procedures that need to be amended, supplemented, replaced, annulled or cancelled in order to perform the tasks of reforming administrative procedures approved by the Government under Article 2 of this Resolution.

4. Pursuant to legal documents promulgated by central agencies for the performance of the tasks specified in Article 2 of this Resolution, provincial-level People’s Committees shall promptly amend, supplement, replace, annul or cancel related provisions of documents under their competence to ensure their implementation when the above legal documents of central agencies take effect.

5. Within the ambit of their state management functions, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall organize the performance of tasks related to the implementation of administrative procedures in the formation and implementation of land-using investment projects approved by the Government under this Resolution; particularly, ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall perform the tasks specified at Point c, Clause 2, Article 2 of this Resolution as the basis for announcement, publicity and uniform implementation nationwide.

6. The Ministry of Justice shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities in, examining and urging the implementation and summarizing problems of related ministries, sectors and localities for prompt reporting to the Prime Minister for settlement in the performance of the tasks approved by the Government under this Resolution; and preliminarily review and report on the situation and results of performance of the tasks assigned under this Resolution to the Government at the end of 2016.

7. The Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities in, evaluating the implementation of this Resolution.

Article 4.Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall prioritize the allocation of funds to ensure the fulfillment of the tasks assigned under this Resolution. The Ministry of Finance shall balance and ensure sufficient state budget funds for the performance of the tasks provided in this Resolution.

In addition to regular budget funds, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees may mobilize financial resources in accordance with law to support the performance of the tasks provided in this Resolution.

Article 5.This Resolution takes effect on the date of its signing.

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

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG

Note: All the appendices to this Resolution are not translated.