Establish a company in Vietnam providing waste collection services

Waste management, collection and treatment not only reduce pollution impacts on the environment but also create jobs for workers. Recycled waste creates useful products, increasing surplus value for the economy. Vietnam encourages enterprises to invest in the field of waste collection, including both Vietnamese capital and foreign investment capital. Viet An Law summarizes regulations related to the establishment of foreign-invested companies providing waste collection services.

Legal basis

• WTO, AFAS, VJEPA, VKFTA, EVFTA, CPTPP;
• Law on Environmental Protection 2020.
• Decree 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022 detailing a number of articles of the Law on Environmental Protection.

Conditions for market access to establish a company in Vietnam providing waste collection services

Conditions for market access when establishing a foreign-invested company for wastewater treatment services (CPC 9401)

• No restrictions, except: services provided to exercise Government powers may be vested in public monopolies or reserved for private operators.
• For national security reasons, access to some geographical areas may be restricted.

Conditions for market access when establishing a foreign-invested company for waste treatment services (CPC 9402)

• Affirms that services provided to exercise Government powers may be vested in public monopolies or reserved for private operators.
• In order to ensure public welfare, foreign-invested economic organizations are not allowed to collect garbage directly from households, only provide waste collection services provided by local governments at the provincial and municipal levels. designated street.

Requirement on capital contribution ratio when establishing a company in Vietnam providing waste collection services

Currently, restrictions on the form and percentage of foreign capital contribution when establishing or contributing capital to establish a foreign-invested waste collection company have expired. Accordingly, foreign investors can contribute capital from 1% to 100% in the company.

Procedures for establishing a foreign-invested company providing waste collection and treatment services

Step 01: Apply for an Investment Registration Certificate for a foreign-invested company

If the projects do not use land (without direct land lease from the state) that do not use technologies on the list of restricted transfers), the procedures for approval of investment policies are not required. Foreign investors carry out the procedures for applying for an Investment Registration Certificate.

Dossier for issuance of Investment Registration Certificate to a foreign-invested company:

• A written request for implementation of an investment project;
• Documents on investor’s legal status
  • For individual investors: Copy of citizen indentification card, ID card or passport
  • For institutional investors: copy of Certificate of Establishment or other equivalent document certifying legal status;
• The investment project proposal includes the following contents: investor implementing the project, investment objectives, investment scale, investment capital and capital mobilization plan, location, duration, and investment schedule. , demand for labor, proposal for investment incentives, assessment of the project’s socio-economic impact and efficiency;
• Copy of one of the following documents:
  • The investor’s financial statements for the last 2 years;
  • Commitment to financial support of the parent company;
  • Commitment to financial support of financial institutions;
  • Guarantee on the financial capacity of the investor;
  • Documents explaining the financial capacity of the investor;
• Proposing land use needs; In case the project does not request the State to allocate or lease land or permit the change of land use purpose, a copy of the location lease agreement or other document certifying that the investor has the right to use the site for implementating current investment project;
• The explanation on the use of technology includes the following contents: technology name, technology origin, technological process diagram; Main technical parameters, usage status of main machinery, equipment and technological lines for projects using technologies on the List of technologies restricted from transfer;
• BCC contract for investment projects in the form of BCC contract.

The agency that submits the application for the Investment Registration Certificate to the company with 100% foreign capital at the investment registration agency

• If the company is located in an industrial park, it is the Management Board of industrial parks.
• If the company is located outside the industrial park, it is the Department of External Economic Relations – Provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

Step 02: Establish a business and issue an enterprise registration certificate

After obtaining the investment registration certificate, investors need to prepare documents to set up a business.

Dossier of establishment of a foreign-invested company:

• Enterprise registration application form;
• Company charter;
• List of members/shareholders;
• Copies of the following papers: Citizen identification cards, ID cards, Passports or other lawful personal identification of members being individuals;
• The establishment decision, the enterprise registration certificate or other equivalent documents of the organization and the power of attorney; Citizen’s identity card, people’s identity card, passport or other lawful personal identification of the authorized representative of the member being an organization;
• For a member being a foreign organization, a copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate or an equivalent document must be consularly legalized;
• Investment registration certificate for foreign investors in accordance with the Law on Investment.

The agency that submits the application for an enterprise registration certificate to a company with 100% foreign capital

Business registration agency – Provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

Time to grant Enterprise Registration Certificate for companies with 100% foreign capital: 05 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents

Step 03: Publication the statement of establishment of a foreign-invested company

After an enterprise is granted an enterprise registration certificate, it must make a public announcement on the national business registration portal according to the order and procedures and pay fees as prescribed.

The content to be announced includes the contents of the Business Registration Certificate and the following information:

• Business lines;
• List of founding shareholders and shareholders being foreign investors for joint-stock companies.

Executing agency: Reporting division of the Business Registration Authority – Provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

Step 04: Engrave the seal of the foreign-invested company

After obtaining the Enterprise Registration Certificate and having posted the enterprise establishment statement. The enterprise conducts seal engraving at one of the licensed seal engraving units. Enterprises decide by themselves the number and form of seals within the scope permitted by law.

Step 05: Apply for the License to qualify for waste collection and treatment service business

Enterprises need to carry out procedures to apply for an environmental licenses to record the business of waste collection and treatment services.

In order to be eligible for a license, the report on the proposal for an environmental license must include a number of important contents as follows:

• General information about the investment project
• Conformity of the investment project with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity (if any)
• Results of completion of environmental protection works and measures: works and equipment for collecting and treating wastewater, dust and emissions; works for storing and treating normal industrial solid waste, domestic solid waste and hazardous waste; works for environmental emergency prevention and response and other environmental protection works.
• Plan, schedule and result of implementation of the environmental remediation and improvement, biodiversity offsets scheme (if any)
• Proposal for change(s) to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result (if any) enclosed with environmental impacts of such change(s).
• Sources of waste generation
• Plan and expected time for trial operation enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to evaluate efficiency of the waste treatment work
• Proposed contents of waste monitoring (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any).

Customers wishing to establish a company in Vietnam providing waste collection services, provide legal advice during the implementation of an investment project in Vietnam, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best support!