International Postal License in Vietnam: Process and Guidance
With open market policies, the Vietnamese economy has made continuous progress, increasingly integrating deeply with the world economy. Postal license services, as a sector of infrastructure, have contributed significantly to meeting the growing needs of the economy, contributing to improving the quality of life for people, and domestic, regional, and international trade. Many Vietnamese enterprises invest in the postal sector, expanding to international postal services, especially for international scope. However, these postal services are conditional business lines under Vietnamese law. Accordingly, after being granted an Enterprise Registration Certificate, enterprises wishing to conduct postal services business must carry out procedures for granting an International Postal License in Vietnam (abbreviated as Postal License). Only when being granted a Postal License can enterprises legally conduct postal services business.
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Legal basis
Postal Law 2010;
Decree No. 47/2011/ND-CP detailing the Postal Law.
Decree 25/2022/ND-CP Decree amending and supplementing several articles of Decree No. 47/2011/ND-CP dated June 17, 2011 of the Government detailing the Postal Law.
Circular amending and supplementing several articles of Circular 219/2016-TT-BTC dated November 15, 2016, regulating collection rates, collection, payment, and management regimes for fees for assessing postal operating conditions.
Enterprises operating in the following fields need to apply for a postal license:
Pursuant to the Postal Law 2010, “Postal service means a service of accepting, transmitting and delivering postal articles by various modes other than electronic ones from the place of the sender to the place of the recipient through the post network”. Thus, some postal service provision activities include:
Postal collection and acceptance activities: Receiving postal items or collecting orders and then cooperating with large delivery units.
Postal transportation activities: the use of specialized vehicles to transport postal items from the collection and acceptance unit to the location of the delivery unit.
Postal delivery activities: postal items will be divided, selected, and classified from the shipping unit to the recipient’s hands.
Types of postal licenses in Vietnam
Depending on the purpose and scope of operation, postal licenses include the following types:
Intra-provincial postal license:
Granted to enterprises providing postal services in one province or centrally-run city or more.
Interprovincial postal license:
Granted to enterprises that meet the conditions for doing business in postal services within the scope between provinces and cities.
International Postal License:
This license includes Outbound, Inbound, and bi-directional international postal service business. Applicable if the enterprise conducts postal and express delivery activities internationally.
Conditions for granting International Postal License in Vietnam
Have a postal services business license or a certificate of investment in the postal sector;
Have financial and human resources capacity suitable for the business plan according to the content of the request for a license;
Have a feasible business plan by regulations on postal service prices and quality;
Have measures to ensure information security and safety for people, postal items, and the postal network.
Fees for granting International Postal License in Vietnam
Direct postal license fee, working time 30 days
Outbound International: 29,500,000 VND
Inbound International: 34,500,000 VND
Bi-directional international: 39,500,000 VND
Dossiers are submitted directly to the headquarters of the Postal Department – Ministry of Information and Communications.
Online postal license fee, working time 30 days
Outbound International: 29,500,000 VND
Inbound International: 34,500,000 VND
Bi-directional international: 39,500,000 VND
Components of the dossier for an International Postal License in Vietnam
Application for postal license.
A copy of the postal services business license or the certificate of investment in postal activities in Vietnam, stamped and confirmed by the enterprise itself, and the enterprise is responsible for the accuracy of the copy.
Charter of organization and operation of the enterprise, if any
Business plan
Sample contract for provision and use of postal services by the provisions of the Postal Law services.
Logos, trademarks, special symbols, or elements of the business’s identification system shown on postal items (if any)
Postal service price list by Postal Law regulations
Postal service quality standards announced and applied by Postal Law regulations.
Regulations on the limit of liability for compensation for damages in case of damage, the process for handling customer complaints, and the time limit for handling complaints by the provisions of the Postal Law services.
Agreement with other enterprises, and foreign partners in Vietnamese, in case of cooperation in providing one, some, or all stages of the postal service for which a license is requested; (01 original and 02 copies)
Documents on the legal status of foreign partners that have been consular legalized; (01 original and 02 copies)
Business plan, including the following main contents:
Information about the enterprise includes name, address, telephone number, fax number, email address of the transaction office, representative office, branch, website of the enterprise (if any), and other related information;
Expected service provision area;
Service management and operation systems and methods;
Service delivery process includes acceptance, transportation, and delivery process;
The method of providing services is organized by the enterprise itself or in cooperation with other enterprises to provide services (in case of cooperation with other enterprises, the enterprise requesting the issuance of a postal license must present in detail the scope of cooperation, coordination in ensuring safety, security, handling complaints and compensating for damages to service users);
Measures to ensure safety for people, postal items, postal networks, and information security in postal activities.
Procedures for applying for an International Postal License
The company prepares (01) set of the dossier as instructed in the above section to the Ministry of Information and Communications online at: http://dichvucong.mic.gov.vn/
Submit hard copy when requested by competent authority.
Payment time: Once the dossier is valid, the system will notify the company to pay the fee.
Time execution: 20 working days. However, the application for an International Postal License is a complicated one. Therefore, amending the application is inevitable. Normally, it takes 2-3 months for the business to complete the procedure.
Note when submitting dossier via the system <http://dichvucong.mic.gov.vn/>: The company must use a digital signature (the company’s tax declaration digital signature) to register an account and sign documents. Each company can only create 1 unique account. The registered phone number and email must not be the same as previously registered accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions about applying for an International Postal License.
What documents do foreign partners need to provide? What are the document requirements?
Foreign partners must provide a notarized copy of the Consular legalization, a notarized translation into Vietnamese, including the Business Certificate, and the Cooperation Contract/Memorandum of Understanding or Contract for using postal services.
After obtaining the International Postal License, can the company follow customs procedures on behalf of customers?
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 15 of the Postal Law:
“International postal service providers may carry out, on behalf of postal service users, procedures for importing or exporting postal articles when acting as lawful representatives of these users.”.
Therefore, the company (with an International Postal License) is authorized to carry out customs procedures (export and import procedures for postal items) on behalf of customers.
Can a company apply for both an International Postal License and an Interprovincial postal license?
The Company can carry out both procedures at the same time. However, the Appraisal fee will be added together with the Fee for granting International and Interprovincial postal licenses.
Duration of license
Depending on business needs, enterprises can choose the term recorded on the license, but not more than 10 years.
Note: If the business stops providing postal services before the license expires, it is recommended to return the license to avoid unnecessary procedures such as reporting, inspection, and postal operations examination.
Can postal vehicles run on restricted streets?
Regulations on postal vehicles are applied differently by each locality. The company needs to check the regulations of each locality. Particularly in Hanoi, postal vehicles are given priority to run on prohibited streets and prohibited hours according to the regulations in Decision 06/2013/QD-UBND of the Hanoi People’s Committee on promulgating regulations on the operation of means of transport in Hanoi.
Some regulations on administrative sanctions regarding postal licenses
Under Decree 14/2022/ND-CP amending and supplementing several articles of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP dated February 3, 2020, of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions for violations in the fields of the post, telecommunications, radio frequencies, information technology, and electronic transactions and Decree No. 119/2020/ND-CP dated October 7, 2020, of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions for violations in press and publishing activities.
A fine of 3,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND shall be imposed for the act of notifying the competent state agency of postal services incorrectly when there are changes compared to the application for a Postal license as prescribed by law.
A fine of 5,000,000 VND to 7,000,000 VND shall be imposed for failure to notify the competent state postal agency of any changes to the application for a Postal license as prescribed by law.
A fine of from 7,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
Providing postal services not in accordance with the content stated in the license;
Erasing or correcting the content of the Postal license;
Not ensuring the minimum capital level as prescribed by law.
A fine of from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
Providing postal services without a license from a competent state postal agency;
Buying, selling, and mortgaging Postal licenses;
Leasing or lending postal licenses; illegally transferring postal licenses.
Additional sanctions:
Suspension of the right to use the Postal license from 01 month to 03 months
Suspension of operations from 01 month to 03 months
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