[ingodirectors] IMPORTANT: Summary of Decree 12

Tue Jun 12 10:34:21 BST 2012

--- please note the deadline in the 4th section: PROCEDURES ---

Dear INGO colleagues:

On the 1st of March 2012 the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 
12/2012/ND-CP on registration and administration of foreign 
non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Vietnam. This decree came into 
effect on the 1st of June 2012, thus replacing Decision 340/TTg from 
1996. The Committee for Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations (COMINGO) 
organized two dissemination meetings on Decree 12/2012/ND-CP in Ho Chi 
Minh City (April 20) and Hanoi (May 18). For those of you who were not 
able to join any of these meetings our team has prepared a summary of 
the main points, which were discussed during the meetings. Please note 
that we have tried to highlight the main issues and the changes in the 
new decree. However, I encourage you to read the full document 
(attached) for accuracy.

PURPOSE
The new Decree 12/2012/ND-CP (Decree 12) has been under review for the 
past 5 years. It replaces a 16-year-old Decision 340/TTg in order to 
improve the legal environment for the humanitarian and development 
operations of INGOs in Vietnam.

TERMINOLOGY
The old 'Permits' have been replaced by new 'Certificates of 
Registrations' -- reflecting the fact that INGOs came to Vietnam to 
help. The Certificates of Registrations will be issued for all three 
types of an INGO's status: a) Operations; b) Project Office; and c) 
Representative Office. The Government of Vietnam has emphasized that it 
is not a matter of 'permitting' INGOs to do their job -- rather to 
'register' their presence.

DURATION
The duration of the Project Certificate of Registration and the 
Representative Office Certificate of Registration has been extended to 
five (5) years; while the duration of the Operations Certificate of 
Registration has been extended to three (3) years. Representative Office 
status has been made available to INGOs also based in Ho Chi Minh City 
and Da Nang -- in addition to INGOs based in Hanoi. The only difference 
between the Project Office and Representative Office is with regard to 
privileges, such as importation of vehicles and/or office equipment free 
of tax.

PROCEDURES
Upon receipt of valid and complete application documents COMINGO will 
respond within 45 working days to INGOs' applications for registration. 
The deadline to respond to INGOs' applications for extensions, 
supplements and amendments will be within 30 working days. INGOs with 
valid 'Permits' (Operations, Project and Representative Office) do not 
have to re-apply for 'Certificates of Registrations'. They have 80 days 
left to provide supplemental documents to COMINGO and their 
'Certificates of Registrations' will be automatically released. The 
required supplemental documents may include: INGOs' consular-legalized 
Statutes in Vietnam; consular-legalized documents declaring INGOs' legal 
status in their home countries; consular-legalized judicial records of 
INGOs' directors/heads. Consular legalization may be obtained through 
INGOs' own consulates or embassies; but also through the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs. Procedures may differ from country to country. The 
deadline is the 31st of August 2012.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Rights and obligations of INGOs, Vietnamese ministries, provincial 
authorities, partner agencies, COMINGO (and its members) are clearly 
stated in the Decree 12. The main point of contact for INGOs' 
applications will remain COMINGO. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will 
be responsible for granting, extension, supplement, amendment and 
withdrawal of INGOs' Certificates of Registration. INGOs will not be 
required to register their operations with provincial authorities. 
However, some activities (e.g. extension of INGOs' project areas) will 
require local authorities' agreements and close involvement. PACCOM has 
contacts in every province/city and will continue to facilitate fruitful 
long-term collaboration between INGOs and provinces/cities.

REPORTING
INGOs will be responsible to prepare written reports on their operations 
in Vietnam every six months and submit them to COMINGO, with a copy to 
the relevant People’s Committee where they conduct activities.

PIT
The Personal Income Tax on INGO expatriate representatives, staff and 
specialists will be subject to Vietnamese legal regulations/documents. 
Please refer to Chapter 1, Article 4 of the Law on Personal Income Tax, 
which came into effect on the 1st of January 2009 (attached). All INGOs 
with Representative Office status are exempt provided that it is 
declared in their Memoranda of Understanding. Those INGOs with Project 
Office status and those applying for the Certificate of Registration of 
Operations should include a clause on PIT exemption when signing their 
Memoranda of Understanding.

WORK PERMITS
Foreign INGO directors/heads are exempt from the Work Permit 
requirement. However, all other expatriate staff working for INGOs are 
obliged to visit the Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social 
Affairs (DOLISA) in the province where their office is located, and 
register for Work Permits. Short-term volunteers - up to 3 months - 
should be able to stay in Vietnam without Work Permits, while long-term 
volunteers are obliged to follow the same procedure as full-time paid 
expatriates. The Government of Vietnam will release an additional 
circular - in English - to clarify these issues further.

FUNDRAISING
Fund-raising is not covered in the Decree 12 on the assumption that 
INGOs operating in Vietnam raise their funds outside of Vietnam. The 
Government of Vietnam will focus more on the issue of fund-raising in 
the coming years with the increasing involvement of Public Private 
Partnerships.

DOCUMENTS
The official English translation of Decree 12 - still awaited - will be 
published in the National Gazette. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
COMINGO are preparing a guiding circular of Decree 12, which will be 
shared with INGOs when it is released. In the meantime, please refer to 
the following documents:

1. Official VIETNAMESE version of the Decree 12, signed by the Prime 
Minister (click here):

http://vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban?class_id=1&_page=1&mode=detail&document_id=155650

(Word file can be downloaded by clicking the attachment icon at the 
bottom of the web-page)

2. Unofficial ENGLISH version of the Decree 12 (attached to this email)

3. The Law on Personal Income Tax effective as of the 1st January 2009 
(attached to this email)

Kind regards,

Marko

-- 
Marko Lovrekovic, Managing Co-Director
VUFO-NGO Resource Centre
La Thanh Hotel, 218  Doi Can
Hanoi, Vietnam
Phone: +84 4 3832 8570
Mobile: +84 904 191 871
Email: director at ngocentre.org.vn
Web: http://www.ngocentre.org.vn/

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