What is Business Lines in Vietnam? Prohibited and Conditional Business Lines for Foreign Investors
Choose Right Business Lines
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Business lines are key details that investors must register with Vietnamese authorities before starting a company or investment project. Essentially, a company can only operate within its registered business lines. Not doing so can result in fines, penalties, and other legal consequences.
In this insight, we’ll help you understand what business lines are in Vietnam, the prohibited and conditional ones for foreign investors, and how to choose the right business lines to ensure a smooth operation for your company.
What is Business Lines in Vietnam?
Business Lines or Line of Business (LOB) refers to the range of products or services a company provides. For instance, a business that manufactures smartphones might describe its LOB as mobile technology.
Prohibited Business Lines for both Vietnamese Citizens and Non-Vietnamese Citizens
According to Article 6 of Law on Investment No. 61/2020/QH14, the following business investment activities are prohibited with both Vietnamese Citizens and Foreigners:
- Trade in narcotic substances
- Trade in chemicals and minerals
- Trade in specimens of wild fauna and flora species which are exploited from the nature; specimens of endangered, precious and rare forest fauna and flora species and aquatic species, which are exploited from the nature;
- Prostitution;
- Trafficking in humans or human tissues, corpses, organs or fetuses;
- Business activities related to human cloning;
- Trade in firecrackers;
- Provision of debt collection services.
Conditional Business Lines for both Vietnamese Citizens and Non-Vietnamese Citizens
Sectors and trades with conditional business investments are those where business activities must meet certain requirements due to factors like national defense, public order, social ethics, or community welfare.
To carry out these business activities, investors must obtain approriate suitable licenses, certificates (“Giấy chứng nhận”), certificate of eligibility (“Chứng chỉ”), written certification and approval.
List of Conditional Business Lines for both Vietnamese and Non-Vietnamese Citizens includes:
- Making seals
- Trading in supporting tools (including also repair thereof)
- Trading in assorted fireworks, except firecrackers
- Trading in camouflage equipment and software used for sound recording, image recording and positioning
- Trading in paintball guns
- Trading in military equipment for armed forces, military weapons, equipment and devices, techniques, ammunition and vehicles exclusively used for military and public security forces; components; spare parts, accessories, supplies and special-type equipment, and specialized technologies for manufacture thereof
- Provision of pawn services
- Provision of massage services
- Trading in signaling devices of priority vehicles
- Provision of security services
- Provision of fire prevention and fighting services
- Law practice
- Notarial practice
- Judicial assessment practice in the fields of finance, banking, construction, antiques, relics and copyright
- Property auction practice
- Bailiff profession practice
- Practice of management and liquidation of assets of enterprises and cooperatives during the process of bankruptcy settlement
- Provision of accounting services
- Provision of auditing services
- Provision of tax procedure performance services
- Provision of customs clearance services
- Trading in duty-free goods
- Commercial operation of bonded warehouses and container freight stations
- Commercial operation of places for customs clearance, goods gathering and customs inspection and supervision
- Securities trading
- Provision of securities registration, depository, clearing and payment services by the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation or organization of exchanges for listed securities and securities of other types
- Insurance business
- Reinsurance business
- Insurance brokerage and ancillary insurance activities
- Insurance agency
- Provision of price appraisal services
- Lottery business
- Business of prize-winning electronic games for foreigners
- Provision of credit rating services
- Casino business
- Betting business
- Provision of voluntary pension fund management services
- Petrol and oil trading
- Gas trading
- Provision of commercial assessment services
- Trading in industrial explosives (including also destruction thereof)
- Trading in explosive precursors
- Dealing in sectors and trades involving the use of industrial explosives and explosive precursors
- Provision of blasting services
- Trading in chemicals, except those banned under the International Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction
- Liquor trading
- Trading in tobacco products, tobacco materials or machinery and equipment of the tobacco industry
- Trading in food subject to specialized management by the Ministry of Industry and Trade
- Operation of goods exchanges
- Electricity generation, transmission, distribution, wholesale and retail activities and provision of electrical consultancy services
- Rice export
- Temporary import for re-export of excise tax-liable goods
- Temporary import for re-export of frozen food
- Temporary import for re-export of goods on the List of used goods
- Trading in minerals
- Trading in industrial precursors
- Goods purchase and sale activities and related activities of foreign service providers in Vietnam
- Multi-level marketing
- E-commerce activities
- Petroleum activities
- Energy auditing
- Vocational education activities
- Quality inspection of vocational education
- Provision of occupational skill assessment services
- Provision of occupational safety-related technical inspection services
- Provision of occupational safety and health-related training services
- Provision of employment services
- Provision of the service of sending guest workers
- Provision of services related to voluntary drug rehabilitation, smoking cessation, HIV/AIDS treatment, and care of the elderly, people with disabilities and children
- Provision of labor outsourcing services
- Road transport business
- Provision of car warranty and maintenance services
- Car manufacture, assembly and import
- Provision of motor vehicle inspection services
- Provision of car driver training services
- Provision of traffic safety inspector training services
- Provision of driver testing services
- Provision of traffic safety inspection services
- Waterway transport business
- Provision of inland waterway craft building, conversion, repair and restoration services
- Provision of inland waterway craft crewmember and operator training services
- Maritime crewmember training, recruitment and supply
- Provision of maritime safety assurance services
- Ocean shipping business
- Provision of ship towage services
- Import and demolition of used ships
- Provision of ship building, conversion and repair services
- Commercial operation of seaports
- Air transport business
- Provision of services of designing, manufacturing, maintaining and testing aircraft, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers and aircraft equipment and devices in Vietnam
- Commercial operation of airports and aerodromes
- Provision of aviation services at airports and aerodromes
- Provision of flight assurance services
- Provision of aviation staff training services
- Railway transport business
- Commercial operation of railway infrastructure facilities
- Commercial operation of urban railways
- Provision of multimodal transport services
- Provision of hazardous cargo transport services
- Pipeline transport business
- Real estate business
- Clean water (domestic water) trading
- Provision of architectural services
- Provision of construction investment project management consultancy services
- Provision of construction surveying services
- Provision of construction designing and construction design verification services
- Provision of work construction supervision consultancy services
- Provision of work construction services
- Construction activities of foreign contractors
- Provision of construction investment cost management services
- Provision of construction inspection services
- Provision of specialized construction testing services
- Provision of condominium operation management services
- Provision of crematory management and operation services
- Provision of construction master plan-designing services
- Trading in white asbestos products of the Serpentine sub-group
- Provision of postal services
- Provision of telecommunications services
- Provision of digital signature certification services
- Operation of publishing houses
- Provision of printing services, except printing of packings
- Provision of publication distribution services
- Provision of social networking services
- Gaming services in telecommunications networks and the Internet
- Provision of pay radio and television services
- Provision of website development services
- Services of processing, recycling, repair or renewal of used information technology products on the List of used information technology products banned from import for foreign partners
- Provision of information content services in mobile telecommunications networks and the Internet
- Provision of domain name registration and maintenance services
- Provision of data center services
- Provision of electronic identification and authentication services
- Trading in or provision of cyberinformation security products and services
- Provision of imported newspaper distribution services
- Trading in or provision of civil cryptography products and services
- Trading in mobile phone jammers
- Operation of early childhood education institutions
- Operation of general education institutions
- Operation of higher education institutions
- Operation of foreign-invested educational institutions, representative offices of foreign educational institutions in Vietnam, and branches of foreign-invested educational institutions
- Operation of continuing education institutions
- Operation of specialized schools
- Joint training with foreign partners
- Educational quality inspection
- Provision of overseas study counseling services
- Fishing
- Trading in aquatic products
- Trading in aquatic feeds and animal feeds
- Provision of aquatic feed and animal feed testing services
- Trading in bio-preparations, microorganisms, chemicals and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry
- Fishing ship building and conversion business
- Fishing ship registration and inspection
- Training and further training of fishing ships’ crewmembers
- Breeding and planting of wild fauna or flora species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
- Breeding of common forest animals
- Export, import, re-export, transit, and introduction from the sea of specimens from the nature of the species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
- Export, import and re-export of specimens of bred or reared animals or artificially propagated plants of the species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
- Processing, trading, transport, advertising, display and storage of specimens of the fauna and flora species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
- Trading in pesticides
- Provision of the service of treatment of objects subject to plant quarantine
- Provision of pesticide testing services
- Provision of plant protection services
- Trading in veterinary drugs, vaccines, bio-preparations, microorganisms and chemicals for use in animal health
- Provision of animal health-related technical services
- Provision of animal testing and surgery services
- Provision of vaccination, diagnosis, prescription, cure and heathcare services for animals
- Provision of experiment and testing services for veterinary drugs (including veterinary drugs, veterinary drugs for aquatic animals, vaccines, bio-preparations, microorganisms and chemicals for use in animal health and aquatic animal health)
- Trading in farm-based animal husbandry
- Trading in cattle and poultry slaughtering
- Trading in food subject to specialized management by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Provision of animal and animal product isolation and quarantine services
- Fertilizer trading
- Provision of fertilizer testing services
- Trading in plant varieties and animal breeds
- Trading in aquatic breeds
- Provision of plant variety and animal breed testing services
- Provision of aquatic breed testing services
- Provision of experiment and testing services for bio-preparations, microorganisms, chemicals and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry
- Trading in genetically modified products
- Provision of medical examination and treatment services
- Provision of cosmetic surgery services
- Pharmacy business
- Cosmetics production
- Trading in insecticidal and germicidal chemicals and preparations for household and medical use
- Trading in medical equipment and devices
- Provision of intellectual property-related assessment services (including assessment of copyright and related rights, industrial property assessment and assessment of rights to plant varieties)
- Provision of the service of performance of radiation jobs
- Provision of atomic energy application support services
- Provision of conformity assessment services
- Provision of services of inspection, calibration and testing of measuring devices and measurement standards
- Provision of technology assessment, price appraisal and assessment services
- Provision of intellectual property rights representation services (including industrial property representation services and representation services of rights to plant varieties)
- Provision of film distribution and dissemination services
- Provision of antique assessment services
- Provision of services of formulation of master plans, and construction organization and supervision for, projects on preservation, embellishment and restoration of relics
- Provision of karaoke or discotheque services
- Provision of travel services
- Dealing in sports activities of sports enterprises and professional sports clubs
- Provision of art performance, fashion show, and beauty or model contest organization services
- Dealing in phonograms or video recordings of songs, dances and dramas
- Provision of accommodation services
- Purchase and sale of national relics, antiques and treasures
- Export of relics and antiques not under ownership of the State or ownership of political organizations or socio-political organizations; import of cultural goods subject to specialized management by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
- Provision of museum services
- Dealing in electronic games (except prize-winning electronic games for foreigners and online prize-winning electronic games)
- Provision of land survey and valuation consultancy services
- Provision of land use master plan and plan formulation services
- Provision of services of construction of information technology technical infrastructure and development of software of land information systems
- Provision of land database development services
- Provision of land valuation services
- Provision of survey and mapping services
- Provision of hydrometeorological forecasting and warning services
- Provision of groundwater drilling and exploration services
- Provision of services of exploiting and using water resources, and discharging wastewater into water sources
- Provision of services of baseline surveys and consultancy for formulation of master plans, schemes and reports on water resources
- Provision of mineral exploration services
- Mineral mining
- Provision of hazardous waste transport and treatment services
- Scrap import
- Provision of environmental monitoring services
- Business operations of commercial banks
- Business operations of non-bank credit institutions
- Business operations of cooperative banks, people’s credit funds and microfinance institutions
- Provision of intermediary payment services and payment services without using customers’ payment accounts
- Provision of credit information services
- Business operations of, and provision of foreign exchange services by, non-credit institutions
- Gold trading
- Banknote printing and coin minting
Prohibited Business Lines in Vietnam for Foreign Investors
Based on Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), Bilateral Trade Treaties (BTTs), and Multilateral Agreements that Vietnam has signed with other countries, the government publishes a list of sectors and trades where foreign investors face market access restrictions. This includes sectors and trades where market access is prohibited for foreign investors (Prohibited Business Lines) and those where access is allowed but under certain conditions (Conditional Business Lines).
>> Read more: Center for WTO and International Trade – Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry
The list of Prohibited Business Lines in Vietnam for foreign investors includes:
- Trading in goods and services on the list of goods and services subject to state monopoly in the field of commerce.
- Press activities and collection of news in all forms.
- Fishing or marine resource exploitation.
- Investigation and security services.
- Judicial administrative services, including judicial expertise services, bailiff services, property auction services, notarization services, and asset administrator services.
- Service of sending guest workers abroad.
- Investment in building infrastructure of cemeteries and graveyards for the purpose of transferring land use rights combined with infrastructure.
- Direct collection of garbage from households.
- Public survey service (opinion poll).
- Blasting service.
- Production of and trading in weapons, explosive materials, and supporting tools.
- Import and demolition of used seagoing vessels.
- Public-utility postal services.
- Border-gate transfer of goods.
- Temporary import for re-export.
- Exercise of the rights to import, export, and distribute goods on the list of goods that foreign investors and foreign-invested economic organizations may not exercise the rights to export, import, and distribute.
- Collection, purchase, and handling of public assets at armed forces units.
- Production of military materials or equipment; trading in military equipment and supplies for the armed forces, military weapons, equipment, techniques, ammunitions, specialized military and police vehicles, components, spare parts, supplies and special equipment, and specialized technologies for manufacturing thereof.
- Provision of industrial property representation and intellectual property examination services.
- Services of establishment, operation, sustainment, and maintenance of navigational signals, water zones, waters, public navigational channels, and navigational routes; services of surveying water zones, waters, public navigational channels, and navigational routes serving the publication of marine notices; services of surveying, drawing up, and publishing charts of waters, seaports, navigational channels and routes; compilation and distribution of maritime safety documents and publications.
- Regulatory services to ensure maritime safety in water zones, waters, and public navigational channels; maritime electronic information services.
- Services of inspection (examination and testing) and grant of certificates for means of transport (including systems, assemblies, equipment, and components of means of transport); inspection and grant of technical safety and environmental protection certificates for special-use vehicles and equipment, containers, dangerous goods packaging equipment used in transportation; inspection and grant of technical safety and environmental protection certificates for means and equipment for oil and gas exploration, exploitation, and transportation at sea; technical inspection of occupational safety for machinery and equipment that are subject to strict requirements on occupational safety and installed on means of transport and means and equipment for oil and gas exploration, exploitation, and transportation at sea; and fishing vessel registration.
- Services of investigation, assessment, and exploitation of natural forests (including logging, hunting, trapping of rare and precious wild animals, management of genetic resources of plants, domestic animals, and microorganisms used in agriculture).
- Research or use of genetic resources of new livestock breeds before they are appraised and evaluated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
- Provision of travel services, except for international travel services serving inbound international tourists.
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Conditional Business Lines
To carry out these business activities, foreign investors must obtain approriate suitable licenses, certificates (“Giấy chứng nhận”), certificate of eligibility (“Chứng chỉ”), written certification and approval.
The list of Conditional Business Lines in Vietnam for foreign investors includes:
- Production and distribution of cultural products, including video recordings.
- Production, distribution, and broadcasting of TV programs, music and dance works, stage performances, and cinematographic works.
- Provision of radio and television broadcasting services.
- Insurance; banking, securities trading, and services related thereto.
- Post and telecommunications services.
- Advertising services.
- Printing and publication distribution services.
- Geodetic and cartographic services.
- Aerial photography services.
- Education services.
- Survey, exploitation, and processing of natural resources, minerals, and oil and gas.
- Hydropower, offshore wind power, and nuclear power.
- Transportation of goods and passengers by rail, air, road, river, sea, and pipeline.
- Aquaculture.
- Forestry and hunting.
- Betting and casino business.
- Security services.
- Construction, operation, and management of river ports, seaports, and airports.
- Real estate business.
- Legal services.
- Animal health services.
- Trade in goods and activities directly related to trade in goods of foreign service providers in Vietnam.
- Technical inspection and analysis services.
- Tourism services.
- Health and social services.
- Sports and entertainment services.
- Paper production.
- Manufacture of vehicles with more than 29 seats.
- Development and operation of traditional marketplaces.
- Operation of goods exchanges.
- Inland less-than-container-load (LCL) services.
- Audit, accounting, book-keeping, and tax services.
- Valuation services; enterprise valuation consultation for equitization.
- Services related to agriculture, forestry, and fishery.
- Production and manufacture of aircraft.
- Production and manufacture of locomotives and railway carriages.
- Production of and trading in cigarettes, tobacco materials, machinery, and equipment of the tobacco industry.
- Operations of publishing houses.
- Building and repair of seagoing vessels.
- Waste collection and environmental monitoring services.
- Commercial arbitration and arbitration mediation services.
- Logistics services.
- Coastal transport services.
- Cultivation, manufacture, or processing of precious and rare plants; rearing and breeding of precious and rare wild animals; and processing and disposal thereof, including live animals and products made thereof.
- Production of building materials.
- Construction and relevant technical services.
- Motorcycle assembly.
- Services related to sports, fine arts, performing arts, fashion shows, beauty and model contests, and other entertainment activities.
- Auxiliary services for air transport; ground technical services at airports and airfields; inflight catering services; communication, navigation and surveillance services, and aviation meteorological services.
- Shipping agency services; ship towage services.
- Services related to cultural heritages, copyright and related rights, photography, video recording, audio recording, art exhibitions, festivals, libraries, and museums.
- Tourism promotion and advertising services.
- Representation, recruitment agency, and booking and management services for artists and athletes.
- Family-related services.
- E-commerce activities.
- Cemetery business, cemetery services, and funeral services.
- Aerial seeding and chemical spraying services.
- Maritime pilotage services.
- Investment sectors and trades under pilot mechanisms applied by the National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee, Government, and Prime Minister.
References
1. Business Information Portal of Ho Chi Minh City DPI (in Vietnamese):
Website: https://doanhnghiep.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/ThuTucHanhChinh
2. National Business Registration Portal (in English):
Website: https://dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn/en/Pages/default.aspx
3. National Investment Information Portal (in Vietnamese):
Website: https://vietnaminvest.gov.vn/SitePages/home.aspx
4. Legal documents (laws, decrees, circulars, decisions) on business registration:
Website: https://dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn/en/Pages/LegalDocument.aspx
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and may not apply to all situations. For assistance related to your specific issues, please contact us for support from our team of legal experts.
This article was first published on August 16, 2024, and last updated on August 23, 2024.
Author: Tony Nguyễn
Category: Business Law
