ON FOREIGN INVESTORS OPERATING IN FIELDS RELATED TO PUBLICATIONS IN VIETNAM

I. DEFINITIONS:

Regarding to the publications, its 03 activities shall include: (i) Publishing publications; (ii) Releasing publications; and (iii) Importing publications.

– Publication are works and documents on politics, economics, culture, society, education and training, science, technology, literature, art which are published through publishers or agencies, organizations issued with publishing license in different languages, images, sounds, and are expressed in the following forms:

a) Printed books;

b) Braille books;

c) Paintings, photographs, maps, posters, flyers and leaflets;

d) Types of calendar;

e) Audio and video recording with the content for substitution of book or illustration for books.

– Publishing is the organization and development of manuscript to be edited into templates for printing and release directly through the electronic media.

– Release is the adoption of one or more forms of buying, selling, allocation, donation, leasing, lending, export, import, fair and exhibition to bring publications to users.

– Importation right means the right to import goods from foreign countries into Vietnam for sale to traders that have the right to distribute those goods in Vietnam; the importation right includes the right to have one’s name written in the import declaration in order to carry out, and take responsibility for, import-related procedures. The importation right excludes the right to establish, or participate in, a goods distribution system in Vietnam, unless otherwise provided for by Vietnamese law or treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

– Wholesaling involves selling goods to wholesalers, retailers, other organizations and traders; excluding retailing.

– Retailing involves selling goods to individuals, households, other organizations for consumption purpose.

II. MARKET ACCESS FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS:

1. Under the WTO Commitments:

Market opening commitments regarding foreign commercial presence have yet to be made according to the terms of Vietnam’s WTO Schedule of Trade in Services.

2. Under the provisions of specific laws:

2.1. According to the provisions of the Publishing Law:

(i) “This law applies to agencies, organizations, individuals and foreign organizations operating in Vietnam, foreign individuals residing in Vietnam related to publishing activities.”

=> Thus, Vietnam’s specific laws have opened the market for foreign investors to operate in fields related to publications.

(ii) However, the Publishing Law also stipulates:

“Article 12. Subject establishing publisher and types of publisher organization

1. The following agencies and organizations are allowed to establish publisher (hereinafter referred to as the publisher line agency):

a) State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations at the central and provincial levels;

b) Public non-business units in the central, the socio-political and vocational organization in the central directly create works and academic and scientific materials.

2. Publishers are organized and operating in the form of public non-business units or enterprises with the conditioned business owned by the State.”

=> Accordingly, the Publishing publications activity is only applicable to public non-business units or state enterprises. Therefore foreign investors are NOT able to invest in the field of publishing publications.

2.2. According to the provisions of Decree No. 09/2018/ND-CP guiding the Commercial Law and the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding sale of goods and other activities directly related to sale of goods of foreign investors and foreign-invested business entities in Vietnam:

Under the provisions of Point c, Clause 1 of Article 5 and Point c Clause 4 of Article 9 of Decree No. 09/2018/ND-CP, the Investor is only allowed to retail recorded items; books, newspapers and magazines if they already have retail outlets in the forms of supermarkets, mini supermarkets, convenience stores to sell above goods at such outlets.

=> Thus, the Investor is not allowed to retail books (publications) (except in the case of establishing retail outlets in the forms of supermarkets, mini supemarkets, convenience stores to sell such goods).

2.3. Under the provisions of Circular No. 34/2013/TT-BCT dated 24 December, 2013 issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade: providing the List of books, newspapers and magazines not allowed to be imported and distributed, specifically:

(i) Goods related to publications to which the right to import is not permitted:

(ii) Goods related to publications to which the right to distribute is not permitted:

In summary, the Foreign Investors have the right to exercise the following activities related to publications:

(i) Importing publications, except publications listed at the above Section (i);

(ii) Wholesaling publications, except publications listed at the above Section (ii);

(iii) Releasing publications, except releasing publications under the following methods:

– Retailing publications with no retail outlets; and

– Importing and retailing the publications listed above.

 III. BUSINESS CONDITIONS FOR RELEASING AND IMPORTING PUBLICATIONS:

Due to these types of goods which investors expect to trade are subject to conditional production and trading, therefore, in order to be allowed to operate, investors must comply with the business, production conditions as prescribed by specialized laws. Whereby:

1. The Releasing Publications business activity:

1.1. Releasing establishments which are enterprises must register their publication releasing operation with state management agencies on publishing activities 15 days prior to commencing operation, accordingly:

(i) Releasing establishments with headquarters and branches in two centrally-affiliated provinces and cities or more register their operation with the Ministry of Information and Communications;

(ii) Releasing establishments with their headquarters and branches in the same one centrally-affiliated province and city register their operation with the provincial-level People’s Committees.

1.2. Operating conditions for releasing establishments:

(i) The head of releasing establishment must reside in Vietnam, having diploma or certificate of professional knowledge on publication release issued by the establishment of training and fostering of specialized publication release;

(ii) Having one of the following certificates: enterprise registration certificate, business registration certificate or decision on establishment of public non-business unit in accordance with the law;

(iii) Having a publication business location.

2. The Importing Publications business activity:

2.1. Establishments operating in the publication import business (hereafter referred to as publication importer establishment) must have license of publication import business operation issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2.2. Conditions to be issued the license of publication import business operation by the Ministry of Information and Communications are:

(i) Having one of the business registration certificates, business registration certificate, investment certificate under the provisions of law;

(ii) The head of publication importer establishment must permanently reside in Vietnam and have diploma issued by establishment of specialized training or certificate of knowledge fostering of publication releasing profession issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications; in which the diploma granted by a professional training institution to the head of the publication importer establishment must be a university degree or higher in publication distribution;

In case the head of the publication importer possesses a university degree or higher in a major other than publication distribution, he/she must possess a certificate of training in publication distribution granted by the Ministry of Information and Communications;

(iii) In case of importing books, in addition to the conditions prescribed above, the publication importer establishment must have at least 5 (five) staff members qualified for book content appraisal. Specifically, these persons must have been engaged in publication activities in Vietnam for at least 5 years, possess a university degree or higher in foreign languages or a university degree in another major but have obtained foreign-language qualifications suitable to the requirements on appraisal of imported book contents and possess a certificate of training in publication distribution granted by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2.3. Furthermore, for each import of publications, the publication importer establishment has to submit an application requesting approval, with a List of goods to be imported attached. Accordingly:

(i) In case the Investor imports publications FOR BUSINESS then prior to importing, the publication importer establishment must submit a publication import registration dossier to the Department of Publishing, Printing and Releasing (directly under the Ministry of Information and Communications) and pay a fee as prescribed by law.

(ii) In case the Investor imports NON-COMMERCIAL publications then prior to importing, the publication importer establishment must prepare a dossier requesting issuance of non-commercial publication import license and submit it to the: (i) In case of central-level agencies, organizations and Hanoi-based foreign organizations, they shall send dossiers to the Ministry of Information and Communications or the Hanoi City People’s Committee; or (ii) In case of other agencies, organizations and Vietnamese, foreign individuals, they shall send dossiers to the provincial-level People’s Committees where their headquarters are based or where there is border gate through which publications are imported and pay a fee as prescribed by law.

Best regards,