VIETNAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Liên Đoàn Thương Mại Và Công Nghiệp Việt Nam
Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 08:56:00
To: Construction Management Authority, Ministry of Construction
Re: Response to Official Letter No. 11378/BXD-KCHT from the Ministry of Construction requesting comments on the Draft Decree Stipulating the Investment, Construction, and Management of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) (hereinafter referred to as the Draft), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) submits the following initial comments.
Recommendation: Propose removing the provision defining "logistics services" as it is already stipulated in Article 223 of the Commercial Law and logistics activities have been listed in Decree No. 163/2017/ND-CP.
According to Clause 1, Article 12 of the Draft, before approving the ICD construction investment project as regulated by the law on construction investment, the investor must carry out procedures at the competent state authority to determine the project's conformity with the ICD master plan. The dossier must include "A copy or electronic copy from the original records of legal documents: approval of investment policy, approval of the project investor by the competent authority."
This provision should be reconsidered in the following light: according to the law on investment, the competent state authority will examine the conformity of the investment project with the master plan during the investment policy approval process. Once the investment policy and the project investor are approved, it means the investment project is already in conformity with the master plan. Therefore, the Draft's requirement that the investor must carry out a procedure to confirm the conformity of the ICD master plan after the investment policy and investor have been approved is unnecessary and overlaps with previously executed procedures.
To ensure administrative procedure reform and create favorable conditions for enterprises, recommendation: Consider removing this procedure. The determination of conformity with the ICD master plan should be considered within the investment policy approval procedure.
Point b, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Draft stipulates that the dossier for announcing the opening of an ICD must include "Decision approving the ICD construction investment project approved by the competent authority in accordance with the law." Thus, implementing an ICD construction investment project requires a Decision approving the construction investment project from the competent state authority.
However, the Draft does not contain any provisions on how to obtain this decision approving the ICD construction investment project or a reference to a regulation that stipulates this matter.
Furthermore, the provisions in the Draft are unclear about the process for executing the investment project and the method for selecting the investor to implement the ICD construction project. According to investment law, there are three methods for selecting investors: auctioning land use rights under the land law; bidding to select investors under the bidding law. In these investor selection methods and the investment construction project execution process, there appears to be no regulation on a "decision approving the construction investment project."
To ensure transparency and convenience during practical implementation, recommendation: Stipulate this matter clearly.
Point b, Clause 3, Article 15 of the Draft stipulates that the dossier for announcing the conversion of an export/import goods clearance point into an ICD must include "A copy or electronic copy of the Decision recognizing the location as a customs clearance point issued by the competent authority." The export/import goods clearance point converting into an ICD is subject to the announcement of ICD opening procedure stipulated in this Decree (Clause 2, Article 13). According to this provision, the recognition of the customs clearance point must be carried out before the procedure for announcing the conversion of the export/import goods clearance point into an ICD.
Meanwhile, Clause 16, Article 1 of Decree No. 67/2020/ND-CP stipulates that the dossier for announcing the customs clearance point must include the Decision announcing the opening of the ICD issued by the competent authority. This means the ICD opening announcement procedure must be carried out before the customs clearance point recognition procedure.
Thus, the provisions in the Draft and Decree No. 67/2020/ND-CP are inconsistent regarding the timing of procedures related to the announcement of ICD opening and the recognition of the customs clearance point. To ensure consistency, recommendation: Remove the provision in Point b, Clause 3, Article 15 of the Draft.
Point c, Clause 2, Article 16 of the Draft stipulates that "the ICD reaches the end of its operation term or other cases as prescribed by law" is one of the cases for ICD closure. However, neither the Draft nor the Maritime Code regulates the operation term of an ICD. Investment and land laws regulate the term of investment projects and the termination of investment projects, and therefore, the ICD construction investment project could apply these regulations.
Thus, to ensure consistency, recommendation: Propose removing this provision.
Clause 4, Article 16 of the Draft stipulates that a closed ICD may only resume operation with the "approval of the Ministry of Construction" based on the proposal of the investor or ICD operator and the unified opinions of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, or competent agencies on national defense and security, or other competent agencies as prescribed by law.
This provision is unclear regarding the order and procedure for reopening the ICD (dossier requirements, the authority processing the procedure, processing time, the procedure for obtaining opinions from relevant agencies, etc.). This could cause difficulties in practical application. Recommendation: Clearly stipulate this procedure.
These are some initial comments from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the Draft Decree Stipulating the Investment, Construction, and Management of Inland Container Depots. We hope that the distinguished Agency will consider them for amendment and completion.
Thank you sincerely for your cooperation.
