What is the latest Law on Public Investment of Vietnam? Does public investment include management fees?

What is the latest Law on Public Investment of Vietnam?

On November 29, 2024, the National Assembly passed the Law on Public Investment 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025). This Law will replace the Law on Public Investment 2019.

To be specific, the Law on Public Investment 2024 consists of 7 chapters, 103 articles (adding 01 chapter, increasing by 02 articles, and amending 65 articles compared to the Law on Public Investment 2019).

The Law on Public Investment 2024 regulates the state management of public investment; management and use of public investment capital; rights, obligations, and responsibilities of agencies, units, organizations, and individuals related to public investment activities.

This Law applies to agencies, units, organizations, and individuals participating or involved in public investment activities, managing and using public investment capital.

What is the latest Law on Public Investment of Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Vietnam: Does public investment include management fees??

According to Article 5 of the Law on Public Investment 2024, the public investment subjects are specified as follows:

Public Investment Subjects

1. Investment in programs and projects for socio-economic infrastructure.

2. Investment to serve the activities of state agencies, public service providers, political organizations, political-social organizations.

3. Investment and support for activities providing public utility products and services and social welfare.

4. Investment by the State participating in project implementation via the public-private partnership method (PPP projects) as stipulated by the law on public-private partnerships, compensation, early termination of PPP projects by competent authorities, payment for revenue reduction in PPP projects that fall under the State's responsibility, and payment according to investment project contracts in the form of Build-Transfer (BT) by cash.

5. Investment for planning tasks.

6. Interest rate compensation for preferential credit, management fees; charter capital for policy banks, off-budget state financial funds; investment support for other subjects according to the decision of the Government of Vietnam or the decision of the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

The Government of Vietnam regulates the order and procedures for implementing investments in this section.

7. Allocation of local budget funds to implement preferential credit policies through the Social Policy Bank branch in provinces and cities under central authority.

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Thus, management fees are one of the subjects of public investment.

What are the costs for planning, appraisal, monitoring, checking, evaluating, and implementing public investment plans, programs, tasks, and projects under the new Law on Public Investment of Vietnam?

According to Article 16 of the Law on Public Investment 2024, the regulations on costs for planning, appraising, monitoring, checking, evaluating, planning, programs, tasks, public investment projects are as follows:

(1) Costs for preparing and appraising proposals for public investment program use the regular expenditure source of agencies and units performing these tasks.

(2) Costs for implementing pre-investment preparation tasks are sourced from public investment capital, regular state budget expenditure, other lawful sources, and are settled within the total investment value of the project.

In cases where the project is not approved by competent authorities to decide on investment policy or investment decisions, expenses for implementing pre-investment project tasks are recorded and settled according to the regulations of the Government of Vietnam.

(3) Costs for preparing and appraising public investment plans use the regular expenditure source of the agency or unit preparing and appraising the plans.

(4) Costs for monitoring, checking, evaluating plans, programs, and projects use the regular expenditure source of the agencies and units carrying out these tasks.

(5) For programs and projects using ODA capital or preferential foreign loans, donors are encouraged to financially support the payment of the costs stipulated in Article 16 of the Law on Public Investment 2024.

Prohibited acts under the newest Law on Public Investment?

According to Article 17 of the Law on Public Investment 2024, the prohibited acts in public investment are specified as follows:

(1) Deciding on investment policy or adjusting investment policy inconsistent with strategy, planning, or plan; failing to determine funding sources and financial balance capacity; not in accordance with authority, procedures, and regulations of the law.

(2) Deciding on investment in programs or projects without competent authority's approval on investment policy; making investment decisions or adjustments on programs or projects not in accordance with authority, inconsistent with objectives, locations, exceeding the public investment capital limits, or the total investment amount in the previously approved investment policy. Wrongly adjusting total program or project investment amounts in violation of legal provisions.

(3) Misuse of position and authority for appropriation, profiteering, and corruption in managing and using public investment capital.

(4) Program or project owners colluding with consultancy or construction contractors leading to decisions on investment policy or project investments causing losses and waste of state capital, national assets, and resources; infringing upon legal interests of citizens or the community.

(5) Giving, receiving, or brokering bribes.

(6) Demanding organizations or individuals self-finance investments when programs or projects have not been decided on investment policy or approved investment decisions; implementing projects without having been allocated public investment plans causing basic construction debts.

(7) Using public investment funds for unauthorized purposes, beneficiaries, exceeding standards, and norms stipulated by law.

(8) Falsifying, altering information, files, or documents related to decisions on investment policy, investment implementation, programs, tasks, or projects.

(9) Intentionally reporting or providing inaccurate, dishonest, or biased information affecting the planning, appraisal, decision-making of plans, programs, projects, monitoring, evaluation, inspection, and handling violations during the implementation of plans, programs, tasks, or projects.

(10) Deliberate destruction, deception, concealment, or incomplete storage of documents, records, or files related to decisions on investment policy, investment implementation of programs, tasks, or projects.

(11) Obstructing the detection of violations of Law on Public Investments.