Vietnam: Subsidies on research, transfer and application of hi tech to agriculture

Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP of Vietnam’s Government specifies subsidies on research, transfer and application of hi tech to agriculture as follows:

Subsidies will be given to implement scientific research themes or acquire patents, technologies or scientific research and technological development findings for generating new products or innovating technology, technologies for minimizing environmental pollution and saving materials, fuels and energy. To be specific:

- The subsidy is equal to 80% of the funding for implementation but shall not exceed VND 300 million/project (or patent or technology).

- Eligibility requirements for subsidy:

+ The revenue earned by the enterprise in previous year must be 10 times the subsidy amount.

+ The patient or technology to be acquired or transferred by the enterprise must be conformable with its business orientations.

+ If a scientific research theme’s outputs are applied to reality, the full amount of subsidy shall be paid. Otherwise, 50% of the subsidy shall be paid.

Subsidies will be given to enterprises that implement projects on trial production with application of advanced technologies, hi tech or production of new products:

- Enterprises that participate in or take charge of science and technology projects funded by state budget shall be given priority.

+ Enterprises are invited to perform contents of a science and technology project or construct models of a science and technology scheme implemented in the local area where the enterprise’s head office is located;

+ The priority is given to enterprises’ proposals for the procurement of science and technology projects to be approved and implemented in the form of selection or direct assignment;

+ The priority is given to enterprises that own valuable and rare genetic resources to implement national genetic resource projects with the aims of generating new commercial products.

- The subsidy is equal to 70% of the funding for implementing science and technology tasks under an agriculture project eligible for special investment incentives, and 50% of the same under an agriculture project eligible for investment incentives or an encouraged agriculture project provided that it shall not exceed VND 01 billion.

- Eligibility requirements for subsidy:

+ A project on trial production with application of advanced technologies or hi tech or production of new products must be given a written approval by a scientific agency affiliated to a Ministry or Provincial-level People's Committee.

+ Science and technology tasks must be conformable with business orientations of the enterprise applying for subsidy.

Enterprises are entitled to own outputs from their scientific research themes which have been duly assessed and accepted and given priority to develop science and technology products thereof:

- An enterprise that leads a state-funded science and technology project is entitled to develop the plant varieties or animal breeds, which are the project’s outputs and duly assessed as satisfactory, in a large scale within a period of 03 years from the completion of its project.

- An enterprise that leads a state-funded science and technology project is entitled to develop the new products, which are the project’s outputs, duly assessed as satisfactory and acceptable in markets, in a large scale within a period of 02 years from the completion of its project.

- Product quality testing results provided by an enterprise that leads a state-funded science and technology project and has laboratories meeting ISO/IEC 17025 standards will be accepted when it submits the application for product registration to a competent authority.

An enterprise that has a project on plant propagation by tissue culture shall receive the following subsidy:

- The subsidy is equal to 80% of the funding for construction of infrastructure facilities, equipment and environmental remediation but shall not exceed VND 05 billion/project.

- Eligibility requirements for subsidy: At least 01 million plants are propagated per year. The subsidy will increase in proportion to the project's scale provided that it shall not exceed VND 10 billion/project.

An enterprise that has a project on production of plant varieties, animal breeds or aquatic species or trial cultivation of new plant species with high economic value, which has been given approval by the Provincial-level People's Committee, shall receive a subsidy equal to 70% of funding for construction of infrastructure facilities, equipment, environmental remediation and plant varieties provided that it shall not VND 03 billion/project.

An enterprise investing in hi-tech agricultural park, zone or project shall receive a subsidy equal to VND 300 million/ha for covering expenditure for building infrastructure facilities, equipment and environmental remediation.

View relevant provisions at Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from April 17, 2018.

-Thao Uyen-

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