Criteria for high-tech application investment projects for the production of high-tech products in Vietnam from December 23, 2024

Criteria for high-tech application investment projects for the production of high-tech products in Vietnam from December 23, 2024

High-tech application investment projects for producing high-tech products in Vietnam must comply with the principles and criteria stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 of Article 28 and Points a, b, c, d of Clause 1 Article 32 of Decree 10/2024/ND-CP regulating high-tech zones, and simultaneously meet the following criteria:

- The products of the investment project must be included in the List of High-Tech Products Encouraged for Development issued alongside the Decision of the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam, wherein the revenue ratio from producing high-tech products annually must reach at least 80% of the total annual revenue of the investment project.

- The number of workers holding vocational education diplomas or university degrees must account for at least 75% of the total number of workers of the investment project.

- The number of workers with a college degree or higher directly participating in research, development, and technology application of the investment project must meet the following requirements:

+ For investment projects with an investment scale of 6,000 billion VND or more, disbursing at least 6,000 billion VND within 3 years from the date of issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate or approval of the investment policy, and having a total workforce of 3,000 people or more: at least 2.5% of the total workforce of the investment project;

+ For all other cases: at least 5% of the total workforce of the investment project;

+ Workers directly participating in research, development, and technology application of the investment project as stipulated in Clause 3 Article 4 of Circular 08/2024/TT-BKHCN must have a labor contract of indefinite duration or a labor contract with a term of 01 year or more to directly engage in research, development, and technology application of the investment project, wherein the proportion of workers with a college degree does not exceed 30%.

- The ratio of total spending on research, development, and technology application annually to the total annual revenue of the investment project must meet the following requirements:

+ For investment projects with an investment scale of 6,000 billion VND or more, disbursing at least 6,000 billion VND within 3 years from the date of issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate or approval of investment policy, or the project having a total revenue of at least 10,000 billion VND annually within a maximum of 3 years from the year of revenue generation: at least 0.5%;

+ For all other cases: at least 1%.

The content of spending on research, development, and technology application in this clause follows the regulations in Article 5 of Circular 08/2024/TT-BKHCN.

- The technology line of the project must be comprehensively invested, reaching an advanced level, organized according to specialization and automation methods, including at least 1/3 (one-third) of the automated equipment controlled by a program; arranged in a working space that meets occupational safety and hygiene standards in accordance with Vietnamese law. Priority is given to cases with 100% new investment.

Circular 08/2024/TT-BKHCN shall take effect from December 23, 2024.

Decision 27/2006/QD-BKHCN will cease to be effective from the date Circular 08/2024/TT-BKHCN takes effect.

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