Procedures for recognition of sea areas in Vietnam

Procedures for recognition of sea areas in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

Procedures for recognition of sea areas in Vietnam are guided in Decision 4193/QD-BTNMT 2023 as follows:

1. Application for recognition of sea areas in Vietnam

Application for recognition of sea areas includes:

- Application for recognition of sea areas (made according to Form No. 01 issued with the Appendix to Decree 11/2021/ND-CP);

- Original land lease contract or land allocation decision; land lease with coastal water surface, sea water surface, or certificate of land use rights with coastal water surface, sea water surface (if any); Document permitting organizations and individuals to exploit and use marine resources (if any) issued by a competent state management agency;

- Report on the use of sea areas, environmental protection, and implementation of obligations of organizations and individuals up to the time of submitting an application for recognition of sea areas;

- Sea area diagram according to Form No. 05 issued with Decree 11/2021/ND-CP or Decision 4193/QD-BTNMT in 2023.

2. Procedures for the recognition of sea areas in Vietnam

* Step 1: Submit application

- Vietnamese individuals who have been decided by a competent state agency to allocate or lease land with coastal water surface or sea water surface according to the provisions of law before July 15, 2014 and is using a sea area that has not been assigned a sea area by a competent state agency, and has a need to recognize the sea area according to the provisions of law, submit 01 set of documents to the Receiving and Returning Results Department for handling administrative procedures under the district People's Committee; In the event that there is no Receiving and Returning Results Department to handle administrative procedures, submit the application to the district-level Department of Natural Resources and Environment;

- Vietnamese individuals have been granted written permission by a competent state agency to exploit and use marine resources in accordance with the law before July 15, 2014 and are using a sea area that has not been decided by a competent state agency to allocate land, lease land with coastal water surface, sea water surface, or allocate sea area according to the provisions of law then submit 01 set of documents to the Receiving and Returning Results Department for handling administrative procedures under the district People's Committee; In case there is no Receiving and Returning Results Department to handle administrative procedures, the application must be submitted to the district-level Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

* Step 2: Check documents:

The Receiving and Returning Results Department for handling administrative procedures is responsible for checking the composition and content of the dossier. In case the dossier is in accordance with regulations, a receipt note will be issued and an appointment to handle the dossier will be made according to Form No. 10 issued with the Appendix to Decree 11/2021/ND-CP. In case the dossier is not in accordance with regulations, the Receiving and Returning Results Department shall handle administrative procedures once and give written instructions to the Vietnamese Individual for supplementation and completion.

* Step 3: Appraise the documents:

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment appraises the dossier. If necessary, send documents to seek opinions from relevant agencies and organize field inspections.

* Step 4: Submit and issue the results of administrative procedures:

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment submits to the District People's Committee for consideration and recognition of the sea area by the Decision on Sea Area Assignment attached with Form No. 09 issued with the Appendix of Decree 11/2021/ND-CP. In the event that a decision is not made, a written response must be made clearly stating the reason.

* Step 5: Notify and return application results:

The results receiving and returning department under the district People's Committee (or district-level Department of Natural Resources and Environment) notifies Vietnamese individuals to receive results and perform related obligations.

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE