Time limit for issuance of environmental licenses in Vietnam

Time limit for issuance of environmental licenses in Vietnam (Internet image) 

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

1. Time limit for issuance of environmental licenses in Vietnam

According to Clause 4, Article 43 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, the time limit for licensing begins on the date of receiving a satisfactory application and is as follow:

- Not exceeding 45 days if the environmental license is issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Public Security;

- Not exceeding 30 days if the environmental license is issued by a provincial or district-level People’s Committee;

- The licensing authority may impose a time limit shorter than that specified in Points a and b of Clause 4, Article 43 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 according to the type, scale and nature of the investment project, business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster.

2. Procedures for issuance of the environmental license in Vietnam

According to Clause 2, Article 43 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, procedures for issuance of the environmental license are as follows:

- An investment project/business owner shall send an application for issuance of the environmental license to the competent authority specified in Article 41 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020. The application may be submitted in person or by post or through the online public service system;

- The licensing authority shall receive the application and inspect its adequacy and validity; make publicly available contents of the report on proposal for issuance of the environmental license, except for information classified as state secrets or enterprise's secrets as prescribed by law; consult relevant organizations and individuals; carry out a site inspection of the investment project, business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster; carry out appraisal and issue the environmental license.

The sequence of receiving and handling administrative procedures shall be followed in person, by post or through the online public service system at the request of the investment project/business owner;

- If the investment project, business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster discharges wastewater into a hydraulic structure, the licensing authority shall collect written comments and reach an agreement with the regulatory body managing such hydraulic structure before issuing the environmental license;

- If the investment project or business is located within a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster, the licensing authority shall collect written comments of the investor in construction and commercial operation of such dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster before issuing the environmental license.

3. Contents of environmental license under the law in Vietnam

The contents of environmental license according to Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 are as follows:

- Contents of an environmental license include general information about the investment project, business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster; items to be licensed; environmental protection requirements; validity period; other contents (if any).

- Items to be licensed include:

+ Source of wastewater; maximum wastewater flow rate; wastewater flow; pollutants and permissible limits of pollutants in the wastewater flow; location and method of wastewater discharge and wastewater receiving bodies;

+ Source of emissions; maximum exhaust gas flow rate; wastewater flow; pollutants and permissible limits of pollutants in the emissions flow; location and method of exhaust gas discharge;

+ Source and permissible limits of noise and vibration;

+ Works and system for hazardous waste treatment; hazardous waste code and quantity of waste permitted for treatment, quantity of hazardous waste transfer stations, operating area with regard to the investment project, hazardous waste treatment service providers;

+ Type and quantity of scrap permitted for import with regard to the investment project, establishments importing scrap from foreign countries as production materials

- Environmental protection requirements are as follows:

+ There should be appropriate works and measures for collecting and treating waste and emissions and reducing noise and vibration; in the case of discharge of wastewater into hydraulic structures, environmental protection requirements should be in place to be applied to the source of water discharged into hydraulic structures;

+ Regarding investment projects and hazardous waste treatment providers, there should be measures, systems, works and equipment serving storage, transport, transfer, preliminary processing and treatment which satisfy technical and managerial requirements;

+ Regarding investment projects and establishments importing scrap from foreign countries as production materials, there should be appropriate warehouses and yards for scrap storage; recycling equipment; impurity treatment scheme; re-export scheme;

+ There should be environmental management and supervision plans, environmental emergency prevention and response plans; equipment and works serving environmental emergency prevention and response and environmental monitoring;

+ It is required to manage domestic solid waste, normal industrial solid waste and hazardous waste; improve and remediate environmental; carry out biodiversity offsets according to regulations of law;

+ Other environmental protection requirements (if any).

- The environmental license shall be valid for:

+ 07 years, regarding group I investment projects;

+ 07 years, regarding businesses, dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters operating before the effective date of this Law and applying environmental criteria as Group I investment projects;

+ 10 years, regarding the license holders not mentioned in Points a and b of Clause 4 of Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020;

+ The validity period may be shorter than that specified in Points a, b and c of this Clause at the request of the investment project owners, businesses, investors in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters (hereinafter collectively referred to as “investment project/business owners”).

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