CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 68/2017/ND-CP DATED MAY 25, 2017 ON MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS AND GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 66/2020/ND-CP DATED JUNE 11, 2020 ON AMENDMENTS TO THE DECREE NO. 68/2017/ND-CP

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 98/2017/ND-CP dated August 18, 2017 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP dated May 25, 2017 on management and development of industrial clusters;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 66/2020/ND-CP dated June 11, 2020 on amendments to the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP dated May 25, 2017 on management and development of industrial clusters;

At the request of the Director of the Agency for Regional Industry and Trade;

The Minister of Industry and Trade hereby promulgates a Circular on guidelines for implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP dated May 25, 2017 on management and development of industrial clusters and Government’s Decree No. 66/2020/ND-CP dated June 11, 2020 on amendments to the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP dated May 25, 2017 on management and development of industrial clusters.

Chapter I

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Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides guidelines for making minor and frequent changes regarding industrial clusters; selecting enterprises and cooperatives as industrial cluster infrastructure investors; detailed planning for industrial cluster construction; industrial cluster infrastructure construction projects; industrial cluster development; reporting regulations, database, forms of documents and regulations on industrial cluster management specified in the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP and Decree No. 66/2020/ND-CP.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Enterprises, cooperatives and units investing in construction of industrial cluster infrastructure.

2. Organizations and individuals carrying out production and business (hereinafter referred to as “businesses”) in industrial clusters;

3. Other organizations and individuals related to management and operation of industrial clusters.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1. ADJUSTMENT TO INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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1. Minor and frequent changes regarding an industrial cluster include those in name and location of the industrial cluster within a district, in area in conformity with the land use planning or plan within a district, in business lines, in progress of investment in technical infrastructure and in other contents, which do not cause changes in objectives, nature or increased land area of the industrial cluster development plan in the approved provincial planning or the land area reserved for development of industrial clusters approved by competent authorities.

2. According to the written request submitted by the district-level People’s Committee, the provincial People’s Committee shall assign the Department of Industry and Trade to preside over and cooperate with departments and units concerned in considering and clarifying the necessity, bases of the written request for minor and frequent changes regarding the industrial cluster and their impacts on the provincial planning. The Department of Industry and Trade shall submit a report to the provincial People’s Committee, which will request the Ministry of Industry and Trade in writing to reach an agreement. In case of change in area of an industrial cluster, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall collect comments of relevant Ministries and agencies for consideration.

According to the written agreement of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the provincial People’s Committee shall provide directions for making minor and frequent changes regarding the industrial cluster and specify such changes in the provincial planning for reporting to the Prime Minister in the period of formulation and adjustment of the provincial planning.

Section 2. INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION

Article 4. Selecting enterprises and cooperatives as investors in industrial cluster infrastructure

1. An enterprise or cooperative shall be selected as the investor in industrial cluster infrastructure within a district as follows:

a) After receiving the written request for acting as an investor in industrial cluster infrastructure, the district-level People’s Committee shall announce the receipt and time of making the application for establishment or expansion of the industrial cluster via the local mass media;

b) The decision on establishment or expansion of the industrial cluster (in which the enterprise or cooperative is selected as the investor in industrial cluster infrastructure) shall be announced via the local mass media after it is signed by the provincial People’s Committee for promulgation.

2. The selection of an enterprise or cooperative as the investor in industrial cluster infrastructure is part of the appraisal of proposal for establishment or expansion of an industrial cluster. The duration of appraisal of application for establishment or expansion of an industrial cluster shall include the duration of investor selection.

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a) During the appraisal of the application for establishment or expansion of an industrial cluster, the Department of Industry and Trade shall submit a report to the provincial People's Committee for establishing a Council, consisting of a Chairperson who is a leader of the provincial People's Committee, a Deputy Chairperson who is a leader of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, a secretary who is a representative of the specialized division of the Department of Industry and Trade, members who are representatives of Department of Planning and Investment, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Construction and Department of Finance, and other relevant agencies and units (if necessary);

b) The Council shall carry out assessment if at least 2/3 of members participate. The Council shall mark on a scale of 100 points according to the following criteria: the infrastructure construction plan (up to 15 points), the plan for environmental protection and management of the industrial cluster (up to 15 points), capacity and experience of the enterprise or cooperative (up to 30 points) and the financial plan for infrastructure construction (up to 40 points). According to local conditions, the Department of Industry and Trade shall request the Council to reach an agreement on working principles and method of the Council, contents of each criteria and points given to such contents;

c) The assessment points shall be decided and expressed by the Council in a document which bears the signatures of the Chairperson (or the Deputy Chairperson if authorized by the Chairperson), secretary and members;

An enterprise or cooperative given 50 points or higher shall be considered and selected as the investor in industrial cluster infrastructure. If two or more enterprises or cooperatives jointly apply for approval as investor, the enterprise or cooperative with the highest mark shall be selected. If total marks of two or more enterprises or cooperatives are equal, the Council shall agree to select one enterprise or cooperative as the investor.

d) The Council shall be responsible to the provincial People’s Committee for assessment results.

4. Tasks of the Department of Industry and Trade:

a) Preside over appraising the application for establishment or extension of industrial cluster as prescribed in Articles 10 to 14 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP;

b) Complete and send the draft report on establishment or extension of industrial cluster, copy of the application, expected contents of each criteria and points given, and other relevant documents to Council members before the meeting date;

c) Make necessary preparations in order for the Council to hold meeting, award points and implement conclusions given by the Council;

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dd) Perform other relevant tasks.

Article 5. Detailed planning for industrial cluster construction

1. The formulation, appraisal and approval of detailed planning for industrial cluster construction shall comply with regulations on detailed planning for dedicated zone in the Law on Construction; the Government's Decree No. 44/2015/ND-CP dated May 06, 2015; the Government’s Decree No. 72/2019/ND-CP dated August 30, 2019.

2. The determination and management of costs of the detailed planning for construction of industrial clusters shall comply with the regulations laid down in the Circular No. 20/2019/TT-BXD dated December 31, 2019 of the Ministry of Construction.

3. The selection of a consultancy for formulating the detailed construction planning shall comply with regulations of the Law on Bidding, the Law on Construction and relevant law.

Article 6. Industrial cluster infrastructure construction projects

1. The industrial cluster infrastructure construction project is not required to follow procedures for obtaining the decision on investment guidelines as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 18 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP.

2. Contents and procedures for setting up, appraising, approving and managing an industrial cluster infrastructure construction project shall comply with the regulations set out in the Government’s Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP dated June 18, 2015, Decree No. 42/2017/ND-CP dated April 05, 2014 and other relevant regulations of law.

3. When setting up an industrial cluster infrastructure construction project, the investor shall concurrently prepare an environmental impact assessment report for the project. Contents and procedures for preparing, appraising and approving an environmental impact assessment report for a project shall comply with the regulations in the Government's Decree No. 18/2015/ND-CP dated February 14, 2015, Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP dated May 13, 2019 and other relevant regulations of law.

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1. Participate in formulating and adjusting the industrial cluster development plan and prepare a report on establishment or expansion of the industrial cluster; organize formulation and management of detailed planning for industrial cluster construction.

2. Develop, manage and stick to schedule for construction of industrial cluster infrastructure; recommend a competent authority to decide on a plan to raise capital for infrastructure construction in accordance with regulations.

3. Manage, operate, maintain and ensure the normal operation of system of shared technical infrastructural constructions of the industrial cluster and organize the provision of services and/or utilities in the industrial cluster in accordance with law.

4. Carry out the investment promotion and provide guidance on procedures for executing investment projects and relocating manufacturing establishments to the industrial cluster; assist and enable organizations and individuals to carry out production and business activities in the industrial cluster.

5. Perform other tasks as assigned by competent authorities and in accordance with law.

Article 8. Industrial cluster development activities

The industrial cluster development activities mentioned in Article 30 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP shall be carried out by proposing contents of development activities and annually approved cost estimate:

1. The Agency for Regional Industry and Trade shall preside over and cooperate with units affiliated to Ministry of Industry and Trade and units concerned in requesting the Ministry of Industry and Trade to grant approval for the contents and cost estimate, and organize annual industrial cluster development activities as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 30 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP after obtaining the approval.

2. The Agency for Regional Industry and Trade shall preside over and cooperate with departments and units concerned in requesting a competent authority to grant approval for the contents and cost estimate, and organize annual industrial cluster development activities within its province as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 30 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP after obtaining the approval.

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Section 3. REPORTING REGULATIONS, FORMS OF DOCUMENTS AND REGULATIONS ON INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER MANAGEMENT

Article 9. Reporting regulations

1. Entities subject to reporting regulations:

a) Agency for Regional Industry and Trade;

b) Departments of Industry and Trade;

c) Industry and Trade Divisions affiliated to district-level People’s Committees; district-level statistics authorities;

d) Investors in industrial cluster infrastructure;

dd) Businesses in industrial clusters.

2. Data collection period

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a) Period of collection of data for annual report: from December 15 of the year preceding the reporting period to December 14 of the reporting period.

3. Periodic reporting regulations:

a) Before June 20 and December 20 every year, every business in an industrial cluster shall submit mid-year and annual reports on its business according to the Form No. 1.1 provided in the Appendix I hereof to the district-level statistics authority and copies thereof to the industry and trade division affiliated to the district-level People's Committee;

b) Before June 20 and December 20 every year, every investor shall submit mid-year and annual reports on operation of the industrial cluster infrastructure construction project according to the Form No. 1.2 provided in the Appendix I hereof to the district-level statistics authority and copies thereof to the industry and trade division affiliated to the district-level People's Committee and the Department of Industry and Trade;

c) Before June 25 and December 25 every year, every industry and trade division affiliated to the district-level People’s Committee shall submit mid-year and annual reports on infrastructure construction, production and business in industrial clusters within its district according to the Form No. 1.3 provided in the Appendix I hereof to the Department of Industry and Trade and the district-level People's Committee;

d) Before June 30 and December 31 every year, every Department of Industry and Trade shall submit mid-year and annual reports on infrastructure construction, production and business in industrial clusters within its province according to the Form No. 1.4 provided in the Appendix I hereof to the Agency for Regional Industry and Trade and the provincial People's Committee;

dd) Before March 31 of the next year, the Agency for Regional Industry and Trade shall submit a consolidated report on infrastructure construction, production and business in industrial clusters nationwide to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4. Periodic reports shall be made in writing, sent by email or updated to the industrial cluster database (applicable to the Agency for Regional Industry and Trade, Departments of Industry and Trade, and Industry and Trade Divisions affiliated to the district-level People's Committees). Additionally, ad hoc reports may be made at the request of competent authorities.

Article 10. Establishment, management and operation of industrial cluster database

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2. Each Department of Industry and Trade shall organize the establishment, management and operation of provincial industrial cluster database, and instruct the Industry and Trade Division affiliated to the district-level People's Committee to update data on the provincial industrial cluster database; assume responsibility to update sufficient, timely and accurate information about provincial industrial clusters on the national industrial cluster database.

3. Each Industry and Trade Division affiliated to the district-level People's Committee shall update sufficient, timely and accurate information about industrial clusters in its district to the provincial industrial cluster database.

Article 11. Forms of documents and regulations on industrial cluster management

Forms of documents and regulations on industrial cluster management are provided in the Appendix II hereof.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 12. Responsibilities of Agency for Regional Industry and Trade

The Agency for Regional Industry and Trade has the responsibility to:

1. Act as an agency in charge of assisting the Minister of Industry and Trade in performing state management of industrial clusters nationwide as prescribed in the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP and Decree No. 66/2020/ND-CP.

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3. Preside over developing contents of industrial cluster development activities and making annual cost estimates and organize implementation thereof as prescribed.

4. Provide guidance and resolve difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular.

Article 13. Responsibilities of provincial People’s Committees

Provincial People’s Committees have the responsibility to:

1. Exercise their rights and assume their responsibilities for industrial cluster management as prescribed in Article 42 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP amended by Clause 11 Article 1 of the 66/2020/ND-CP.

2. Direct departments and units in their provinces within their jurisdiction to closely cooperate with and enable Departments of Industry and Trade and district-level People’s Committees to fully exercise their rights and assume their responsibilities for industrial cluster management as prescribed in Articles 3 and 44 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP and Articles 14 and 15 hereof.

Article 14. Responsibilities of Departments of Industry and Trade

Departments of Industry and Trade have the responsibility to:

1. Exercise their rights and assume their responsibilities for industrial cluster management as prescribed in Article 43 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP.

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3. Formulate and submit regulations on industrial cluster management to provincial People’s Committees; handle investment procedures by adopting single-window system with respect to:

a) Projects on construction of industrial cluster infrastructure (including issuance of investment registration certificates, land appropriation, land leasing, approval for detailed planning, approval for plans for use of public investment capital, approval for environmental impact assessment reports and approval for fire fighting and prevention plans);

b) Projects on investment in production and business in industrial clusters (including decision on investment guidelines, issuance of investment registration certificates, land appropriation, and land leasing, issuance of construction permits, approval for fire fighting and prevention plans, certification of environmental protection plans or approval for environmental impact assessment reports).

4. Preside over developing contents of industrial cluster development activities and making annual cost estimates and organize implementation thereof within their provinces as prescribed.

Article 15. Responsibilities of Industry and Trade Divisions affiliated to district-level People's Committees

Industry and Trade Divisions affiliated to district-level People's Committees have the responsibility to:

1. Act as an agency in charge of assisting district-level People’s Committees in managing industrial clusters within their districts as prescribed in Article 44 of the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP.

2. Preside over developing contents of industrial cluster development activities and making annual cost estimates and organize implementation thereof within their districts as prescribed.

Article 16. Effect

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2. This Circular replaces the Circular No. 15/2017/TT-BCT dated August 31, 2017 of the Minister of Industry and Trade.

3. If any of the legislative documents referred to in this Circular is amended or replaced, the newer one shall apply./.

THE MINISTER




Tran Tuan Anh