Termination of investment project activities is one of the important procedures when investors want to withdraw from an investment project for many reasons. So to find out specifically how to terminate an investment project, what documents need to be prepared, what to note, please refer to the content of the article below by Viet My to know the detailed regulations.

1. Legal basis

– Investment Law No. 61/2020/QH14 passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on June 17, 2020;

– Decree 31/2021/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Investment Law;

– Circular 03/2021/TT-BKHĐT stipulating the forms of documents and reports related to investment activities in Vietnam, investment from Vietnam to foreign countries and investment promotion.

2. What is the termination of investment project activities?

An investment project is a collection of proposals for medium- or long-term capital investment to carry out investment and business activities in a specific location, within a specified period of time. An investment project is registered by the investor with a state agency on investment activities, so when it is terminated, it is also necessary to report to the state agency for closer and more accurate monitoring.

Thus, the termination of an investment project is the complete cessation and end of a specific investment and business activity that has been specifically planned in terms of time, location, human resources, etc.

3. Conditions for termination of investment project activities

An investment project in operation may be terminated by the will of the investor or by the decision of the investment management agency. However, the suspension of investment projects must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law and other implementing documents. An investment project in operation shall be terminated in the following cases:

– The investor decides to suspend the investment project;

– According to the conditions for suspension of operations stipulated in the contract and enterprise charter;

– The term of operation of the investment project expires.

+ The investment project falls into one of the cases stipulated in Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 47 of this Law and the investor is unable to overcome the conditions for suspension of operations;

+ The investor is not allowed to continue using the investment location and does not carry out procedures to adjust the investment location within 06 months from the date of discontinuation of use of the investment location, except for the case specified in Point d of this Clause;

+ The investment project has ceased operations and after 12 months from the date of cessation of operations, the investment registration agency cannot contact the investor or the investor’s legal representative.

4. Documents for carrying out procedures to terminate investment projects

To carry out procedures to terminate investment projects, investors must prepare the documents listed below.

* Documents required to prepare to terminate investment projects include:

– Notice of termination of investment projects (According to form)

– Decision to terminate investment projects

– Report on investment project status (According to form)

– Certificate of Business Registration (Original)

– Certificate of Investment Registration (Original)

– Authorization document to terminate investment projects

When wishing to terminate investment projects, investors need to prepare all of the above documents before going to the investment registration agency to terminate. Investors should pay attention to carefully studying the above documents to complete them fully and in accordance with state regulations, avoiding wasting time re-filing.

Investors can completely hire a specialized unit that is knowledgeable about these procedures and documents to do it without wasting time on this, this is one of the services performed by many units to help organizations and individuals work faster.

* Processing time and agency handling project termination:

– The provincial Department of Planning and Investment or the Industrial Park Management Board is the competent authority to decide to terminate the investment project.

– The processing time for stopping the investment project is 15 days from the date of receiving valid documents.

5. Procedures for termination of investment project activities in 2024

The procedures for terminating investment project activities must also be carried out in accordance with legal regulations when investors wish to proactively implement them as follows:

– In the case where investors decide to terminate investment project activities according to the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 48 of the Investment Law 2020:

Investors must submit the decision to terminate investment project activities to the Investment Registration Agency within 15 working days from the date of decision, along with the Investment Registration Certificate (if any);

– In case the investor terminates the operation of the investment project according to the conditions stipulated in the contract or the enterprise charter or the operation period of the investment project expires according to the provisions of Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 48 of the Investment Law 2020:

The investor must notify and return the Investment Registration Certificate (if any) to the Investment Registration Authority within 15 working days from the date of termination of the investment project operation and attach a copy of the document recording the termination of the investment project operation according to the contract.

The investment registration authority shall then notify the relevant agencies of the termination of the investment project operation;

– In case of needing to stop the investment project according to the provisions of Article 48 of the Investment Law 2020:

The investment registration agency will decide to terminate the investment project and at the same time revoke the Investment Registration Certificate for investment projects that have been granted an Investment Registration Certificate.

The Investment Registration Certificate will be terminated from the effective date of the decision to terminate the investment project.

Thus, with the procedures for terminating the investment project, the investor needs to fully prepare the documents and records according to the above section and submit them to the investment registration agency. The deadline for terminating the investment project from the date of completion of the dossier is within 15 working days.

6. Specific cases of investment project suspension according to regulations

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 57 of Decree 31/2021 of the Government, investment projects terminate in the cases specified in Article 48 of the Investment Law 2020, specifically as follows:

One is that investors terminate investment activities and investment projects in the following cases:

– The investor proactively decides to suspend the investment project;

– The investor suspends operations according to the conditions for suspension of operations specified in the contract or enterprise charter;

– Or terminates when the investment project expires.

Second, the investment registration agency shall terminate or partially terminate the operation of an investment project in the following cases:

– The investment project falls into one of the cases specified in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 47 of the 2020 Investment Law and the investor is unable to remedy the conditions for suspension of operation;

– In the case where the investor is not allowed to continue using the investment location and is not allowed to carry out procedures to adjust the investment location within 06 months from the date of discontinuation of use of the investment location;

– In the case where the investment project has ceased operation and after 12 months from the date of suspension of operation, the investment registration agency cannot contact the investor or the investor’s legal representative;

– In the case where the investment project is subject to land revocation due to failure to put the land into use or delay in putting the land into use according to the provisions of the law on land;

– For investors who do not deposit or do not have a guarantee for deposit obligations as prescribed by law for investment projects that are required to ensure the implementation of investment projects;

– For investors who carry out investment activities based on fake civil transactions as prescribed by the law on civil affairs;

– Or terminate project activities according to court judgments, decisions, or arbitration awards.

Thus, it can be seen that stopping investment project activities will depend on whether the investor is proactive or not. In passive cases, the project is automatically terminated without the investor’s opinion.

It can be seen that terminating an investment project is not as cumbersome and procedural as registering an investment certificate. An investment project that wants to have a certificate must meet the basic conditions of the project as prescribed by law, but when the investment project is terminated, it depends on the will of the investor or when the project lacks one of the standards of the investment project as prescribed by law.

When terminating the investment project, the investor must also return the granted investment certificate for the state to revoke.

In summary, the above information hopefully helps readers understand specifically about how to terminate investment projects, what documents are needed, what procedures are required and specific cases where projects must be terminated according to legal regulations. If you have any questions, you can contact VIET MY LAW AND ACCOUNTING for completely free consultation.