Postal service means the service of accepting, transporting, and delivering items by any means from the sender’s location to the recipient’s location via the postal network, excluding electronic methods.

We would like to offer the following advice:

Legal basis

• Vietnam’s commitments within the WTO framework and international treaties on investment that Vietnam has signed or acceded to;
• The investment law 2020;
• Decree 31/2021/ND-CP guiding the Law on Investment
• Postal law 2010;
• Decree No. 47/2011/ND-CP detailing the Postal Law.

General regulations

According to the WTO Schedule of Commitments that Vietnam has signed, the delivery service (code CPC 7512) is not limited to postal services, in other words, a 100% foreign-owned company providing postal services was established in Vietnam. In addition to the WTO Schedule of Commitments, this industry is a conditional business line under the provisions of the Investment Law 2020, Specific business conditions need to meet the provisions of the Postal Law 2010.

Conditions

(1) Conditions for the company’s charter capital:

• Foreign investors are allowed to establish postal service companies with 100% foreign investment capital.
• Minimum charter capital for postal service providers within the province and inter-province: 02 billion Vietnam dong;
• Minimum charter capital for enterprises providing international postal services: 05 billion Vietnam dong.

(2) Having personnel suitable to the business plan according to the contents of the license application;

(3) Having a feasible business plan in line with regulations on postal service charges and quality;

4) Having measures to ensure information security and safety for people, postal items, and postal networks.

(5) Conditions on investment form: 3 forms of investment:

• Establishing an economic organization with 100% foreign investment capital;
• Establishment of a joint venture economic organization with foreign investment capital and Vietnamese investment capital.
• Forms of capital contribution, purchase of shares, or capital contribution to a Vietnamese economic organization.

Procedures

Step 1: Apply for an Investment Registration Certificate

• Foreign-invested projects with a capital of less than 15 billion Vietnam dong must be verified but not submitted to the Prime Minister for a decision on investment policies;
• Foreign-invested projects with a capital of 15 billion VND or more must be verified before submitting to the Prime Minister for a decision on investment policies.
• The agency competent to issue the IRC is responsible for sending the dossiers of request for verification from the following agencies:
• Department of Information and Communications for investment projects providing postal services within the province;
• Ministry of Information and Communications for investment projects providing postal services in the inter-provincial and international scope.

Step 2: Issuing a business registration certificate

Step 3: Issuing a Postal Service Business License

From the date of receipt of a satisfactory application, the verification and issuance of a postal permit shall be carried out within 30 days.

The dossiers

• Postal license application form;
• A copy of the postal business registration certificate or the postal investment certificate in Vietnam stamped and certified by the enterprise itself and is responsible for the accuracy of the copy;
• Charter of organization and operation of the enterprise (if any);
• Business plan;
• Form of contract for provision and use of postal services following the provisions of the law on post;
• Samples of logos, trademarks, special symbols, or elements of the enterprise’s identification system displayed on postal items (if any);
• Postal service tariff list following the provisions of the law on post;
• Postal service quality standards announced and applied following the provisions of the law on post;
• Regulations on the limit of liability for compensation in case of damage, the customer complaint settlement process, and the time limit for complaint settlement following the provisions of the law on post;
• Agreement with other enterprises, foreign partners in Vietnamese, for the case of cooperation in the supply of one, several or all stages of the postal service requested for a license;
• Consular legalized documents proving the foreign partner’s legal status;

The competent authority

• For the application for a license to provide postal services within the province: Department of Information and Communications of the province or city where the enterprise applies for a license to operate.
• For the application for a license to provide postal services within the inter-provincial and international scope: Ministry of Information and Communications.

If you need more detailed advice and answers as well as how to access this service, please contact directly our Lawyer Nhat Nam via hotline: 0912.35.65.75, 0912.35.53.53 or call the toll free legal consultation hotline 1900.6575 or send a service request via email: lienheluathongbang@gmail.com

Wishing you and your family good health, peace, and success!

Best regards!