Chương X Nghị định 08/2022/NĐ-CP: Công cụ kinh tế trong bảo vệ môi trường

Chapter X

ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Section 1. PAYMENTS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Article 121. Ecosystem services for which payments are made

1. Forest environmental services provided by forest ecosystems shall comply with regulations of law on forestry. Any organization or individual that has paid for forest environmental services provided by a forest ecosystem before the effective date of this Decree is not required to make PES as prescribed in this Decree.

2. The ecosystem services for which payments are made as prescribed in points b, c and d clause 2 Article 138 of the LEP consist of:

a) Wetland ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business, leisure and aquaculture provided by significant wetlands and mixed ecological regions in accordance with regulations of law on biodiversity;

b) Marine ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business, leisure and aquaculture provided by marine protected areas and aquatic resource protection areas;

c) Rocky mountain and cave ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business and leisure; geopark ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business and leisure; except for the cases where payments for forest environmental services provided by a forest ecosystem specified in clause 1 of this Article have been paid.

3. MONRE shall preside over and cooperate with Ministries and ministerial agencies in requesting the Prime Minister to decide on pilot application of payments for carbon sequestration and storage services provided by marine ecosystems and wetland ecosystems, which serves as the basis for requesting the Government to decide the official application.

Articles 122. Organizations and individuals providing and entitled to be paid for their ecosystem services

1. Wildlife sanctuary management boards.

2. Organizations and individuals assigned to manage, protect, maintain and develop the ecosystems specified in clause 2 Article 121 of this Decree.

Articles 123. Organizations and individuals using and paying for ecosystem services

1. Users of ecosystem services in the areas providing ecosystem services are provided specified in clause 6 Article 124 of this Decree shall make PES when carrying out the following activities:

a) Extracting and using surface water and sea surface of the ecosystems for aquaculture and water recreation services;

b) Using landscapes of ecosystems for tourism and recreation services.

2. Cases of exemption from PES:

a) Organizations and individuals in disadvantaged areas, poor households, near-poor households certified by local authorities;

b) Individuals conducting production and business activities who are incapacitated, dead or declared dead or missing who have no property to make payment or their guardian or inheritor incapable to repay their debts;

c) Organizations conducting production and business activities that receive dissolution or bankruptcy decisions from competent authorities under regulations of law and have neither capital nor assets to make PES to ecosystem service providers;

d) Ecosystem service users that are also ecosystem service providers. They are obliged to record the costs of protecting, maintaining and developing ecosystems.

Article 124. PES schemes

1. The provincial specialized environmental protection authority shall preside over and cooperate with relevant agencies in formulating a PES scheme specified in clause 2 Article 121 of this Decree within its province and submitting it to the provincial People’s Committee for approval.

2. Main contents of a provincial PES scheme include:

a) General information about areas providing ecosystem services; list of and maps showing areas providing ecosystem services. Maps include printed map and digital map at the scale of 1:25,000 - 1:100.000 (depending on shape and area of the province);

b) Organizations and individuals providing and entitled to be paid for their ecosystem services;

c) Types of ecosystem services entitled to be provided; types of activities using ecosystems and measures to reduce adverse effects on the ecosystem;

d) Methods of making payments, minimum level of payments for the types of ecosystem services specified in Article 125 and clause 1 Article 126 of this Decree;

dd) Implementation plan and responsibilities of relevant authorities, organizations and individuals;

e) Inspection and supervision of PES.

3. If the local government has yet to formulate or approve a provincial PES scheme, the provincial specialized environmental protection authority shall preside over and cooperate with relevant agencies in formulating a scheme for one or more ecosystems.

4. Every PES provider shall formulate an internal PES scheme for the areas applying PES in conformity with the provincial PES scheme specified in clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

5. Main contents of an internal PES scheme include:

a) Name and place of the ecosystem;

b) General information about areas providing ecosystem services; maps describing the boundaries and boundary markers of and area at which ecosystem services are provided at the scale of 1:5,000 to 1:25,000 (depending on the shape and size of the area providing ecosystem services);

c) Types of ecosystem services entitled to be provided;

d) List of ecosystem service users;

dd) Measures for preserving, maintaining and developing ecosystems;

e) Estimated payments, payment method;

g) A plan to use revenue from payment for ecosystem services.

6. An area providing the ecosystem services specified in clause 2 Article 121 of this Decree shall be determined according to the following rules:

a) Areas providing wetland ecosystem services include significant wetlands, waters in buffer zones of wetland conservation areas and other areas where tourism business, recreation and aquaculture activities using services provided by wetland ecosystems (if any) are carried out;

b) Areas providing marine ecosystem services include marine protected areas and waters in buffer zones of marine protected areas; aquatic resource protection areas; other areas where tourism business, recreation and aquaculture activities using services provided by marine ecosystems (if any) are carried out;

c) Areas providing rocky mountain, cave and geopark ecosystem services for the purposes of tourism business and leisure include the entire area of the rocky mountain, cave and geopark.

Article 125. Methods for making PES

1. Every ecosystem service user shall make direct payment to the ecosystem service provider under an agreement between the two parties. If not making direct payment, the ecosystem service user shall pay the ecosystem service provider via the provincial environment protection fund or VEPF if the local authority has yet to establish a provincial environment protection fund.

2. Ecosystem service users shall pay for ecosystem services from the date on which such ecosystem services are available. For the ecosystem services used before the effective date of this Decree, the PES shall be made from the effective date of this Decree.

3. Payment for ecosystem services made with authorization:

a) Every contract for authorized collection of PES shall conform to the PES scheme for the entire area applying PES as specified in clause 4 Article 128 of this Article;

b) Before October 15, the ecosystem service user shall submit a plan to make PES to the authorized environment protection fund;

c) By December 15, the ecosystem service user shall make a statement of PES and send it to the authorized environment protection fund;

d) The ecosystem service user shall make payments on a quarterly or annual basis. The time limit for making payments is 10 days from the end of the quarter in case of making payments on a quarterly basis and 10 days from the end of the first quarter in case of making payments on an annual basis.

4. MONRE shall promulgate form of a PES contract; form of a plan to make PES; form of a statement of PES prescribed in clause 3 of this Article.

Article 126. Level of PES

1. The level of PES for tourism business, leisure or aquaculture activities shall be determined on the basis of a voluntary agreement between the ecosystem service provider and ecosystem service user in accordance with the PES scheme specified in Article 124 of this Decree ensuring that such level equals at least 01% of the revenue generated by tourism, leisure or aquaculture in the period in the area providing ecosystem services as specified in clause 6 Article 124 of this Decree.

2. If an organization or individual that conducts production and business activities is affected by a natural disaster, conflagration or epidemic directly damaging their capital or assets, thereby resulting in their incapacity or suspension of their production and business activities shall receive a discount on PES. The discount on PES shall be agreed upon and decided by to the ecosystem service provider and ecosystem service user.

Article 127. Use and management of PES

1. The ecosystem service provider is entitled to decide to use PES after discharging financial obligations to the State as prescribed by law.

2. If the entity specified in Article 122 of this Decree is the wildlife sanctuary management board or organization assigned to manage, protect, maintain and develop the ecosystems as prescribed by law, after deducting reasonable costs of preserving, maintaining and developing the ecosystems as prescribed in clause 3 of this Article, the remaining PES shall be transferred to the provincial environment protection fund or VEPF if the local authority has yet to establish a provincial environment protection fund for the purposes of coordination and protection, maintenance and development of other ecosystems within the province.

3. Reasonable costs of preserving, maintaining and developing ecosystems include:

a) Cost of organizing the implementation of the PES scheme;

b) Payments for the party preserving, maintaining and developing ecosystems under a package contract;

c) Cost of inspection, supervision, production of statistics on, inventory and assessment of ecosystems;

d) Cost of ecosystem restoration;

dd) Payments for the authorized environment protection fund specified in point c clause 5 of this Article;

e) Other expenditures directly serving preservation, maintenance and development of ecosystems as prescribed by law.

4. The authorized environment protection fund shall make a plan for collection and use and estimate of expenditures of management of PES by the authorization method as follows:

a) Check the accuracy of the area at which ecosystem services are provided; make a list of ecosystem service providers;

b) Consolidate plans to make PES of ecosystem service users;

c) Prepare a plan for collection and use of PES; estimate of expenditures on management of PES in the fourth quarter every year; submit them to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (if the authorized environment protection fund is the VEPF) or to the provincial People’s Committee (if the authorized environment protection fund is the provincial environment protection fund) for decision;

d) Notify the plan for collection and use of PES to the ecosystem service provider as prescribed by law.

5. The determination and coordination of PES for ecosystem service providers made with authorization shall be carried out as follows:

a) Before March 31, according to PES actually collected in the previous year and result of determination of the area eligible for payment, the director of the authorized environment protection fund shall determine the PES made to the ecosystem service providers in the previous year so as to coordinate and make PES to the ecosystem service providers;

b) Before April 15, the authorized environment protection fund shall notify the ecosystem service provider of the PES;

c) The authorized environment protection fund is entitled to deduct no more than 10% of the total PES made with authorization to serve the activities specified in clause 6 of this Article.

6. The deducted amounts for the authorized environment protection fund shall be used to provide for additional expenditures on operation of the authorized environment protection fund in direct support of ecosystem service payment under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

7. MONRE shall promulgate form of a consolidated plan to make PES of ecosystem service users; form of a plan for collection and use of PES; form of an estimate of expenditures on management of PES; form of a notification of PES issued by the authorized environment protection fund to the ecosystem service provider prescribed in points b and c clause 4, points a and b clause 5 of this Article.

Articles 128. Rights and obligations of ecosystem service providers

1. Reserve the right to request ecosystem service users to pay for ecosystem services according to this Decree and other relevant regulations of law.

2. Have the obligation to use PES for their intended purposes specified in clauses 1, 2 and 3 Article 127 of this Decree.

3. Have the obligation to maintain the area at which ecosystem services are provided and ensure quality of provided ecosystem services under regulations of law and signed PES contracts.

4. Have obligation to formulate their internal PES schemes as prescribed in clauses 4 and 5 Article 124 of this Decree before entering into contracts with ecosystem service users; send 01 scheme to the provincial specialized environmental protection authority for supervision and management purposes.

5. Exercise other rights and obligations as prescribed by law.

Articles 129. Rights and obligations of ecosystem service users

1. Be informed of the maintenance, protection and development of ecosystems within areas where ecosystem services are provided and results thereof; be informed of the area and status of ecosystems assessed by ecosystem service providers.

2. Be entitled to participate in the process of formulating a plan for, carrying out, inspecting and supervising protection and development of ecosystems within areas where ecosystem services are provided.

3. Request an ecosystem service provider to adjust PES in case where it fails to adhere to the signed contract in terms of the area or status of the ecosystem for which the ecosystem service users has made respective payments.

4. Sign contracts and declare PES payable to the authorized environment protection fund in case of making PES with authorization.

5. Take legal responsibility for the accuracy of information provided as the basis for determining the level of PES.

6. Make PES sufficiently and by the deadline specified in the signed PES contract.

7. Participate in protecting ecosystems in areas where ecosystem services are provided; take measures to prevent and control impacts of production and business activities on ecosystems and take responsibility for restoration of ecosystems if they are affected.

8. Be notified by the authorized environment protection fund of results of payment for ecosystem services made with authorization to ecosystem service providers in case of making PES with authorization.

Section 2. LIABILITY INSURANCE AGAINST COMPENSATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE; INCENTIVES AND ASSISTANCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Article 130. Entities required to buy liability insurance against environmental damage

The owners of the investment projects and business involved in types of business, production and services likely to cause environmental protection with large capacity specified in Column 3 Appendix II enclosed with this Decree shall buy liability insurance against environmental damage.

Article 131. Entities entitled to incentives and assistance in environmental protection

1. The entities entitled to incentives and assistance in environmental protection include organizations and individuals investing in environmental protection works; conducting production and business activities and providing services in relation to environmental protection in projects and business lines eligible for investment incentives specified in the Appendix XXX enclosed herewith.

2. Rules for providing incentives and assistance are specified in clause 1 Article 141 of LEP.

Article 132. Land assistance

1. The owners of the projects on construction of environmental protection works specified in clauses 1 and 3 in the Appendix XXX enclosed with this Decree are entitled to receive assistance in construction of infrastructural constructions as follows:

a) The State prioritizes the allocation of land associated with available works and technical infrastructural construction items (roads, electricity, water supply and drainage, communication, energy) outside the scope of the projects connected to the common technical infrastructure system of the area without holding an auction of land use rights;

b) If the State fails to allocated land associated with available works and technical infrastructural construction items outside the scope of the projects connected to the common technical infrastructure system of the area, the project owners are entitled to receive assistance in construction of infrastructural constructions in accordance with regulations of law on investment.

2. The owner of the investment project specified in point b clause 3 in the Appendix XXX enclosed with this Decree shall be entitled to incentives for exemption and reduction of land levy and land rents in accordance with regulations of law on land as entities in projects and special business lines eligible for investment incentives.

3. The owner of the investment project specified in point b clause 3 in the Appendix XXX enclosed with this Decree shall be entitled to incentives for exemption and reduction of land levy and land rents in accordance with regulations of law on land as entities in projects and special business lines eligible for investment incentives.

 Funding for paying compensations and covering land clearance costs which has been advanced by the investment project owner according to the plan approved by the competent authority shall be deducted in accordance with regulations of law on land.

4. Regarding a project on relocation of households from a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or relocation of a operating business in the case of land expropriation by the State, the compensation, assistance and relocation shall comply with regulations of law on land.

Article 133. Investment capital incentives and assistance

1. Incentives from VEPF and provincial environment protection funds:

a) If a project owner that carries out the activity specified in point a clause 1 in the Appendix XXX enclosed herewith applies a waste treatment technology with the percentage of waste to be buried after treatment of less than 30% of the total volume of collected solid waste, such owner shall be entitled to loan at a preferential interest rate of no more than 50% of the state interest rate of investment credit announced by the competent authority at the time of lending, the total loan shall not exceed 80% of the total investment in construction; such owner shall be also entitled to prioritized post-investment assistance covered by the annual revenue and expenditure difference;

b) If a project owner that carries out the activities specified in clause 3 Article 55 of the LEP and the Appendix XXX enclosed herewith is not specified in point a of this Clause, such owner shall be entitled to loan at a preferential interest rate of no more than 50% of the state interest rate of investment credit announced by the competent authority at the time of lending; the total loan shall not exceed 70% of the total investment in construction of works; such owner shall be also entitled to prioritized post-investment assistance covered by the annual revenue and expenditure difference.

2. Incentives from the Vietnam Development Bank: comply with the Governments regulations on state investment credit.

3. MONRE shall provide instructions on loan and post-investment assistance of interest rate specified in clause 1 of this Article; grants, co-grants or other aids to environment protection activities from VEPF. The provincial People’s Committee shall provide instructions on loan and post-investment assistance of interest rate specified in clause 1 of this Article; grants, co-grants or other aids to environment protection activities of the province from the provincial environment protection fund.

4. The extension of credit guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises taking out loans from lenders shall comply with regulations of law on credit guarantee.

5. The state budget shall provide interest rate subsidies directly for investors after medium-term and long-term loans have been settled to carry out environmental protection activities according to Appendix XXX enclosed herewith and the projects granted green credit at credit institutions, foreign bank branches in Vietnam. The project owner shall provide sufficient documentary evidence for the project and take legal responsibility for the efficiency and accuracy in terms of beneficiaries of interest rate subsidies.

Article 134. Tax, fee and charge incentives

1. Corporate income tax incentive: corporate income obtained from an investment project on the list of environmental protection activities eligible for incentives and assistance specified in clauses 1 and 2 in the Appendix XXX hereof shall be entitled to corporate income tax incentive in accordance with regulations of law on corporate income tax.

2. Other tax, fee and charge incentives shall comply with regulations of law on tax, fees and charges.

Article 135. Subsidies on environmental protection products and services

1. A list of public environmental protection products and services contains:

a) Domestic wastewater collection and treatment services for urban areas and high density residential areas;

b) Domestic solid waste collection and transport services for households and individuals;

c) Public transport services, except for oil-powered public transport services.

2. The provision of subsidies on the public products and services specified in clause 1 of this Article shall comply with the Government’s regulations  on task assignment, ordering or bidding for supply of public products and services funded by state budget for recurrent expenditures.

Article 136. Green procurement for investment projects and tasks funded by state budget

1. It is required to prioritize the use of Vietnam Ecolabel certified eco-friendly products and services for public procurement items or public investment items in investment projects and tasks funded by the state budget according to the Government's regulations.

2. When preparing bidding documents for public procurement, the requests for procurement and use of Vietnam Ecolabel certified eco-friendly products and services shall be included in the contractor selection criteria.

3. Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals are encouraged to implement green procurement and use Vietnam Ecolabel certified eco-friendly products and services.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall elaborate or request a competent authority to elaborate on prioritizing procurement of eco-friendly products and services in bidding for implementation of projects and tasks by contractors and investors using Vietnam Ecolabel certified products and services.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall elaborate or request a competent authority to elaborate on green procurement with respect to projects and tasks funded by the state budget.

Article 137. Assistance in promoting recommended environmental protection activities

1. The State encourages organizations, individuals, enterprises and cooperatives to carry out the following activities:

a) Promote products obtained from environmental protection activities, recall and treatment of discarded products;

b) Produce and disseminate various types of films and television programs on environmental protection in order to raise people's awareness of environmental protection and use of eco-friendly products;

c) Provide free tools for households and individuals to classify waste in domestic solid waste.

2. The costs of carrying out the activities specified in clause 1 of this Article shall be recorded in the production costs of organizations, individuals, enterprises and cooperatives as prescribed by law.

Section 3. CRITERIA, ROADMAP AND MECHANISMS FOR ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Article 138. General provisions on circular economy

1. General criteria for circular economy

a) Reduce the exploitation and use of non-renewable resources and water resources; increase efficiency in the use of resources, raw materials and materials; save energy;

b) Extend useful life of materials, equipment, products, goods, parts;

c) Reduce waste generated and minimize adverse impacts on the environment including reducing solid waste, wastewater and emissions; reducing the use of toxic chemicals; recycling waste, recovering energy; reducing disposable products; develop green purchasing habits.

2. Every business owner shall rely on the action plans specified in point a clause 3, clause 4 and clause 5 Article 139 of this Decree in order to take one or more measures in the following order of priority to meet the circular economy criteria:

a) Restrict the use of non-eco-friendly products; make the best use of equipment and products; increase efficiency in product manufacture or efficiently use natural resources, raw materials and materials;

b) Extend the life cycle of products and their parts, including: reuse (reuse by another consumer); repair (repair or maintenance of defective product to prolong their useful life); refurbish (restore an old product and bring it up to date); remanufacture (use parts of discarded product in a new product with the same function); repurpose (use discarded product or its parts in a new product with a different function);

c) Reduce waste generated, including recycling waste (treat and process waste to convert it into useful raw materials, fuel and materials); incineration of waste with energy recovery.

3. Every owner of an investment project, business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster shall rely on the action plans specified in point a clause 3, clause 4 and clause 5 Article 139 of this Decree in order to take one or more measures below to meet the circular economy criteria:

a) Design an optimal master plan which establishes a connection between investment projects and businesses to improve efficiency in use and reduce the consumption of soil, water, minerals and energy; increase the recycling rate and reduce the total amount of waste generated; other measures specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) Develop and use clean and renewable energy as prescribed by law;

c) Collect and store rainwater for reuse; collect, treat and reuse wastewater;

d) Carry out industrial symbiosis activities in accordance with regulations of law on management of industrial parks and economic zones.

4. The owner of a project on investment in an urban area or high density residential area shall rely on the action plans specified in point a clause 3, clause 4 and clause 5 Article 139 of this Decree in order to design, organize management and implement the following measures to meet the circular economy criteria:

a) Design an optimal master plan so as to increase efficiency in use and reduce the consumption of soil, water and energy;

b) Apply eco-friendly transport solutions, reducing greenhouse gas emissions;

c) Develop and use clean and renewable energy as prescribed by law;

d) Implement other environmental protection measures as prescribed by law.

Article 139. Roadmap and responsibility for implementing circular economy

1. MONRE shall:

a) Preside over and cooperate with Ministries, ministerial agencies and provincial People’s Committee in formulating and submitting to the Prime Minister a national action plan on circular economy as prescribed in clause 5 of this Article before December 31, 2023;

b) Build and operate a platform for connecting information and sharing data on application of the circular economy model;

c) Establish and introduce a methodological framework for application and assessment of implementation of circular economy;

d) Fulfill the responsibilities specified in clause 2 of this Article in the industries and fields under its management.

2. Ministries and ministerial agencies shall rely on their assigned functions, tasks and fields under the state management in order to:

a) Formulate and approve an action plan for implementation of the circular economy applied to the industries, fields and products in conformity with the national action plan mentioned in clause 5 of this Article;

b) Organize dissemination of laws and provision of education and training in circular economy;

c) Incorporate specific criteria for implementation of circular economy in the process of formulating development strategies, planning, plans, programs and projects; management, reuse and recycling of waste;

d) Manage and update information and data on implementation of circular economy and integrate them with the MONRE’s information system;

dd) Organize pilot application of the circular economy to the energy, fuel and waste industries and fields according to the action plans specified in clauses 4 and 5 of this Article;

e) Fulfill other responsibilities related to circular economy according to regulations of this Decree.

3. Provincial People’s Committees shall:

a) Formulate and seek opinions of Ministries and ministerial agencies concerned and approve a provincial action plan for implementation in conformity with the national action plan mentioned in clause 4 of this Article;

b) Fulfill the responsibilities specified in points b, c, d and e clause 2 of this Article within their provinces;

c) Organize pilot application of the circular economy model to the energy, fuel and waste industries and fields according to the action plans specified in point a of this clause, clauses 4 and 5 of this Article.

4. The national action plan on circular economy includes the following contents:

a) Overall analysis of current exploitation and use of natural resources; production and consumption; waste generation and forecasting of waste generated; domestic and international contexts for implementation of circular economy;

b) Viewpoints, overall objectives, specific objectives and expenditures on implementation of circular economy during the 10-year national action plan period;

c) Tasks and roadmap for implementation of circular economy applied to industries and fields, especially prioritized industries and fields to which the circular economy is applied in each period; list of specific industries and fields for which guidelines for application of circular economy have to be provided;

d) Determining types of investment projects and businesses required to produce a design in order to meet the circular economy criteria; applying apply cleaner production, production of eco-friendly products, production using recycled materials, management of life cycle of chemicals and waste;

dd) Solutions for implementing circular economy, including disseminating, providing education and training in knowledge and laws; developing science and technology; developing human resources; developing technical infrastructure; connecting and sharing information and data; raising capital; international cooperation and other solutions;

e) Organizing the implementation, including delegating responsibilities to the presiding authority and cooperating authorities; supervision and reporting regulations; allocation of resources.

5. The action plan for implementation of the circular economy applied to industries, fields and products must conform to the national action plan mentioned in clause 4 of this Article. According to characteristics of each industry, field and product, it is required to specify solutions for circular economy implementation in the action plan in compliance with the regulations laid down in clauses 2, 3 and 4 Article 138 of this Decree.

6. Every owner of an investment project, business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster shall implement circular economy according to the action plans specified in point a clause 3, clause 4 and clause 5 of this Article.

7. Owners of investment projects, businesses, investors in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters are encouraged to apply circular economy earlier than the roadmap specified in the action plans mentioned in point a clause 3, clause 4 and clause 5 of this Article.

8. Owners of investment projects, businesses, investors in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters operating before the effective date of this Decree are encouraged to continue to apply one or more measures mentioned in clauses 2, 4 and 4 Article 138 of this Decree (if any).

Article 140. Mechanisms for encouraging implementation of circular economy

1. The State prioritizes the development of circular economy for the following activities:

a) Conducting scientific researches, developing applications, transferring technologies, producing equipment and training personnel to implement circular economy;

b) Providing a platform for connecting information and sharing data on circular economy.

2. Any organization or individual that carries out an activity or has a project applying the circular economy model and is entitled to the incentives or assistance in environmental protection and any project issued with green credit as prescribed by law are entitled to the incentives and assistance prescribed in Articles 131, 132, 133, 134, 135 and 137 of this Decree and other relevant regulations of law and encouraging mechanisms related to green credit and green bonds prescribed in Articles 154, 155, 156 and 157 of this Decree.

3. The State encourages the following activities for development of circular economy:

a) Studying and developing technologies and technical solutions, providing circular economy assessment, design and consulting services as prescribed by law;

b) Developing models for connecting and sharing the circular use of products and waste; establishing recycling cooperative groups, cooperatives, cooperative unions and alliances, models for regional connection and rural and urban area connection and other models as prescribed by law so as to carry out investment, manufacturing and business activities, thereby meeting the circular economy criteria;

c) Adopting industrial symbiosis measures in accordance with regulations of law on management of industrial parks and economic zones;

d) Developing discarded product reusing and waste recycling market;

dd) Mobilizing social resources for implementation of circular economy as prescribed by law;

e) Developing international cooperation, exchanging experience, knowledge and technologies in relation to circular economy as prescribed by law.

Section 4. DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Article 141. Environmental industry technologies, equipment and products

1. The list of technologies, equipment and products specified in clause 1 Article 143 of the LEP is provided in the Appendix XXXI enclosed herewith.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministries and ministerial agencies concerned in promulgating a specific list of environmental industry technologies, equipment and products specified in clause 1 of this Article.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in requesting the Prime Minister to add statistical indicators on environmental industry to the national statistical indicator system; direct the periodic public announcement of statistical information on environmental industry.

Article 142. Environmental industry development policy

1. The State shall prioritize the development of the technologies, equipment and products specified in clauses 1 and 2 Article 141 of this Decree in order to important and long-term environmental issues on regional, national and international scale which influence the country's sustainable development; prevent and respond to environmental emergencies and disasters.

2. Organizations and individuals which invest in production of equipment, products and goods and development of technologies eligible for environmental protection incentives and assistance shall be entitled to the incentives and assistance in accordance with the regulations set out in Articles 131, 132, 133, 134, 135 and 137 of this Decree and other relevant regulations of law.

3. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall preside over and cooperate with Ministries, ministerial agencies and provincial People’s Committees in formulating and submitting an environmental industry development program to the Prime Minister for approval.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in assigning HS codes to environmental goods in the Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature so as to implement the roadmap for opening market for environmental goods in accordance with international commitments.

Article 143. Services under environmental service development

1. The environmental services specified in clause 3 Article 144 of the LEP.

2. Environmental remediation services for domestic solid waste landfills; services involving collection and treatment of plastic waste floating in seas and oceans.

3. Renewable energy, fuel-efficient, low emission or zero emission transport services as prescribed by law.

Article 144. Encouraging environmental service development

1. Organizations and individuals are entitled to provide environmental services in the fields specified in Article 143 of this Decree.

2. Organizations and individuals participating in providing environmental services specified in clause 1 of this Article shall satisfy the requirements as prescribed by law.

3. Investment projects involving waste collection, recycling and treatment shall be entitled to the incentives and assistance specified in Article 141 of the LEP.

4. Provincial People’s Committees shall set up, appraise, approve or submit to a competent authority for approval and organize execution of approved PPP investment projects on collection and centralized treatment of domestic wastewater and treatment of domestic solid waste in compliance with regulations of law on PPP investment.

5. MONRE shall preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and agencies concerned in:

a) setting up, appraising, approving or submitting to a competent authority for approval and organize execution of approved PPP investment projects on collection and centralized treatment of domestic wastewater and inter-regional and inter-provincial treatment of domestic solid waste in compliance with regulations of law on PPP investment;

b) formulating proposals for investment projects and submitting them to authorities competent to decide guidelines for investment in areas for recycling and inter-regional and inter-provincial treatment of waste in compliance with relevant regulations of law.

6. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall preside over and cooperate with Ministries and ministerial agencies in:

a) completing mechanisms and policies providing guidance on and encouraging application of eco-industrial park models;

b) presiding over and cooperating with ministries and local authorities in building and perfecting resource efficiency database in industrial parks with the aim of making such database available for use to dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision. 

Section 5. ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Article 145. Eco-friendly products and services

1. MONRE shall provide for criteria and certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for eco-friendly products and services; provide guidance on and inspect the satisfaction of Vietnam Ecolabel criteria by organizations and individuals having Vietnam Ecolabel certified products and services.

2. Organizations and individuals producing Vietnam Ecolabel certified products and providing Vietnam Ecolabel certified services shall be entitled to the incentives specified in Section 2 of this Chapter.

3. The decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for eco-friendly products and services shall be valid for 36 months from the date of issue.

4. Any certificate of eco-friendly plastic bag or decision to certify product to satisfy Vietnam Green Label criteria issued by the competent authority before the effective date of this Decree shall remain valid until its expiry date.

5. Ministries and ministerial agencies are encouraged to incorporate the environmental criteria conformable with Vietnam Ecolabel criteria into certification of products and services in accordance with relevant regulations of law.

Article 146. Application for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel

1. An application form for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for ecofriendly products and services, which is made using the form in the Appendix XXXII enclosed herewith.

2. A report on products and services satisfying Vietnam Ecolabel criteria, which is made using the form in the Appendix XXXIII enclosed herewith.

3. The product testing result which must be given no more than 06 months before the date on which MONRE receives a valid application enclosed with a sample of the product to be certified. The product testing must be conducted by testing bodies satisfying the regulations laid down in Article 149 hereof.

4. A drawing or photo of the industrial design with 21 cm x 29 cm dimensions and description of the product's specifications.

5. The application for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel shall be valid for 06 months from the date on which an application acknowledgement receipt is issued. If the 06-month period expires, the applicant shall submit a new application.

Article 147. Procedures for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel

1. Within 05 days from the receipt of the application, MONRE shall consider its adequacy and validity; if the application is not sufficient and valid, request the applicant in writing to complete it. Within 30 days from the receipt of a sufficient and valid application, MONRE shall carry out an assessment according to the procedures for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.

2. Procedures for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel include the following activities: establishing an assessment council; carrying out a site survey; holding an assessment council’s meeting; where necessary, carrying out an expert assessment to assess the conformity with the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria. If the assessment result shows that the product or service satisfies the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria, MONRE shall promulgate a decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for product/service. If the assessment result shows that the product or service fails to satisfy the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria, MONRE shall send the applicant a written notification specifying the reasons for such failure.

3. If the applicant wishes to keep applying for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel, 03 months before the expiry date of the decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel, the organization or individual issued with the decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel shall prepare an application as prescribed in Article 146 of this Decree.

4. If the applicant changes any technical specification or characteristic of the product or service or make another change in relation to the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria, they shall submit an application for assessment and certification to MONRE as prescribed in Article 148 of this Decree.

5. The decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for product/service shall be made using the form in the Appendix XXXIV enclosed herewith.

6. MONRE shall provide for assessment of products and services satisfying the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria; form of the report on results of assessment of applications for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for products and services satisfying the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria.

Article 148. Renewal and revocation of decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel

1. Within the effective period of the certification decision, if the organization or individual changes any information specified in such certification, including name, address, legal representative, business registration code of the enterprise, brand and other changes without changing any information in relation to satisfaction of the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria, the following regulations shall be complied with:

a) The organization or individual shall submit an application form for adjustment of the decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel enclosed with documents concerning the adjustments (if any) to MONRE;

b) Within 15 days from the receipt of the application form for adjustment of the decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel, in case of consent, MONRE shall renew the decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel for product/service.

2. The decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel issued to the product or service shall be revoked in one of the following cases:

a) The product or service no longer satisfy the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria;

b) The organization or individual producing the product or providing the service fails to fulfill the commitment specified in the application for certification of Vietnam Ecolabel.

3. Within 15 days from the date on which it is determined that the product or service is the one specified in clause 2 of this Article, MONRE shall issue a decision on certification of Vietnam Ecolabel.

Article 149. Organizations carrying out monitoring, analysis and assessing conformity of products and services with Vietnam Ecolabel criteria

The monitoring, analysis and assessment of conformity of products and services with Vietnam Ecolabel criteria shall be carried out by suitably sufficient organizations, including:

1. Organizations certified by MONRE eligible to provide environmental monitoring services.

2. Assessment conformity bodies certified by regulations of law on science and technology.

3. Domestic and international testing bodies certified conformable with ISO/IEC 17025 by accreditation bodies which are signatories to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), Asia-Pacific Accreditation Cooperation Organization (APAC) and International Laboratory Accreditation Association (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Agreement.

Article 150. Publishing and mutual recognition of eco-friendly product and service certification

1. MONRE shall publish and update the list of Vietnam Ecolabel certified products and services on its website.

2. MONRE shall sign and publish contents of the mutual recognition agreement on Vietnam Ecolabel certified products and services certification with international ecolabel certification bodies.

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