List of Conditional Business Lines Attached to Appendix IV of the Law on Investment of Vietnam 2020 (as amended and supplemented)
1. What is a Conditional Business Line?
A business line is a sector in which an enterprise is permitted to continuously carry out one, several, or all stages of the investment process, from production to product consumption or provision of services in the market, for the purpose of profit. Therefore, conditional business lines have the following characteristics:
- An enterprise is only permitted to conduct a conditional business line after satisfying all conditions as prescribed by law.
- Currently, individuals and organizations have the right to freely conduct business in all sectors, lines, and fields that are not prohibited by law. In addition, enterprises must ensure that they satisfy the business conditions as stipulated by the Law on Investment 2020 and must maintain these investment and business conditions throughout the operating process.
- A conditional business line is a sector or line of business where the investment and business activities must satisfy certain conditions for reasons of: national defense, national security, social order and safety, social ethics, and community health.
- Thus, to determine a conditional business line, an enterprise needs to pay attention to two issues:
- Which business lines belong to the List of Conditional Business Lines, and
- The conditions for conducting the conditional business lines.
- Note: The List of Business Lines Prohibited from Investment and Business includes:
- Trading in narcotics specified in Appendix I of the Law on Investment 2020;
- Trading in chemicals and minerals specified in Appendix II of the Law on Investment 2020;
- Trading in specimens of wild flora and fauna of natural origin as prescribed;
- Trading in prostitution;
- Trading in human beings, tissues, corpses, human organs, and human fetuses;
- Business activities related to human cloning;
- Trading in firecrackers;
- Trading in debt collection services.
2. List of Conditional Business Lines in Vietnam
The List of Conditional Business Lines is promulgated together with Appendix IV of the Law on Investment of Vietnam 2020 (as amended and supplemented).
| No. | Conditional Business Line |
| 1 | Seal production |
| 2 | Trading in supporting tools (including repair) |
| 3 | Trading in firework types, excluding firecrackers |
| 4 | Trading in camouflaged equipment and software used for recording, filming, and positioning |
| 5 | Trading in paintball guns |
| 6 | Trading in military supplies, military equipment for the armed forces, military weapons, specialized military and police equipment, techniques, ordnance, vehicles; components, parts, accessories, materials, and specialized equipment, specialized technology for manufacturing them |
| 7 | Trading in pawn services |
| 8 | Trading in massage services |
| 9 | Trading in signal emitting devices for priority vehicles |
| 10 | Trading in security services |
| 11 | Trading in fire prevention and fighting services |
| 12 | Law practice |
| 13 | Notary practice |
| 14 | Judicial expertise practice in the fields of finance, banking, construction, antiques, relics, and copyright |
| 15 | Asset auction practice |
| 16 | Practice as a bailiff |
| 17 | Practice of managing and liquidating assets of enterprises and cooperatives in the process of bankruptcy resolution |
| 18 | Trading in accounting services |
| 19 | Trading in auditing services |
| 20 | Trading in tax procedure services |
| 21 | Trading in customs procedure services |
| 22 | Trading in duty-free goods |
| 23 | Trading in bonded warehouses, and places for gathering less than container load (LCL) goods |
| 24 | Trading in locations for customs procedures, gathering, inspection, and customs supervision |
| 25 | Securities trading |
| 26 | Trading in securities registration, depository, clearing, and settlement services of the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, and organizations operating the market for listed securities and other securities |
| 27 | Insurance trading |
| 28 | Reinsurance trading |
| 29 | Insurance brokerage |
| 30 | Insurance agency |
| 31 | Trading in valuation services |
| 32 | Lottery trading |
| 33 | Trading in electronic prize-winning games for foreigners |
| 34 | Trading in credit rating services |
| 35 | Casino trading |
| 36 | Trading in betting |
| 37 | Trading in voluntary pension fund management services |
| 38 | Trading in petroleum |
| 39 | Trading in gas |
| 40 | Trading in commercial inspection services |
| 41 | Trading in industrial explosives (including destruction activities) |
| 42 | Trading in explosive precursors |
| 43 | Trading in sectors and lines using industrial explosives and explosive precursors |
| 44 | Trading in blasting services |
| 45 | Trading in chemicals, excluding chemicals prohibited by the International Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, Use and Destruction of Chemical Weapons |
| 46 | Trading in liquor |
| 47 | Trading in tobacco products, tobacco raw materials, machinery, and equipment specialized for the tobacco industry |
| 48 | Trading in food under the specialized management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade |
| 49 | Commodity Exchange activities |
| 50 | Activities of power generation, transmission, distribution, wholesale, retail, and specialized consultancy in electricity |
| 51 | Rice export |
| 52 | Trading in temporary import for re-export of goods subject to special consumption tax |
| 53 | Trading in temporary import for re-export of frozen food |
| 54 | Trading in temporary import for re-export of goods on the List of used goods |
| 55 | Trading in minerals |
| 56 | Trading in industrial precursors |
| 57 | Activities of goods trading and activities directly related to goods trading of foreign service suppliers in Vietnam |
| 58 | Multi-level marketing business |
| 59 | E-commerce activities |
| 60 | Oil and gas activities |
| 61 | Energy audit |
| 62 | Vocational education activities |
| 63 | Quality accreditation of vocational education |
| 64 | Trading in occupational skills assessment services |
| 65 | Trading in technical inspection services for occupational safety |
| 66 | Trading in occupational safety and health training services |
| 67 | Trading in employment services |
| 68 | Trading in services for sending workers abroad |
| 69 | Trading in services for voluntary drug addiction treatment, tobacco addiction treatment, HIV/AIDS treatment, care for the elderly, people with disabilities, and children |
| 70 | Trading in labor lease services |
| 71 | Road transport business |
| 72 | Trading in automobile warranty and maintenance services |
| 73 | Manufacturing, assembly, and import of automobiles |
| 74 | Trading in motor vehicle inspection services |
| 75 | Trading in automobile driving training services |
| 76 | Trading in traffic safety scrutinizer training services |
| 77 | Trading in driving test services |
| 78 | Trading in traffic safety scrutiny services |
| 79 | Inland waterway transport business |
| 80 | Trading in services for new construction, conversion, repair, and restoration of inland waterway vehicles |
| 81 | Trading in services for training crew and operators of inland waterway vehicles |
| 82 | Training and instruction of seafarers and organizing recruitment and supply of seafarers |
| 83 | Trading in maritime safety assurance services |
| 84 | Sea transport business |
| 85 | Trading in tugboat services |
| 86 | Import and dismantling of used sea-going vessels |
| 87 | Trading in services for new construction, conversion, and repair of sea-going vessels |
| 88 | Trading in port operations |
| 89 | Air transport business |
| 90 | Trading in services for design, production, maintenance, testing of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and aircraft equipment and accessories in Vietnam |
| 91 | Trading in airports and airfields |
| 92 | Trading in aviation services at airports and airfields |
| 93 | Trading in flight operation assurance services |
| 94 | Trading in training and instruction services for aviation personnel |
| 95 | Railway transport business |
| 96 | Trading in railway infrastructure |
| 97 | Urban railway business |
| 98 | Trading in multimodal transport services |
| 99 | Trading in dangerous goods transportation services |
| 100 | Pipeline transport business |
| 101 | Real estate trading |
| 102 | Trading in clean water (domestic water) |
| 103 | Trading in architectural services |
| 104 | Trading in construction investment project management consulting services |
| 105 | Trading in construction survey services |
| 106 | Trading in construction design and design appraisal services |
| 107 | Trading in construction supervision consulting services |
| 108 | Trading in construction execution services |
| 109 | Construction activities of foreign contractors |
| 110 | Trading in construction investment cost management services |
| 111 | Trading in construction inspection services |
| 112 | Trading in specialized construction testing services |
| 113 | Trading in condominium operation and management services |
| 114 | Trading in management and operation services for cremation facilities |
| 115 | Trading in construction planning design services |
| 116 | Trading in white asbestos products of the Serpentine group |
| 117 | Trading in postal services |
| 118 | Trading in telecommunications services |
| 119 | Trading in trust services |
| 120 | Publishing house activities |
| 121 | Trading in printing services, excluding packaging printing |
| 122 | Trading in publication distribution services |
| 123 | Trading in social networking services |
| 124 | Trading in games on telecommunications networks, the Internet |
| 125 | Trading in paid radio and television broadcasting services |
| 126 | Trading in services for establishing general electronic information pages |
| 127 | Services of processing, recycling, repairing, and refurbishing used information technology products on the List of used information technology products prohibited from import for foreign partners |
| 128 | Trading in content information services on mobile telecommunications networks, the Internet |
| 129 | Trading in domain name registration and maintenance services |
| 130 | Trading in data center services |
| 131 | Trading in electronic authentication services |
| 132 | Trading in network information security products and services |
| 132a | Trading in network security products and services (excluding trading in network information security products and services and trading in civil cryptography products and services) |
| 133 | Trading in imported press publication services |
| 134 | Trading in civil cryptography products and services |
| 135 | Trading in mobile communication jamming and signal blocking devices |
| 136 | Activities of preschool education institutions |
| 137 | Activities of general education institutions |
| 138 | Activities of higher education institutions |
| 139 | Activities of educational institutions with foreign investment capital, representative offices of foreign education in Vietnam, branches of educational institutions with foreign investment capital |
| 140 | Activities of continuing education institutions |
| 141 | Activities of specialized schools |
| 142 | Activities of foreign-affiliated training programs |
| 143 | Education quality accreditation |
| 144 | Trading in overseas study consulting services |
| 145 | Fisheries exploitation |
| 146 | Trading in aquatic products |
| 147 | Trading in aqua feed, animal feed |
| 148 | Trading in testing services for aqua feed, animal feed |
| 149 | Trading in biological products, microorganisms, chemicals, and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry |
| 150 | Trading in new construction, conversion of fishing vessels |
| 151 | Fishing vessel registration |
| 152 | Training and fostering of fishing vessel crew |
| 153 | Rearing and cultivating wild flora and fauna species listed in the Appendices of the CITES Convention and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest flora, fauna, and aquatic products |
| 154 | Rearing of ordinary forest animals |
| 155 | Export, import, re-export, transit, and introduction from the sea of specimens from nature of species listed in the Appendices of the CITES Convention and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest flora, fauna, and aquatic products |
| 156 | Export, import, re-export of captive-bred, ranched, and artificially propagated specimens of species listed in the Appendices of the CITES Convention and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest flora, fauna, and aquatic products |
| 157 | Processing, trading, transportation, advertising, display, and storage of specimens of flora and fauna species listed in the Appendices of the CITES Convention and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest flora, fauna, and aquatic products |
| 158 | Trading in plant protection products |
| 159 | Trading in services for treating objects subject to plant quarantine |
| 160 | Trading in testing services for plant protection products |
| 161 | Trading in plant protection services |
| 162 | Trading in veterinary drugs, vaccines, biological products, microorganisms, and chemicals used in veterinary medicine |
| 163 | Trading in technical services for veterinary medicine |
| 164 | Trading in animal testing and surgery services |
| 165 | Trading in animal vaccination, disease diagnosis, prescription, treatment, and health care services |
| 166 | Trading in testing and surveying services for veterinary drugs (including veterinary drugs, aquatic veterinary drugs, vaccines, biological products, microorganisms, and chemicals used in veterinary medicine and aquatic veterinary medicine) |
| 167 | Trading in farm animal husbandry |
| 168 | Trading in livestock and poultry slaughtering |
| 169 | Trading in food under the specialized management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development |
| 170 | Trading in quarantine isolation services for animals and animal products |
| 171 | Trading in fertilizers |
| 172 | Trading in testing services for fertilizers |
| 173 | Trading in plant varieties, animal breeds |
| 174 | Trading in aquatic breeds |
| 175 | Trading in testing services for plant varieties, animal breeds |
| 176 | Trading in testing services for aquatic breeds |
| 177 | Trading in testing and surveying services for biological products, microorganisms, chemicals, and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry |
| 178 | Trading in genetically modified products |
| 179 | Trading in medical examination and treatment services |
| 180 | Trading in cosmetic surgery services |
| 181 | Pharmaceutical trading |
| 182 | Cosmetics production |
| 183 | Trading in chemicals and preparations for pest and germ control used in the household and medical fields |
| 184 | Trading in medical equipment |
| 185 | Trading in intellectual property expertise services (including expertise on copyright and related rights, industrial property expertise, and expertise on plant variety rights) |
| 186 | Trading in radiation work services |
| 187 | Trading in services supporting the application of atomic energy |
| 188 | Trading in conformity assessment services |
| 189 | Trading in inspection, calibration, and testing services for measuring instruments and standards |
| 190 | Trading in technology assessment, appraisal, and inspection services |
| 191 | Trading in intellectual property representation services (including industrial property representation services and plant variety rights representation services) |
| 192 | Trading in film dissemination services |
| 193 | Trading in antique expertise services |
| 194 | Trading in services for preparing project planning, organizing execution, and supervising the execution of projects for preservation, embellishment, and restoration of relics |
| 195 | Trading in karaoke and discotheque services |
| 196 | Trading in travel services |
| 197 | Trading in sports activities of sports enterprises, professional sports clubs |
| 198 | Trading in art performance, fashion show, beauty pageant, and model contest organization services |
| 199 | Trading in music, dance, and stage sound and video recordings |
| 200 | Trading in accommodation services |
| 201 | Trading in relics, antiques, and national treasures |
| 202 | Export of relics and antiques not owned by the state, political organizations, or socio-political organizations; import of cultural goods under the specialized management of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism |
| 203 | Trading in museum services |
| 204 | Trading in electronic games (excluding trading in electronic prize-winning games for foreigners and prize-winning online games) |
| 205 | Trading in land investigation and assessment consulting services |
| 206 | Trading in services for preparing land use planning and plans |
| 207 | Trading in services for constructing information technology infrastructure and developing software for land information systems |
| 208 | Trading in land database construction services |
| 209 | Trading in land valuation services |
| 210 | Trading in surveying and mapping services |
| 211 | Trading in meteorological and hydrological forecasting and warning services |
| 212 | Trading in groundwater drilling and exploration services |
| 213 | Trading in water resource exploitation services |
| 214 | Trading in services supporting decision-making on water resource regulation and distribution; services supporting decision-making on reservoir and inter-reservoir operation |
| 215 | Trading in mineral exploration services |
| 216 | Mineral exploitation |
| 217 | Trading in hazardous waste transportation and treatment services |
| 218 | Import of scrap |
| 219 | Trading in environmental monitoring services |
| 220 | Business activities of commercial banks |
| 221 | Business activities of non-bank credit institutions |
| 222 | Business activities of cooperative banks, people’s credit funds, and microfinance institutions |
| 223 | Provision of intermediary payment services, provision of payment services not through customers’ payment accounts |
| 224 | Provision of credit information services |
| 225 | Business activities and provision of foreign exchange services by non-credit institutions |
| 226 | Gold trading |
| 227 | Money printing and minting activities |
| 228 | Training and granting of radio operator certificates. |
