CIRCULAR

Guidelines on authority, procedures, and formalities for registering and providing information on financial lease contracts and state management thereof

Regarding the registration of financial lease contracts

Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

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Pursuant to Decree No. 16/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 2, 2001 of the Government on the organization and operation of financial leasing companies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 65/2005/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2005 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 16/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 2, 2001 of the Government on the organization and operation of financial leasing companies,

To publicize information on financial lease contracts, thereby creating a legal basis for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in financial lease contracts and related individuals and organizations, the Ministry of Justice issues guidelines on the authority, procedures, and formalities for registering and providing information on financial lease contracts and state management over the registration of such contracts as follows:

This Circular guides the implementation of the following matters:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

1.1. The authority, tasks, and powers of the registration agency in registering and providing information on financial lease contracts;

1.2. Procedures and formalities for registering and providing information on financial lease contracts;

1.3. State management in the field of registering and providing information on financial lease contracts.

2. Objects of Registration

2.1. Financial lease contracts must be registered with the competent agency as specified in point 4.1, Clause 4, Section I of this Circular in accordance with Clause 6, Article 1 of Decree No. 65/2005/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2005 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 16/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 2, 2001 of the Government on the organization and operation of financial leasing companies.

2.2. The registration of financial lease contracts involving civil aircraft shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on civil aviation.

3. Principles for Registering and Providing Information on Financial Lease Contracts

3.1. Financial lease contracts shall be registered based on the contents declared in the application form submitted by the party requesting registration.

3.2. The registration agency must promptly and accurately register according to the declared contents in the registration request form; create favorable conditions for the registration and acquisition of information on financial lease contracts.

3.3. Information retained in the database of financial lease contracts shall be provided to any individual or organization seeking to obtain such information.

4. Registration Agency and Information Provision on Financial Lease Contracts

4.1. The competent agency for registering and providing information on financial lease contracts as prescribed in this Circular is the National Registry Centers for Transaction and Asset Registration under the Ministry of Justice (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Registration Center).

4.2. The Registration Centers have the authority to register and provide information on financial lease contracts nationwide without regard to administrative jurisdictional boundaries. Individuals and organizations have the right to choose and request any of the Registration Centers to perform the registration and provision of information on financial lease contracts.

4.3. The registration and provision of information on financial lease contracts at the Registration Centers have equal legal validity.

5. Tasks and Powers of the Registration Center

5.1. The Registration Center has the following tasks and powers in registering financial lease contracts:

a) Registering financial lease contracts;

b) Registering changes to previously registered contents;

c) Canceling registrations;

d) Issuing Certificates of Registration for financial lease contracts, Certificates of Registration for changes to previously registered contents, Certificates of Correction of Errors, and Certificates of Cancellation of Registration for financial lease contracts; issuing copies of these certificates;

đ) Correcting errors in the registration request forms and certificates issued as specified in point 5.1.d, Clause 5, Section of this Circular;

e) Collecting registration fees;

g) Refusing registration when there is one of the grounds specified in point 13.1, Clause 13, Section of this Circular;

h) Storing files and documents, preserving information that has been registered.

5.2. The Registration Center has the following tasks and powers in providing information on financial lease contracts:

a) Providing information on financial lease contracts stored in the database of financial lease contracts;

b) Collecting fees for providing information;

c) Refusing to provide information on financial lease contracts when there is one of the grounds specified in point 13.2, Clause 13, Section of this Circular.

6. Responsibilities of Registration Officers in Registering and Providing Information on Financial Lease Contracts

6.1. Implementing registration and information provision in accordance with the procedures and formalities prescribed in this Circular.

6.2. Not requiring the party requesting registration or the party requesting information provision to submit additional documents beyond those prescribed in this Circular.

6.3. Compensating for damages in accordance with the provisions of the law in cases where violations of the procedures and formalities for registering and providing information on financial lease contracts result in damage.

7. Parties Requesting Registration and Information Provision

7.1. The party requesting registration is the lessor in the financial lease contract, including:

a) State-owned financial leasing companies;

b) Joint-stock financial leasing companies;

c) Financial leasing companies affiliated with credit institutions;

d) Joint venture financial leasing companies;

đ) Wholly foreign-owned financial leasing companies.

7.2. The party requesting registration may authorize another person in accordance with the Civil Code to request registration.

7.3. Any individual or organization with a need to acquire information on financial lease contracts has the right to request the Registration Center to provide such information.

8. Responsibilities of the Party Requesting Registration and Information Provision

8.1. The party requesting registration has the following responsibilities:

a) Declaring all items required to be declared in the registration request form in accordance with the model attached to this Circular. The contents declared in the form must be accurate and consistent with the agreements of the parties in the financial lease contract.

a) Declare fully all items required to be declared in the registration request form issued together with this Circular. The contents of the declaration in the form must be accurate and consistent with the agreement of the parties in the financial lease contract;

b) Pay registration fees as prescribed by law;

c) Be responsible for the contents declared in the application form.

In case the person requesting registration includes inaccurate contents in the application form that do not comply with the agreement of the parties in the financial lease contract and cause damage, they must compensate for the damage according to the provisions of the law.

8.2. The person requesting information shall be responsible for the following:

a) Fully declare all items required to be declared in the information request form according to the model issued together with this Circular;

b) Pay the information provision fee as prescribed by law.

9. The validity period of registering a financial lease contract

9.1. The validity period of registering a financial lease contract is calculated from the date of registration to the termination date of the financial lease contract.

9.2. In cases where there is a request to cancel the registration before the time limit specified in Point 9.1 of this Clause, the validity period of registering a financial lease contract is calculated from the date of registration to the date when the registration authority receives a valid request to cancel the registration.

10. Legal effect of registering a financial lease contract

10.1. A registered financial lease contract has legal effect against third parties during the validity period of the registration as stipulated in Clause 9 of this Section.

10.2. In cases where the leased asset under a registered financial lease contract is seized by a competent state agency due to the lessee's violation of the law or the lessee transfers the leased asset to a third party without the lessor's consent, the Certificate of Registration or the information document about the financial lease contract issued by the Registration Centers shall serve as legal grounds for the lessor to reclaim the leased asset, except in cases where the asset is confiscated according to the provisions of the law.

11. Methods of submitting applications for registration, requests for information provision, registration fees, and information provision fees

11.1. The person requesting registration and the person requesting information provision may submit their applications through one of the following methods:

a) Submitting the application directly at the Registration Center;

b) Sending the application via postal service; it can be sent by guaranteed mail or express delivery;

c) Sending the application via fax in cases where the person requesting registration is included in the regular customer list of the Registration Centers.

11.2. The person requesting registration and the person requesting information provision may pay the registration fees and information provision fees through one of the following methods:

a) Paying directly at the Registration Center when the application for registration and the request for information provision are accepted by the Registration Center;

b) Transferring money through the postal service's money transfer service and sending the money transfer receipt when submitting the application for registration and the request for information provision;

c) Depositing money into the account of the Registration Center accepting the application and sending the bank confirmation of the deposit to the Registration Center when submitting the application for registration and the request for information provision;

d) Authorizing payment deduction or payment authorization through a Bank or State Treasury. These methods apply only to persons who have been included in the regular customer list of the Registration Centers.

Regular customers' payment of registration fees and information provision fees shall be carried out monthly according to the payment notice from the Registration Center. Within seven working days from the date of receiving the payment notice, regular customers must fully pay according to the notice from the Registration Center.

11.3. The National Registration Agency for Secured Transactions shall guide the procedures for registering in the regular customer list of the Registration Centers.

12. The registration date

12.1. The registration date of a financial lease contract is the date when the Registration Center receives a valid application for registration of the financial lease contract.

A valid application for registration is an application that is fully declared according to the model issued together with this Circular and contains contents consistent with the signed financial lease contract.

12.2. In cases where the person requesting registration submits an application to correct errors in the already registered contents due to declaration errors, the registration date is the date when the Registration Center receives a valid application to correct errors:

a) Errors in declaring the name and number of the document determining the legal status of the lessee leading to incorrect identification of the lessee;

b) Errors in declaring the leased asset leading to incorrect identification of the leased asset.

12.3. The registration date of a financial lease contract remains unchanged as the date when the Registration Center receives a valid application for registration of the financial lease contract in the following cases:

a) The person requesting registration submits an application to correct errors in the already registered contents due to declaration errors but does not fall within the cases prescribed in Point 12.2 of this Clause;

b) The person requesting registration submits an application to correct errors in the already registered contents due to errors made by the Registration Center in certifying the registration;

c) The Registration Center discovers errors in certifying the registration;

d) The person requesting registration submits an application to change the already registered contents, except in the case prescribed in Point 12.4 of this Clause.

12.4. In cases where the person requesting registration submits an application to change the already registered contents and adds new leased assets, the registration date for the added leased assets is the date when the Registration Center receives a valid application to change the already registered contents.

12.5. The date of receipt of the application for registration is determined as follows:

a) In cases where the application is submitted directly or sent via postal service, the registration date is the date when the Registration Center receives the application;

b) In cases where the application is sent via fax during the Registration Center's working hours, the registration date is the date when the fax is received, if the application is sent via fax outside the Registration Center's working hours, the registration date is the start of the next working day of the Registration Center.

13. Cases for refusing registration and providing information

13.1. The Registration Center shall refuse registration if any of the following grounds exist:

a) The application for registration is not valid;

b) Upon discovering an application for registering a finance lease contract, an application for changing registered content, an application for correcting errors, or an application for deleting duplicate registrations of a finance lease contract;

c) The declaration of the content already registered in the application for changing registered content, the application for correcting errors, or the application for deleting a finance lease contract registration does not match the information retained at the Registration Center;

d) The application for registration submitted via fax is from a person who is not a regular customer of the Registration Centers;

đ) Requests to change registered content, correct errors in cases where the registration has been deleted;

e) The person requesting information has not paid the information provision fee.

14. Guidelines for declaring the name and number of legal status identification documents of the finance lessee

14.1. For individuals:

a) For Vietnamese citizens, they must declare their full name according to the Identity Card and the Identity Card number. In case there is no Identity Card, they must declare according to other valid documents that replace the Identity Card;

b) For foreign individuals, they must declare their full name according to the Passport and the Passport number;

c) For stateless individuals residing in Vietnam, they must declare their full name according to the Permanent Residence Card and the Permanent Residence Card number.

14.2. For organizations established under Vietnamese law:

a) For organizations with business registration, they must declare their name according to the Business Registration Certificate (or Investment License, if it is a foreign-invested enterprise), and the Business Registration Certificate number (or Investment License number);

b) For organizations without business registration, they must declare their name according to the Establishment Decision and the Establishment Decision number;

c) For branches, representative offices, or management offices of legal entities, in addition to declaring about the organization, they must also declare about the legal entity according to the guidelines set out in points 14.2.a and 14.2.b of this clause;

d) For organizations without legal personality and not falling within the cases stipulated in point 14.2.c of this clause, in addition to declaring about the organization according to the guidelines set out in points 14.2.a and 14.2.b of this clause, they must also declare about the individual responsible for the organization's legal status and activities according to the guidelines set out in point 14.1 of this clause.

14.3. For organizations and enterprises established and operating under foreign laws:

They must declare the name registered with the competent authority abroad and declare the type of certificate, registration document, or operation document according to the regulations of that country, if applicable. If the name of the organization is not written in Latin script, they must declare the trading name in English.

14.4. The person requesting registration must not declare other documents except those specified in points 14.1, 14.2, and 14.3 of this clause (hereinafter referred to collectively as legal status identification documents).

15. Registration fees and information provision fees

15.1. The person requesting registration must pay the registration fee in the following cases:

b) Registering changes to previously registered contents;

c) Canceling registrations;

c) Requests to correct errors caused by the person requesting registration.

15.2. The person requesting information must pay the information provision fee.

15.3. The level of registration fees and information provision fees; the system of collection, management, and use of registration fees and information provision fees shall be implemented according to Circular Joint No. 33/2002/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated April 12, 2002, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice guiding the system of collection, management, and use of registration fees and information provision fees on secured transactions and leased assets.

II. REGISTRATION OF FINANCE LEASE CONTRACTS

1. The person requesting registration submits an application for registering a finance lease contract (one copy); authorization document in case one of the parties to the finance lease contract authorizes another organization or individual to sign the application for registration.

The submission of the application, authorization document, and registration fee to the Registration Center shall be carried out according to one of the methods prescribed in points 11.1 and 11.2 of Clause 11 of this Circular.

2. After receiving the application for registration, the Registration Officer checks the application for registration; if the application for registration does not fall under any of the refusal grounds stipulated in point 13.1 of Clause 13 of Part I of this Circular, the Registration Officer records the time of receipt (hour, minute, day, month, year) on the application for registration. In the case of direct submission at the Registration Center, the Registration Officer issues a receipt for the application for registration to the person requesting registration.

In case there are grounds for refusal, the Registration Officer refuses registration and guides the person requesting registration to comply with the relevant provisions. The refusal of registration must be documented in writing and specify the reasons for refusal.

3. Within three working days from the date of receiving a valid application for registration, the Registration Center shall issue a Registration Certificate for the finance lease contract to the person requesting registration along with a copy of the application for registration with the time of receipt noted.

The Registration Certificate shall be handed over directly at the Registration Center where the application for registration was received or sent through a guaranteed postal service, depending on the request of the person requesting registration.

III. REGISTRATION OF CHANGES TO ALREADY REGISTERED CONTENT

1. Within the validity period of the registration, the person requesting registration submits an application for changing registered content when any of the following grounds exist:

a) Change in the name or number of the legal status identification document of the lessee or lessor;

b) Change in the lessee or lessor;

c) Reduction, replacement, or addition of leased assets;

d) Change in the termination date of the finance lease contract;

đ) Change in other registered contents.

2. The submission of applications and authorization documents in cases where one of the parties to the financial lease contract authorizes another organization or individual to sign the application for registration of changes to registered contents and the fee for such changes shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of point 11.1 and point 11.2, Clause 11, Section I of this Circular.

3. After receiving the application for registration of changes, the Registration Officer shall perform tasks in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Section II of this Circular.

4. Within three working days from the date of receipt of a valid application for registration of changes, the Registration Center shall issue to the applicant a Certificate of Registration of Changes with the time of receipt noted thereon in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Section II of this Circular.

IV. CORRECTION OF ERRORS

1. In case the applicant discovers errors in the application for registration or in the Certificate, they shall submit an application for correction of errors, along with authorization documents if one of the parties to the financial lease contract has authorized another organization or individual to sign the application for correction of errors to the Registration Center.

2. The submission of applications, authorization documents, and fees for correcting errors shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of point 11.1 and point 11.2, Clause 11, Section I of this Circular.

The applicant is not required to pay the registration fee in cases where the error in the Certificate is due to the Registration Officer's mistake.

3. After receiving the application for correction of errors, the Registration Officer shall perform tasks in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Section II of this Circular.

4. Within three working days from the date of receipt of a valid application for correction of errors, the Registration Center shall issue to the applicant a Certificate of Correction of Errors accompanied by a copy of the application for correction of errors with the time of receipt noted thereon in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Section II of this Circular.

5. In cases where the Registration Center discovers errors in the registration certificate of the financial lease contract due to the Registration Officer's mistake, it must immediately correct the information in the Database and notify the applicant in writing to return the issued Certificate and issue a new Certificate.

V. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION

1. The Registration Center shall carry out cancellation of registration of financial lease contracts in the following cases:

a) The financial lease contract terminates at the time declared in the application for registration;

b) The Registration Center receives a valid application for cancellation of registration.

2. The submission of applications and authorization documents in cases where one of the parties to the financial lease contract authorizes another organization or individual to sign the application for cancellation of registration shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of point 11.1, Clause 11, Section I of this Circular.

The applicant is not required to pay the registration fee for cancellation.

3. After receiving the application for cancellation of registration, the Registration Officer shall perform tasks in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Section II of this Circular.

4. Within three working days from the date of receipt of a valid application for cancellation of registration, the Registration Center, which received the application, shall carry out the cancellation of registration and issue to the applicant a Certificate of Cancellation of Registration of Financial Lease Contract accompanied by a copy of the application for cancellation of registration with the time of receipt noted thereon in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Section II of this Circular.

5. When terminating the financial lease contract without submitting an application for registration of change of termination date or without submitting an application for cancellation of registration, the Registration Center shall automatically carry out the cancellation of registration.

VI. PROCEDURES FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION ON FINANCIAL LEASE CONTRACTS

1. Organizations and individuals have the right to request the provision of information on financial lease contracts stored in the Database of the Registration Center.

2. The applicant for information shall submit an application for provision of information and the information provision fee to the Registration Center. The submission of applications and payment of the information provision fee shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of point 11.1 and point 11.2, Clause 11, Section I of this Circular.

In cases where there is a basis to refuse to provide information in accordance with the provisions of point 13.2, Clause 13, Section I of this Circular, the Registration Officer shall refuse to provide information and guide the applicant to comply with the relevant regulations. The refusal to provide information must be documented and the reasons for refusal must be clearly stated.

3. Within three working days from the date of receipt of a valid application for provision of information, the Registration Center shall issue an Information Provision Document on financial lease contracts to the applicant for information.

The issuance of the Information Provision Document on financial lease contracts shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Section II of this Circular.

VII. STATE MANAGEMENT OF REGISTRATION OF CONTRACTS

FOR FINANCIAL LEASE

The National Registry of Security Transactions assists the Minister of Justice in implementing state management over the registration of financial lease contracts.

The content of state management over the registration of financial lease contracts includes:

1. Drafting and submitting to competent authorities for promulgation or promulgating within their authority legal documents on the registration of financial lease contracts;

2. Guiding, directing, and organizing training in business skills and expertise for Registration Officers;

3. Issuing, managing, and guiding the use of forms, documents, and registration books according to their authority; organizing the management of the Database on financial lease contracts;

4. Propagating, educating, and disseminating laws on the registration of financial lease contracts;

5. Statistics on the registration of financial lease contracts, compiling and reporting annually to the Government on the registration work of financial lease contracts;

6. Resolving complaints and denunciations regarding registration and provision of information on financial lease contracts within their authority;

7. Implementing international cooperation in the field of registration of financial lease contracts as assigned by the Minister of Justice.

VIII. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 04/2002/TT-BTP dated February 22, 2002, of the Ministry of Justice guiding the authority, procedures, and formalities for registration and provision of information on leased assets and state management of registration of leased assets.

3. Financing lease contracts concluded before the effectiveness of this Circular but have not yet been registered in accordance with Circular No. 04/2002/TT-BTP dated February 22, 2002 of the Ministry of Justice guiding the competence, procedures, and formalities for registering and providing information on leased assets and state management of financing lease asset registration, and still have time to implement, shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

4. The model forms to be used in the registration and provision of information on financing lease contracts are hereby attached to this Circular.

5. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, individuals and organizations are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Justice for study and resolution./.