Circular No. 11/2017/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN dated July 24, 2014 on foreign exchange management for the operation of electronic game businesses with rewards for foreigners.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN dated July 24, 2014 guiding foreign exchange management for the operation of electronic game businesses with rewards for foreigners

 Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam No. 46/2010/QH12 dated June 16, 2010;

 Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions No. 47/2010/QH12 dated June 16, 2010;

 Pursuant to the Foreign Exchange Ordinance No. 28/2005/PL-UBTVQH11 dated December 13, 2005 and Ordinance No. 06/2013/UBTVQH13 dated March 18, 2013 amending and supplementing certain provisions of Foreign ExchangeOrdinance;

 Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2013 of the Government on operating electronic game businesses with rewards for foreigners and Decree No. 175/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2016 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 86/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2013 of the Government on operating electronic game businesses with rewards for foreigners;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Foreign Exchange Management;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN dated July 24, 2014 guiding foreign exchange management for the operation of electronic game businesses with rewards for foreigners.   

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN dated July 24, 2014 guiding foreign exchange management for the operation of electronic game businesses with rewards for foreigners (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN)

1. Point c Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 5 shall be amended and supplemented as follows

: "c) Receiving transfers from overseas accounts or foreign currency settlement accounts opened at permitted banks in Vietnam of players;" "2. The receipt, payment, and other foreign exchange activities related to the currency of neighboring countries shall be carried out in accordance with the bilateral payment agreement between the State Bank and the central banks of neighboring countries. The State Bank shall issue licenses for receipt, payment, and other foreign exchange activities related to the currency of neighboring countries to enterprises within the scope provided for in Clause 1 of this Article. The procedures and formalities for issuing, reissuing, amending, extending, and revoking licenses shall be implemented in accordance with Article 10, Article 11, and Article 12 of this Circular."

2. Point b Clause 1 Article 6 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"b) Receiving transfers from overseas accounts or foreign currency settlement accounts opened at permitted banks in Vietnam of players;"

3. Supplementing Article 9a as follows:

"Article 9a. Principles for preparing applications for foreign exchange receipt and payment licenses and other foreign exchange activities 1. Enterprises shall submit two (2) sets of application documents either directly or through postal service to the State Bank branch in the province or centrally-administered city where the enterprise's electronic game business with rewards for foreigners is located (hereinafter referred to as the State Bank branch). 2. Application documents must be prepared in Vietnamese; in cases where the documents are in a foreign language, they must be translated into Vietnamese, and the translation must be confirmed by the legal representative of the enterprise. 3. For copies of application documents, enterprises may choose to submit copies issued from original books or certified copies or copies accompanied by presentation of the original for verification. In cases where the applicant submits copies accompanied by presentation of the original for verification, the verifier is responsible for confirming the accuracy of the copies compared to the originals."

4. Clause 1, Clause 3, and Clause 4 Article 10 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Enterprises engaged in electronic game businesses with rewards that require foreign exchange receipt and payment and other foreign exchange activities specified in this Circular shall make application procedures for license issuance. The application package includes:

a) An application form for license issuance according to Model Form No. 01 attached to this Circular;

b) Copies of Investment Certificate or Enterprise Registration Certificate;

c) Copies of the administrative authority's approval document for operating electronic game businesses with rewards or Copies of the Certificate of Eligibility for Operating Electronic Game Businesses with Rewards in cases where the Investment Certificate or Enterprise Registration Certificate does not include the activity of operating electronic game businesses with rewards (for enterprises permitted to operate electronic game businesses with rewards before Decree 86/2013/NĐ-CP took effect) or Copies of the Certificate of Eligibility for Operating Electronic Game Businesses with Rewards (for enterprises permitted to operate electronic game businesses with rewards after Decree 86/2013/NĐ-CP took effect);

d) Internal management and control regulations for foreign currency receipts and payments signed by the legal representative of the enterprise.""

3. Within thirty (30) working days from the date of receiving complete application documents as prescribed, the State Bank will examine and issue the license according to Model Form No. 02 attached to this Circular. In case of rejection, the State Bank will notify the enterprise in writing with specific reasons.

If the application documents are incomplete or invalid, within ten (10) working days from the date of receiving the documents, the State Bank will request the enterprise to supplement the documents in writing.

4. The validity period of the license shall be equal to the remaining operational period stipulated in the Certificate of Eligibility for Operating Electronic Game Businesses with Rewards or Investment Registration Certificate or Enterprise Registration Certificate, including the activity of operating electronic game businesses with rewards or Administrative Authority's Approval Document for Operating Electronic Game Businesses with Rewards. In cases where the enterprise does not have a Certificate of Eligibility for Operating Electronic Game Businesses with Rewards and Investment Registration Certificate or Enterprise Registration Certificate or Administrative Authority's Approval Document without specifying a specific business duration, the maximum validity period of the license shall not exceed ten years from the date the license becomes effective.

5. Point a Clause 1, point b Clause 2 and point a, d Clause 3 Article 11 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Reissuing the license:

a) In case the License is lost, misplaced, or damaged due to natural disasters, fire, or other objective reasons, the enterprise shall submit a request for reissuance of the License, clearly stating the reasons for requesting reissuance according to Model 03 attached to this Circular;

""2. Amendment of the License:

b) If the enterprise needs to amend the contents of the License, it shall proceed with the formalities to request amendment of the License. The dossier includes:

(i) A request for amendment of the License, clearly stating the reasons for requesting amendment according to Model 03 attached to this Circular;

(ii) Documents and papers proving that the amended content complies with the provisions of point a, Clause 2 of this Article (if applicable);

""3. Extension of the License:

a) At least 30 (thirty) days before the License issued by the State Bank expires, the enterprise shall proceed with the formalities to request extension of the License. The dossier includes:

(i) A request for extension of the License according to Model 03 attached to this Circular;

(ii) The documents prescribed at points b and c, Clause 1 of Article 10 of this Circular;

d) The term of the License shall be governed by the provisions of Clause 4, Article 10 of this Circular;"

6. Supplement Clause 5 to Article 14 as follows:

"5. Within the scope of the available foreign currency, the bank is permitted to meet the demand for foreign currency cash of enterprises opening dedicated foreign currency accounts according to the limit of foreign currency cash reserves stipulated in Article 8 of this Circular."

7. Supplement Clause 8 to Article 15 as follows:

"8. Be allowed to purchase foreign currency to serve the operation of electronic games with prizes within the scope of foreign currency receipts and payments and other foreign exchange activities of the enterprise as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular on the basis of presenting valid transaction documents and papers."

8. Amend and supplement Clause 1, point a, Clause 3 of Article 17; supplement Clause 4 to Article 17 as follows:

"1. Transition period:

Enterprises that have been permitted by the State Bank to conduct foreign currency receipts and payments for the operation of electronic games with prizes for foreigners prior to the effective date of this Circular shall continue to operate according to the approval document of the State Bank. In case of need, the enterprise shall proceed with the formalities to convert the previous approval document into a License."

"3. Dossier, procedures, and formalities for conversion:

(i) A request for conversion of the License according to Model 08 attached to this Circular;

(ii) A copy of the Investment Certificate or Enterprise Registration Certificate;

(iii) A copy of the document from the competent state management agency allowing the operation of electronic games with prizes (in case the Investment Certificate or Enterprise Registration Certificate does not include the operation of electronic games with prizes) or a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility for Operating Electronic Games with Prizes (for enterprises that have been converted by the Ministry of Finance to a Certificate of Eligibility for Operating Electronic Games with Prizes);

(iv) Internal management and control regulations for foreign currency receipts and payments signed by the legal representative of the enterprise;

(v) Approval documents for foreign currency cash receipts and payments and other foreign exchange activities already granted;

(vi) Report on the implementation of foreign currency receipts and payments and other foreign exchange activities related to the operation of electronic games with prizes since receiving the approval document from the State Bank according to Model 09 attached to this Circular;"

"4. The term of the License shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 10 of this Circular."

Article 2. Replace Appendixes 01, 02, 03, 04, 06, 07, 08, 09 attached to Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN with Appendixes 01, 02, 03, 04, 06, 07, 08, 09 attached to this Circular.

This Circular takes effect from December 25, 2025/.

The Director of the Office, the Head of the Foreign Exchange Management Department, the Heads of relevant units under the State Bank of Vietnam, the Governors of the State Bank of Vietnam branches in provinces and centrally-administered cities, the Chairmen of the Boards of Directors, the Chairmen of the Members' Councils, the General Managers (Directors) of permitted banks, and the General Managers (Directors) of enterprises shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

Article 4. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from October 15, 2017.

2. This Circular abolishes Article 19 of Circular No. 29/2015/TT-NHNN dated December 22, 2015 issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain legal documents of the State Bank of Vietnam regarding the components of files containing certified true copies of documents and papers.

3. Within six months from the date this Circular takes effect, enterprises that have not converted previous approval documents into licenses must report to the State Bank of Vietnam (Foreign Exchange Management Department) and the State Bank of Vietnam branch in the province or centrally-administered city where the enterprise's foreigner-oriented electronic game business point is located, concerning the special foreign currency account as stipulated in Article 6 of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-NHNN./.