Decree No. 11/2021/NĐ-CP on allocating certain marine areas to organizations and individuals for exploitation and utilization of marine resources

 

DECREE

Regulations on allocating specific marine areas for organizations and individuals to exploit and use marine resources

_______________________

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on the Sea of Vietnam dated June 21, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law on Marine Resources, Environment, and Islands dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Fisheries Law dated November 21, 2017;

Pursuant to the Planning Law dated November 24, 2017;

BASED ON THE LAW AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 37 LAWS RELATED TO PLANNING dated November 20, 2018;

At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment;

Article 1. Subjects"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation."hereinafter referred to as the DecreeDeputy ministers of ministerial-level agencies, promulgating a decree on the allocation of specific marine areas for organizations andJune 2024;individuals to exploit and use marine resources.June 2024; for the exploitation and use of marine resources.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

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.

a) This Decree stipulates the allocation of specific marine areas from the lowest average low-water line out to the full extent of Vietnam's maritime zones for organizations and individuals to exploit and use marine resources according to permits issued by competent state agencies in accordance with the law;

b) The use of marine areas for national defense and security purposes does not fall within the scope regulated by this Decree.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

This Decree applies to state management agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the allocation of marine areas for the exploitation and use of marine resources.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Allocation of marine areas refers to the decision of a competent state agency allowing organizations and individuals who have been granted permission to use one or more specific marine areas (hereinafter referred to as the marine area) during a specified period to carry out activities exploiting and using marine resources.

2. The marine area allocated to organizations and individuals is a part of Vietnam's maritime zone with a specific location, coordinates, boundaries, area, and depth determined by one or more components including the sea surface, seawater mass, seabed, and subsoil under the seabed, which are identified and depicted on a map of the marine area.

3. A cross-provincial marine area is a marine area whose scope falls within two or more centrally governed cities or provinces with a coastline, or has a portion of its area within the 12-nautical-mile zone and another portion outside the 12-nautical-mile zone.

4. The 12-nautical-mile zone is the maritime zone with an inner boundary being the lowest average low-water line and an outer boundary being a line at a distance of 12 nautical miles from the lowest average low-water line.

5. The 24-nautical-mile zone is the maritime zone with an inner boundary being the lowest average low-water line and an outer boundary being a line at a distance of 24 nautical miles from the lowest average low-water line.

6. The permit for exploiting and using marine resources issued by a competent state agency to organizations and individuals in accordance with the law includes:

a) Marine resource exploitation and utilization permits issued to organizations and individuals in accordance with specialized laws;

b) In cases where specialized laws do not specify the form of a permit, the permit for organizations and individuals to exploit and use marine resources may be one of the following forms: investment certificate, investment registration certificate as prescribed by law; decision of a competent state agency on the conversion from coastal fishing to aquaculture in accordance with fisheries law or confirmation letter from the People's Committee of the commune regarding Vietnamese individuals residing in the locality whose main source of income is from aquaculture; document of a competent state agency permitting organizations and individuals to perform scientific and technological tasks; other documents permitting organizations and individuals to exploit and use marine resources in accordance with the law.

Article 3. Boundaries and area of the marine zone

1. The boundaries of the marine zone are determined by a closed line consisting of straight segments connecting specific corner points with coordinates and are shown on the seabed topographic map published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at an appropriate scale.

2. The area of the marine zone allocated to organizations and individuals shall be considered and decided for each specific case based on the following factors:

a) The need to use the marine zone of organizations and individuals as expressed in the application for allocation of the marine zone and investment projects;

b) The area for exploitation and utilization of marine resources according to the permit for exploitation and utilization of resources issued by competent state agencies;

c) The report on the results of the review of the application dossier for allocating the marine zone by the competent state management agency;

d) Safety corridors for facilities and equipment (if any) in accordance with specialized laws.

3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall determine and announce the lowest average sea water level line over many years, the outer boundary of the three-nautical-mile maritime zone, the six-nautical-mile maritime zone of mainland and the largest islands belonging to coastal districts.

Article 4. Principles of allocating the marine zone

1. Ensuring national defense, security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdictional rights, national interests at sea, and being consistent with relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

2. Ensuring consistency with natural laws and the functional use of the marine zone through an integrated marine resource management approach based on an ecosystem approach; meeting the requirements of reasonable, economical, and efficient exploitation and utilization of resources, environmental protection, conservation of natural and marine biodiversity, and response to climate change and rising sea levels.

3. Ensuring consistency with the National Marine Spatial Planning; Comprehensive Planning for Sustainable Exploitation and Utilization of Coastal Resources.

4. Ensuring the interests of organizations and individuals conducting lawful activities of exploiting and utilizing marine resources; ensuring people's access to the sea.

5. In a marine area, it may be allocated to one or more organizations and individuals for one or more purposes of use but must not conflict with lawful exploitation and utilization activities of other organizations and individuals that are permitted to proceed.

Article 5. Basis for Allocating the Marine Zone

1. The need to use the marine zone for exploitation and utilization of marine resources by organizations and individuals.

2. The permit for exploitation and utilization of marine resources issued by competent state agencies to organizations and individuals in accordance with the law.

3. National Marine Spatial Planning; Comprehensive Planning for Sustainable Exploitation and Utilization of Coastal Resources.

In cases where the National Marine Spatial Planning; Comprehensive Planning for Sustainable Exploitation and Utilization of Coastal Resources have not been established or have been approved but do not reflect the proposed marine zone, the allocation of the marine zone shall be based on one of the planning schemes already approved by competent state agencies in the following order of priority:

a) National sectoral planning;

b) Regional planning;

c) Provincial planning;

d) Planning for special administrative-economic units;

đ) Technical and specialized planning.

In cases where none of the above plans exist, the determination of location, boundaries, and area for allocating the marine zone shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 4 of this Article.

4. In cases where there are no plans as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article, the determination of location, boundaries, and area for allocating the marine zone must meet the following requirements:

a) The proposed marine zone for use to carry out activities of exploiting and utilizing marine resources must not affect national defense, security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdictional rights, and national interests at sea; nor should it affect the implementation of obligations under relevant international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

b) The proposed marine zone for use must ensure that when carrying out activities of exploiting and utilizing marine resources, it does not adversely affect the environment, marine ecosystems, fishery resources, and does not cause harmful effects on human health and the country's economic development potential in accordance with the law;

c) The proposed marine zone for use must ensure that when carrying out activities of exploiting and utilizing marine resources, it does not affect the safe use of port facilities and shipping channels, oil and gas facilities, submarine cables, power cables, and lawful activities of community organizations implementing co-management in fishery resource protection and other lawful exploitation and utilization activities of organizations and individuals in accordance with the law;

d) The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for determining the location, boundaries, and area of the marine zone for cases within the Prime Minister's authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's authority after consulting the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and related ministries, sectors, and provincial People's Committees about the contents stipulated in Points a, b, and c of this clause;

đ) The provincial People's Committee with a coastline shall be responsible for determining the location, boundaries, and area of the marine zone for cases within local authority after consulting the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the opinions of provincial military and public security agencies and related agencies and organizations about the contents stipulated in Points a, b, and c of this clause;

e) The district People's Committee with a coastline shall be responsible for determining the location, boundaries, and area of the marine zone for cases within its authority after consulting the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, provincial military and public security agencies, and related agencies and organizations about the contents stipulated in Points a, b, and c of this clause.

Article 6. Term for Allocation and Recognition of Marine Areas

1. Term for Allocation of Marine Areas:

a) Except for cases provided for in point b of this clause, the term for allocation of marine areas shall be considered and decided on a case-by-case basis based on the application for allocation of marine areas, investment project, and the term recorded in the permit document for exploitation and use of marine resources issued by the competent state agency, but not exceeding 30 years;

b) For investment projects that have been approved or decided on investment orientation, granted Investment Registration Certificate or Investment Certificate with an investment term exceeding 30 years, the term for allocation of marine areas may be considered and decided to exceed 30 years but shall not exceed the investment term recorded in the approval document or investment orientation decision, Investment Registration Certificate, or Investment Certificate (except for marine aquaculture investment projects);

c) The term for allocation of marine areas may be extended multiple times, but the total time of extensions shall not exceed 20 years.

2. In cases where the term for allocation of marine areas prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article has expired, organizations and individuals who need to continue using the marine area shall be considered for continued allocation of the marine area under this Decree if they meet the following conditions:

a) The permit document for exploitation and use of marine resources remains valid;

b) The use of the marine area still ensures compliance with the planning as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 5 of this Decree.

3. The term for recognition of marine areas for organizations and individuals shall be equal to the remaining term in the land allocation decision, lease contract for coastal waters, or sea surface water area issued by the competent state agency prior to this.

Article 7. Rights and Obligations of Organizations and Individuals when Being Allocated Marine Areas

1. Organizations and individuals allocated marine areas have the following rights:

a) To use the allocated marine area for exploitation and use of marine resources according to the Decision on Allocation of Marine Areas;

b) To be considered for extension, amendment, supplementation of the Decision on Allocation of Marine Areas, and return of the marine area;

c) To use information and data related to the allocated marine area according to the provisions of the law;

d) To be considered for compensation when the competent state agency recovers the marine area for use in serving national defense, security, national interests, and public interests according to the provisions of the law;

đ) To lodge complaints and initiate lawsuits when their legitimate rights and interests are violated;

e) Other rights as prescribed by law.

2. Organizations and individuals allocated marine areas have the following obligations:

a) To use the allocated marine area for the intended purpose, within the boundaries, area, depth, and height specified in the Decision on Allocation of Marine Areas; not to encroach upon or occupy the sea; not to violate the planning already approved by the competent state agency;

b) Not to carry out activities affecting national defense, security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea; not to cause pollution, destruction of the marine environment, and marine ecosystems; not to affect or obstruct maritime traffic activities; not to obstruct lawful activities such as inspection, investigation, scientific research, surveying, exploration, exploitation, use of marine resources, and environmental protection conducted by the competent state agency in Vietnam's territorial waters;

c) To protect the marine environment; to report annually to the competent state agency allocating the marine area on the situation of using the allocated marine area; not to provide information about the marine area contrary to the provisions of the law;

d) To fulfill payment of fees for the use of the marine area according to the provisions of the law; only to use the marine area after fulfilling all financial obligations as required; before using the marine area, to notify the competent state agency allocating the marine area to hand over the marine area on-site;

đ) Not to transfer the right to use the allocated marine area except in cases provided for in Clause 3 of this Article;

e) Not to exploit or use marine resources in the marine area without being allocated the marine area by the competent state agency;

g) To comply with the Decision on Recovery of the Allocated Marine Area issued by the competent state agency;

h) Other obligations as prescribed by law.

3. Organizations and individuals allocated marine areas for aquaculture have the rights and obligations prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and the rights and obligations prescribed in Articles 46 and 47 of the Fisheries Law.

Chapter II

ALLOCATION, RECOGNITION, RETURN OF MARINE AREAS; EXTENSION, AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS ON ALLOCATION OF MARINE AREAS

Article 8. Competence to transfer, recognize, permit return of marine areas; extend, amend, supplement Decisions on transferring marine areas; recover marine areas

1. The Prime Minister decides to transfer marine areas to organizations and individuals for implementing investment projects to exploit and utilize marine resources under the approval or decision on investment orientation of the National Assembly, Government, except cases where marine areas are transferred for submergence at sea or aquaculture.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment decides to transfer marine areas in the following cases, except for the case stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article:

a) Marine areas transferred to organizations and individuals for implementing investment projects to exploit and utilize marine resources under the approval or decision on investment orientation of the Prime Minister;

b) Inter-regional marine areas; marine areas with a scope lying outside the 06 nautical mile zone from the mean low water line of the mainland and islands as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 3 of this Decree;

c) Marine areas proposed to be transferred by foreign investors or economic organizations with foreign investment capital for implementing investment projects to exploit and utilize marine resources.

3. Provincial People's Committees with coastal areas decide to transfer marine areas within the 06 nautical mile zone from the mean low water line of the mainland and islands as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 3 of this Decree, except for the cases stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 4 of this Article.

4. District People's Committees with coastal areas decide to transfer marine areas to Vietnamese individuals for aquaculture as prescribed in point a, Clause 2, Article 44 of the Fisheries Law within the 03 nautical mile zone from the mean low water line of the mainland and islands as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 3 of this Decree.

The limit of transferring marine areas for aquaculture as prescribed in this Clause shall not exceed 01 hectare.

5. The state agency competent to transfer a marine area shall have the competence to recognize, extend; amend, supplement the Decision on transferring that marine area, permit its return, and recover it.

Article 9. Transfer of Marine Areas

1. The transfer of marine areas shall be considered when the following conditions are met:

a) Organizations and individuals have been granted permits by competent state agencies to exploit and utilize marine resources in the proposed marine area;

b) The proposed marine area is consistent with the planning as prescribed in Article 5 of this Decree;

c) Organizations and individuals must submit complete application files for transferring marine areas as prescribed in Article 15 of this Decree to the file receiving agency.

2. The transfer of marine areas to organizations and individuals for exploiting and utilizing marine resources must be reflected in a Decision on Transferring Marine Areas according to Model No. 06 issued together with this Decree.

3. The Decision on Transferring Marine Areas includes the following main contents:

a) Name and address of the organization or individual receiving the marine area;

b) Purpose of using the marine area;

c) Location, boundaries, and area of the marine area;

d) Depth; height of structures and equipment permitted to be used (if any);

đ) Duration of transferring the marine area;

e) Form of payment for using the marine area; amount of payment for using the marine area;

g) Obligations of the organization or individual receiving the marine area;

h) Effective date;

i) Other related contents.

4. Scientific research activities of Vietnamese organizations and individuals (except for cases involving fixed marine area scientific research activities and scientific research activities of foreign organizations and individuals conducted in Vietnam’s territorial waters); surveying, monitoring, investigation, exploration, and assessment of marine resources; fishing activities, and direct disaster relief and environmental remediation activities on the sea do not require the transfer of marine areas. According to the scope and competence to transfer marine areas, the state management agency competent as prescribed in Article 8 of this Decree shall examine and approve in writing the location, boundaries, area, coordinates, depth, and duration of using the marine area for Vietnamese organizations and individuals to carry out scientific research; surveying, monitoring, investigation, exploration, and assessment of marine resources.

Article 10. Recognition of Marine Areas

1. Organizations and individuals who have been decided by competent state agencies to be granted land or lease land with coastal water or sea water in accordance with the provisions of the law before this Decree takes effect shall continue to use and exercise their rights and obligations until the end of the grant or lease period as stipulated by the law. In this case, if organizations and individuals wish to have their marine areas recognized, they must submit complete application documents for recognition of marine areas as prescribed in Article 17 of this Decree to be recognized as marine areas. The recognition will be reflected in the Decision on Granting Marine Areas, and the term of granting marine areas is the remaining term of the decision on granting land or leasing land with coastal water or sea water.

2. Organizations and individuals who have been issued permits by competent state agencies to exploit and use marine resources in accordance with the law before July 15, 2014 and are currently using marine areas without having been decided by competent state agencies to be granted land or lease land with coastal water or sea water, or to be granted marine areas in accordance with the law, must submit complete application documents for recognition of marine areas as prescribed in Article 17 of this Decree to be considered and recognized. The recognition will be reflected in the Decision on Granting Marine Areas, and the term of granting marine areas is the remaining term of the permit for exploiting and using marine resources.

Organizations and individuals who have been issued permits by competent state agencies to exploit and use marine resources in accordance with the law after July 15, 2014 must submit application documents for granting marine areas as prescribed in Article 15 of this Decree to be considered and granted marine areas.

3. For organizations and individuals currently using marine areas under the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article but have no need for recognition of marine areas, the competent state agencies specified in Point b Clause 2 Article 25 of this Decree shall be responsible for updating and accurately recording information including: name of the organization or individual using the marine area; location, boundary, area, depth, purpose of use, remaining term, and drawing up a map of the marine area according to Model No. 09 promulgated together with this Decree, and preparing files for management.

Article 11. Extension of Term for Granting Marine Areas

1. The extension of the term for granting marine areas will be considered when the following conditions are met:

a) The permit for exploiting and using marine resources still has validity or has been extended by the competent state management agency;

b) Organizations and individuals using marine areas for the intended purpose; fully comply with environmental protection regulations as stipulated by the law;

c) At the time of requesting an extension, organizations and individuals have fully fulfilled their financial obligations and other obligations as stipulated by the law;

d) Organizations and individuals must submit complete application documents for extending the term of use of marine areas as prescribed in Article 19 of this Decree to the agency receiving the documents when the Decision on Granting Marine Areas is still valid.

2. The term for extending the granting of marine areas will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but the total duration of extensions shall not exceed 20 years. The extension will be reflected in issuing a new Decision on Granting Marine Areas.

Article 12. Returning the marine area

1. Organizations and individuals may return part or all of the marine area that has been assigned when they no longer have a need to use it.

2. In cases where organizations and individuals request to return the entire marine area, the permission to return shall be expressed through the Decision on Permission to Return the Marine Area according to Model No. 07 issued together with this Decree.

3. In cases where organizations and individuals request to return part of the marine area, the permission to return shall be expressed through the Decision on Assignment of the New Marine Area for the remaining area of the marine zone.

4. Organizations and individuals who wish to return the marine area must submit complete files as stipulated in Article 21 of this Decree to the agency receiving the files while the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area remains valid.

5. Organizations and individuals returning the marine area must implement measures to restore the marine environment in the marine area that was returned; they must fulfill all financial obligations and other obligations as prescribed by law.

6. Organizations and individuals assigned the marine area for exploitation of non-renewable resources may not return part of the assigned marine area.

Article 13. Amending and Supplementing the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area

1. The Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area may be reviewed for amendment and supplementation in the following cases:

a) Changing information about the organization or individual assigned the marine area without changing the ownership of the organization or individual, except in the cases provided for in points b and c of this clause;

b) Changing the ownership of the organization or individual who has been assigned the marine area if the natural person or the owner of a private business or the sole member of a limited liability company is deceased and there is an heir;

c) The organization or individual who has been assigned the marine area transfers the investment project linked to the right to use the marine area, changes the investor upon approval or consent from the competent state authority in accordance with investment laws; splits, merges, or consolidates enterprises in accordance with enterprise laws;

d) Changing the depth; height of structures or equipment permitted to be used (if applicable);

đ) Changing the content of scientific and technological tasks serving aquaculture and other marine scientific and technological tasks using a fixed area of the marine area, leading to a change in the content of the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area.

2. Organizations and individuals must submit complete files requesting to amend and supplement the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area as stipulated in Article 23 of this Decree to the agency receiving the files.

3. At the time of requesting to amend and supplement the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area, the organization or individual assigned the marine area must have fulfilled all obligations as prescribed by law and the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area remains valid.

4. Amending and supplementing the Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area shall be expressed through a new Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area. The term for assigning the marine area is the remaining term of the previous Decision on Assignment of the Marine Area.

5. In the case provided for in point c of Clause 1 of this Article, the organization or individual who has been assigned the marine area before implementing the procedures for transferring the investment project linked to the right to use the marine area, changing the investor; splitting, merging, or consolidating enterprises must send a document seeking opinions from the competent authority assigning the marine area as stipulated in Article 8 of this Decree.

Article 14. Use of marine areas for marine disposal

1. Organizations and individuals meeting the conditions shall be granted, extended, amended, or supplemented with Marine Disposal Permit when changing the boundaries or area of the marine area used for marine disposal. The competent state agency shall simultaneously issue the Marine Disposal Permit and Decision on allocation of marine areas to organizations and individuals when granting, extending, amending, or supplementing the Marine Disposal Permit.

Organizations and individuals are not required to submit applications for allocation of marine areas, extension of the term of allocation of marine areas, or amendment and supplementation of the Decision on allocation of marine areas for marine disposal purposes. The competent state agency shall consider and decide on the allocation of marine areas, extension of the term of allocation of marine areas, and amendment and supplementation of the Decision on allocation of marine areas during the process of issuing, extending, amending, or supplementing the Marine Disposal Permit.

2. Organizations and individuals allocated marine areas for marine disposal shall be responsible for paying once the fee for using the marine area.

Article 15. Documents for Application for Allocation of Marine Areas

1. Documents for application for allocation of marine areas include:

a) Application form for allocation of marine areas according to Model No. 01 issued together with this Decree;

b) A copy of the document permitting exploitation and utilization of marine resources issued by the competent state agency;

c) A copy of one of the following documents: Decision approving the environmental impact assessment report, document confirming the environmental protection plan, commitment to environmental protection, detailed environmental protection project, or simple environmental protection project of the project in accordance with the laws on environmental protection (if applicable);

d) Diagram of the marine area proposed for allocation, showing the coordinates of the corners of the marine area proposed for allocation according to Model No. 05 issued together with this Decree.

2. Documents for application for allocation of marine areas by Vietnamese individuals for aquaculture in accordance with point a, clause 2, Article 44 of the Fisheries Law include:

a) Application form for allocation of marine areas according to Model No. 01 issued together with this Decree;

c) A copy of the document permitting Vietnamese individuals to switch from coastal fishing to aquaculture in accordance with the laws on fisheries or a confirmation letter from the People's Committee of the commune where the Vietnamese individual resides and whose main source of income is from aquaculture.

3. Documents for application for allocation of marine areas for scientific and technological tasks include:

a) Application form for allocation of marine areas according to Model No. 01 issued together with this Decree;

b) A copy of the document permitting, assigning tasks, or decision approving the detailed implementation plan for scientific and technological tasks serving aquaculture and other marine scientific and technological tasks using a fixed area of marine area;

c) Diagram of the marine area proposed for allocation, showing the coordinates of the corners of the marine area proposed for allocation according to Model No. 05 issued together with this Decree.

Article 16. Procedure and Formalities for Handling Applications for Allocation of Marine Areas

1. The receipt of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Organizations and individuals applying for allocation of marine areas shall submit one set of documents in accordance with Article 15 of this Decree to the agency receiving documents as stipulated in Article 25 of this Decree; the agency receiving documents shall issue a receipt and schedule for handling the documents according to Model No. 10 issued together with this Decree;

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving the documents, the agency receiving documents shall check the documents. If the documents do not comply with the regulations, the agency receiving documents shall guide the organization or individual once in writing to supplement and complete the documents;

c) After receiving all the documents as prescribed, the agency receiving documents shall transfer the documents to the agency responsible for reviewing the documents.

2. The review of documents shall be carried out as follows:

Within forty-five working days for documents within the authority to allocate marine areas of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Provincial People's Committees; thirty working days for documents within the authority to allocate marine areas of District People's Committees, from the date of receiving all the documents in accordance with the regulations, the agency responsible for reviewing the documents shall:

a) Complete the review of documents in accordance with the contents stipulated in Clause 1, Article 27 of this Decree. The results of the review must be recorded in writing;

b) Determine the fee for using the marine area and other obligations that the organization or individual must fulfill;

c) The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for sending documents to seek opinions of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Provincial People's Committees where the marine area is located, and relevant agencies in cases stipulated in Clause 1, Article 8 of this Decree; seek opinions of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Provincial People's Committees where the marine area is located, and relevant agencies in cases stipulated in Clause 2, Article 8 of this Decree. The Provincial People's Committee shall be responsible for seeking opinions of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and provincial military and police agencies, and relevant agencies in cases stipulated in Clause 3, Article 8 of this Decree. Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving the document seeking opinions, the agency sought for opinions shall provide a written response. The time taken to seek opinions shall not be included in the time for reviewing the documents;

d) In case of necessity, the agency responsible for reviewing the documents shall request the competent authority to establish a Review Board and organize on-site inspections. The inspection period shall not exceed ten working days. The inspection period shall not be included in the time for reviewing the documents.

3. The submission and resolution of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Within three working days from the date of completing the review of documents, the agency responsible for reviewing the documents shall submit the documents to the competent authority allocating marine areas;

b) Within five working days from the date of submitting the documents, the competent authority allocating marine areas shall make a decision on the allocation of marine areas. In case of not making a decision, a written reply stating the reasons must be provided.

4. Notification and delivery of the results of handling the application:

Within no more than two working days from the date of receiving the result of the file processing, the agency receiving the file shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the organization or individual who submitted the file to receive the result and perform related financial obligations as prescribed;

b) Sending the Decision on Allocation of Marine Area to the Tax Department where there is activity using the marine area to issue the Notice of Payment of Marine Area Usage Fee.

Article 17. File for Recognition of Marine Area

1. Application form for recognition of marine area according to Model No. 01 promulgated together with this Decree.

2. Original lease contract for land or decision on allocation of land, lease of coastal water or sea water, or certificate of land use rights for coastal water or sea water (if any); document permitting the organization or individual to exploit and use marine resources (if any), issued by the competent state management agency.

3. Report on the situation of marine area usage, environmental protection work, and fulfillment of financial obligations by the organization or individual up to the time of submitting the application for recognition of marine area.

4. Diagram of the marine area, showing the coordinates of the corners of the marine area according to Model No. 05 promulgated together with this Decree.

Article 18. Procedure and Formalities for Processing the File for Recognition of Marine Area

1. The receipt of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) The organization or individual applying for recognition of marine area submits one set of files in accordance with Article 17 of this Decree to the agency receiving the file as stipulated in Article 25 of this Decree. The agency receiving the file shall establish a receipt and schedule for file processing according to Model No. 10 promulgated together with this Decree;

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving the documents, the agency receiving documents shall check the documents. If the documents do not comply with the regulations, the agency receiving documents shall guide the organization or individual once in writing to supplement and complete the documents;

c) After receiving the complete file in accordance with the regulations, the agency receiving the file transfers the file to the agency for reviewing the file.

2. The review of documents shall be carried out as follows:

Within no more than ten working days from the date of receiving the complete file, the agency reviewing the file shall be responsible for:

a) Completing the review of the file according to the contents prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 27 of this Decree. The review results must be documented in writing;

b) Determine the fee for using the marine area and other obligations that the organization or individual must fulfill;

c) If necessary, the agency reviewing the file shall submit to the competent authority allocating the marine area to establish a Review Board, send a document seeking opinions from relevant agencies; organize on-site inspection (the on-site inspection period does not exceed ten working days). Within no more than fifteen working days from the date of receiving the opinion-seeking document, the agency sought for opinions shall be responsible for replying in writing. The time for seeking opinions and organizing on-site inspections shall not be counted towards the review period.

3. The submission and resolution of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Within no more than three working days from the date of completing the review of the file, the agency reviewing the file shall be responsible for submitting the file to the competent authority for recognition of the marine area;

b) Within no more than five working days from the date the agency reviewing the file submits the file, the competent authority for recognition of the marine area shall examine and issue a decision on allocation of the marine area. In case of not issuing a decision, a written response with clear reasons must be provided.

4. Notification and delivery of the results of handling the application:

Within no more than two working days from the date of receiving the result of the file processing, the agency receiving the file shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the organization or individual who submitted the file to receive the result and perform related financial obligations as prescribed;

b) Sending the Decision on Allocation of Marine Area to the Tax Department where there is activity using the marine area to issue the Notice of Payment of Marine Area Usage Fee (in cases where payment of the marine area usage fee is required).

Article 19. Documents for requesting extension of the period for using marine areas

1. Application for extending the period for using marine areas according to Model No. 02 issued together with this Decree.

2. Decision on allocating marine areas already issued (original copy).

3. Copy of the document permitting exploitation and utilization of marine resources that has been extended in validity or is still valid by the competent state agency.

4. Report on the situation of using marine areas, environmental protection work, and the fulfillment of financial obligations by organizations and individuals up to the date of submitting the application for extension.

Article 20. Procedures and formalities for handling applications for extending the period for using marine areas

1. The receipt of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Organizations and individuals requesting an extension of the period for using marine areas submit one set of documents in accordance with Article 19 of this Decree to the agency receiving documents as stipulated in Article 25 of this Decree. The agency receiving documents shall issue a receipt and schedule for handling the documents according to Model No. 10 issued together with this Decree;

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving the documents, the agency receiving documents shall check the documents; if the documents do not comply with regulations, the agency receiving documents shall guide once in writing for organizations and individuals to supplement and complete;

c) After receiving the complete file in accordance with the regulations, the agency receiving the file transfers the file to the agency for reviewing the file.

2. The review of documents shall be carried out as follows:

Within no more than thirty working days from the date of receiving all documents, the agency reviewing the documents shall be responsible for:

a) Completing the review of the file according to the contents prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 27 of this Decree. The review results must be documented in writing;

b) Determine the fee for using the marine area and other obligations that the organization or individual must fulfill;

c) If necessary, the agency reviewing the documents shall request the competent authority to establish a review board; send a document seeking opinions from relevant agencies; organize on-site inspections (the inspection period does not exceed ten working days). Within no more than fifteen working days from the date of receiving the document seeking opinions, the agency asked for opinions must respond in writing. The time for seeking opinions and organizing on-site inspections is not included in the review period.

3. The submission and resolution of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Within no more than three working days from the completion of the document review, the reviewing agency shall be responsible for submitting the documents to the competent authority for extending the period for allocating marine areas;

b) Within no more than five working days from the date the reviewing agency submits the documents, the competent authority for extending the period for using marine areas shall examine and issue a decision on allocating marine areas. In case of not issuing a decision, there must be a written response stating the reasons.

4. Notification and delivery of the results of handling the application:

Within no more than two working days from the date of receiving the result of the file processing, the agency receiving the file shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the organization or individual who submitted the file to receive the result and perform related financial obligations as prescribed;

b) Sending the Decision on Allocation of Marine Area to the Tax Department where there is activity using the marine area to issue the Notice of Payment of Marine Area Usage Fee.

Article 21. Documents for returning marine areas

1. Application for returning marine areas according to Model No. 03 issued together with this Decree.

2. Decision on allocating marine areas already issued (original copy).

3. Report on the situation of using marine areas, environmental protection work, and the fulfillment of obligations as prescribed by law up to the date of submitting the application for returning marine areas.

4. Diagram of the remaining marine area after returning part of the marine area (in cases where part of the marine area's area is returned).

Article 22. Procedures and formalities for handling applications for returning marine areas

1. The receipt of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Organizations and individuals requesting to return marine areas submit one set of documents in accordance with Article 21 of this Decree to the agency receiving documents as stipulated in Article 25 of this Decree. The agency receiving documents shall issue a receipt and schedule for handling the documents according to Model No. 10 issued together with this Decree;

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving the documents, the agency receiving documents shall check the documents; if they do not comply with regulations, the agency receiving documents shall guide once in writing for organizations and individuals to supplement and complete;

c) After receiving the complete file in accordance with the regulations, the agency receiving the file transfers the file to the agency for reviewing the file.

2. The review of documents shall be carried out as follows:

Within no more than twenty working days for requests to return part of the marine area or no more than fifteen working days for requests to return the entire marine area, from the date of receiving all documents, the agency reviewing the documents shall be responsible for:

a) Completing the document review according to the contents specified in Clause 3, Article 27 of this Decree. The review results must be recorded in writing;

b) Determining the amount of money to be refunded for the use of marine areas (if applicable); financial obligations and other obligations that organizations and individuals must fulfill;

c) If necessary, the agency reviewing the documents shall request the competent authority to establish a review board; send a document seeking opinions from relevant agencies; organize on-site inspections (the inspection period does not exceed ten working days). Within no more than fifteen working days from the date of receiving the document seeking opinions, the agency asked for opinions must respond in writing. The time for seeking opinions and organizing on-site inspections is not included in the review period.

3. The submission and resolution of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Within no more than three working days from the completion of the document review, the reviewing agency shall be responsible for submitting the documents to the competent authority for permission to return marine areas;

b) Within no more than five working days from the date the reviewing agency submits the documents, the competent authority for permission to return marine areas shall examine and issue a decision allowing the return of marine areas. In case of not issuing a decision, there must be a written response stating the reasons.

4. Notification and delivery of the results of handling the application:

Within no more than two working days from the date of receiving the result of the file processing, the agency receiving the file shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the organization or individual who submitted the file to receive the result and perform related financial obligations as prescribed;

b) Sending the Decision allowing the return of marine areas to the Tax Department where the returned marine area is located to determine and notify the amount of money to be refunded for the use of marine areas (if applicable) and the financial obligations that organizations and individuals must fulfill.

Article 23. Documents for requesting amendments and supplements to the Decision on assigning marine areas

1. A request form for amending and supplementing the Decision on assigning marine areas according to Model No. 04 issued together with this Decree.

2. Decision on allocating marine areas already issued (original copy).

3. A copy of the document from the competent state agency as prescribed by law reflecting the contents stipulated in Clause 1, Article 13 of this Decree.

Article 24. Procedures and formalities for handlinghdocuments for requesting amendments and supplements to the Decision on assigning marine areas, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CP a) Organizations and individuals requesting amendments and supplements to the Decision on assigning marine areas submit one set of documents as prescribed in Article 23 of this Decree to the agency receiving documents as prescribed in Article 25 of this Decree. The agency receiving documents shall issue a receipt and schedule for handling the documents according to Model No. 10 issued together with this Decree;developmentn

1. The receipt of applications shall be carried out as follows:

b) Determine the obligations that organizations and individuals must fulfill;

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving the documents, the agency receiving documents shall check the documents. If the documents do not comply with the regulations, the agency receiving documents shall guide the organization or individual once in writing to supplement and complete the documents;

c) After receiving the complete file in accordance with the regulations, the agency receiving the file transfers the file to the agency for reviewing the file.

2. The review of documents shall be carried out as follows:

Within no more than thirty working days from the date of receiving all documents, the agency reviewing the documents shall be responsible for:

a) Completing the review of the file according to the contents prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 27 of this Decree. The review results must be documented in writing;

b) Within no more than five working days from the date the agency reviewing the documents submits the documents, the agency authorized to assign marine areas shall consider and issue the Decision on assigning marine areas. In case no decision is made, a written response stating the reasons must be provided.

c) If necessary, the agency reviewing the documents shall request the competent authority to establish a review board; send a document seeking opinions from relevant agencies; organize on-site inspections (the inspection period does not exceed ten working days). Within no more than fifteen working days from the date of receiving the document seeking opinions, the agency asked for opinions must respond in writing. The time for seeking opinions and organizing on-site inspections is not included in the review period.

3. The submission and resolution of applications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Within three working days from the date of completing the review of documents, the agency responsible for reviewing the documents shall submit the documents to the competent authority allocating marine areas;

b) Send the Decision on assigning marine areas to the Tax Department where the activities using the assigned marine area take place to update information.

4. Notification and delivery of the results of handling the application:

Within no more than two working days from the date of receiving the result of the file processing, the agency receiving the file shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the organization or individual who submitted the file to receive the result and perform related financial obligations as prescribed;

Article 25. Agencies receiving and reviewing documents

1. Agencies receiving documents:

a) The Single Window for Administrative Services of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is the agency receiving documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas within the authority of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

b) The Provincial One-Stop Service Center is the agency receiving documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas within the authority of the Provincial People's Committee. In cases where there is no Provincial One-Stop Service Center, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is the agency receiving documents;

c) The Administrative Services Office under the District People's Committee is the agency receiving documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas within the authority of the District People's Committee. In cases where there is no Administrative Services Office, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is the agency receiving documents.

2. Agencies reviewing documents:

a) The General Department of Vietnam Sea and Islands is the agency reviewing documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas and recovery of marine areas within the authority of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

b) The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is the agency reviewing documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas and recovery of marine areas within the authority of the Provincial People's Committee;

c) The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is the agency reviewing documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas, recovery of marine areas within the authority of the District People's Committee.

Article 26. Forms of receiving and delivering results of handling documents

1. Organizations and individuals submit documents directly, submit documents through online public services, or send documents through postal services to the agency receiving documents; in cases where documents are sent through postal services, the date of receipt of documents is the date when the postal service delivers the documents to the agency receiving documents.

2. Submitting documents through online public services:

a) Organizations and individuals submit electronic documents for requesting assignment, recognition, return of marine areas; extension, amendment, and supplementation of the Decision on assigning marine areas for each administrative procedure, which are types of electronic documents submitted or supplemented by organizations and individuals implementing administrative procedures to the competent agencies or organizations according to regulations or accompanying documents converted into electronic format sent to the agency receiving documents;

b) Electronic documents must be signed with a digital signature issued by a legitimate digital signature service provider according to the regulations on digital signatures;

c) Electronic documents have the same value as paper documents;

d) Electronic documents must be established and meet the requirements prescribed by specialized laws;

đ) Electronic documents must ensure the integrity of information from the time it is created and must ensure accessibility and usability in a complete form;

e) The sending, receiving, storing, and legal value of electronic documents are carried out according to the regulations on implementing administrative procedures in the electronic environment and related legal provisions;

g) The creation and conversion of electronic documents for online administrative procedures from paper administrative documents and vice versa are carried out according to the regulations on electronic transactions and specialized laws.

3. The result of implementing administrative procedures is paper documents, electronic documents, or both paper and electronic documents.

4. Delivering the results of handling documents is done directly at the agency receiving documents or sent through postal services or by electronic documents to organizations and individuals. Delivering results by electronic documents is applied appropriately based on the actual capabilities and conditions of the implementing agency and organizations and individuals participating in online public services.

4. The issuance of results from the processing of files shall be carried out directly at the agency receiving the file, or sent through postal services, or by electronic files to organizations or individuals. Issuing results by electronic files shall be applied in accordance with the capacity and actual conditions of the implementing agency and the organizations or individuals participating in online public services.

Article 27. Content of the examination of the application dossier for granting, recognizing, returning, extending, amending, and supplementing the Decision on assigning the marine area

1. Content of the examination of the application dossier for granting the marine area:

a) The completeness of the form and content of the dossier;

b) The suitability of the proposed marine area to be assigned with the planning as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree; in cases where there is no planning, it must ensure suitability with the provisions at points a, b, and point c of Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree;

c) The suitability of the planned exploitation and utilization of marine resources with the tasks of ensuring national defense, security; protecting sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea; ensuring people's access to the sea in the proposed marine area to be assigned;

d) Conflicts between the planned exploitation and utilization of marine resources and other lawful exploitation and utilization activities currently being carried out in the proposed marine area (if any);

đ) The appropriateness of environmental protection measures when exploiting and utilizing marine resources in the proposed marine area;

2. Content of the examination of the application dossier for recognizing, extending, amending, and supplementing the Decision on assigning the marine area:

a) The completeness of the form and content of the dossier;

b) The suitability of the proposed marine area to be assigned with the planning as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree; in cases where there is no planning, it must ensure suitability with the provisions at points a, b, and point c of Clause 4, Article 5 of this Decree;

c) The fulfillment of financial obligations and other obligations prescribed by law by organizations and individuals during the use of the marine area;

d) The suitability of the planned exploitation and utilization of marine resources with the tasks of ensuring national defense, security; protecting sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea; ensuring people's access to the sea in cases of extending the term of assignment of the marine area;

3. Content of the examination of the application dossier for returning the marine area:

a) The completeness of the form and content of the dossier;

b) Compliance with laws in the exploitation and utilization of marine resources and environmental protection work by organizations and individuals in the marine area to be returned;

c) The fulfillment of financial obligations and other obligations prescribed by law by organizations and individuals when returning the marine area.

Chapter III

RECOVERY OF THE MARINE AREA, TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DECISION ON ASSIGNING THE MARINE AREA

Article 28. Recovery of the Marine Area

1. The marine area shall be recovered in the following cases:

a) Organizations and individuals assigned the marine area exploit the use of the marine area causing adverse effects on national defense, security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea, or destroying, severely polluting the marine environment, and marine ecosystems;

b) Organizations and individuals using the marine area contrary to the purpose of use specified in the Decision on assigning the marine area;

c) Documents issued by competent state agencies allowing the exploitation and utilization of marine resources for organizations and individuals to be recovered;

d) Within 24 consecutive months from the date the Decision on assigning the marine area becomes effective, organizations and individuals do not use part or all of the marine area for the exploitation and utilization of marine resources except in cases of force majeure or legitimate reasons approved in writing by competent state agencies in accordance with the law;

đ) Organizations and individuals using the marine area for aquaculture falling under any of the cases stipulated in points a, b, d, đ, e, and g of Clause 1, Article 45 of the Fisheries Law;

e) The assigned marine area is used to serve national defense, security, national interests, and public purposes as prescribed by law.

2. The recovery of the marine area as provided for in points a, b, c, d, and đ of Clause 1 of this Article shall be implemented as follows:

a) Within no more than 30 working days from the date of receiving the conclusion of the competent state agency regarding the violation by organizations and individuals of any of the provisions in points a, b, c, d, and đ of Clause 1 of this Article, the dossier examination agency as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 25 of this Decree shall have the responsibility to inspect, verify on-site, seek opinions from relevant agencies if necessary, and complete the dossier to submit to the competent authority for recovering the marine area to decide on the recovery;

b) Within no more than 10 working days from the date the dossier examination agency submits the dossier, the competent authority for recovering the marine area shall examine and decide on the recovery;

c) Within no more than three working days from the date of receiving the result of the recovery of the marine area, the dossier receipt agency as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 25 of this Decree shall have the responsibility to send the result of the recovery of the marine area to the organizations and individuals concerned and relevant agencies;

3. The recovery of the marine area as provided for in point e of Clause 1 of this Article shall be implemented as follows:

a) Within no more than 20 working days from the date the competent state agency decides to use the assigned marine area to serve national defense, security, national interests, and public purposes, the dossier examination agency as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 25 of this Decree shall have the responsibility to submit to the competent authority for recovering the marine area to decide on the recovery;

b) Within no more than 10 working days from the date the dossier examination agency submits the dossier, the competent authority for recovering the marine area shall examine and decide on the recovery;

c) Within no more than three working days from the date of receiving the result of the recovery of the marine area, the dossier receipt agency as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 25 of this Decree shall have the responsibility to send the result of the recovery of the marine area to the organizations and individuals concerned and relevant agencies;

4. The competent authority for recovering the marine area shall issue the Decision on Recovering the Marine Area according to Model No. 08 attached to this Decree;

5. In cases where the marine area is recovered as provided for in point e of Clause 1 of this Article, organizations and individuals whose marine areas are recovered shall be compensated in accordance with the law.

Article 29. Termination of Effectiveness of Decision on Allocation of Marine Area

1. The decision on allocation of marine area shall terminate its effectiveness in the following cases:

a) The marine area is reclaimed;

b) The decision on allocation of marine area expires without renewal;

c) The marine area is fully returned;

d) The organization allocated the marine area is dissolved or declared bankrupt in accordance with the provisions of the law;

đ) The individual or private business owner or sole member limited liability company has died without a successor.

2. When the decision on allocation of marine area terminates its effectiveness as provided for in points b and c of Clause 1 of this Article, the organization or individual allocated the marine area shall be responsible for handling facilities and equipment used for exploitation and utilization of marine resources; restoring the environment in that marine area in accordance with the provisions of the law and reporting the results to the competent authority allocating the marine area for inspection.

Chapter IV

METHODS OF CALCULATION, COLLECTION METHODS, MANAGEMENT REGIME AND USE OF MONEY FOR MARINE AREA UTILIZATION

Article 30. Money for Marine Area Utilization

1. Organizations and individuals allocated marine areas for exploitation and utilization of marine resources shall have the obligation to pay money for marine area utilization in accordance with the provisions of the law except for the cases stipulated in Article 31 of this Decree.

2. Money for marine area utilization is determined based on the classification of activities using marine areas, the permitted area of the marine area, the duration of use of the marine area, and the specific rate of collection of money for marine area utilization. Money for marine area utilization for submergence activities at sea is determined based on the volume of materials and substances submerged calculated in cubic meters (m³ ).

3. Money for marine area utilization is a revenue of the state budget and is managed and used in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law. Money for marine area utilization is paid into the central budget in cases where the marine area is allocated within the authority of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and is paid into the local budget in cases where the marine area is allocated within the authority of the provincial People's Committee.

Article 31. Activities Using Marine Areas Not Required to Pay Money for UtilizationThe Standing Office of the Council for International Cooperation on Non-Governmental Organizations (Vietnam Friendship Association) is the agency responsible for receiving registration dossiers, leading, and coordinating with member agencies of the Council to examine dossiers and return results of reviews of registration dossiers of foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.iển

1. Using marine areas as water areas before ports, turning areas for ships, anchorage areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, pilot reception areas, quarantine areas, maritime channels, and other auxiliary facilities serving public interests and other maritime infrastructure constructed with state budget funds for public interest.

2. Using marine areas as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 44 of the Fisheries Law.

3. Using fixed marine areas to implement scientific and technological tasks approved by competent state authorities.

4. Using marine areas for marine conservation zones, fishing and protection areas for aquatic resources, wetland conservation areas.

5. Using marine areas for oil and gas exploration; using marine areas for oil and gas extraction, transporting extracted oil and gas resources from Vietnam's territorial waters to shore via pipelines under product-sharing contracts and decisions of the Prime Minister (including activities using marine areas directly serving oil and gas extraction and transportation activities: using marine areas for installing oil and gas platforms, building oil and gas ports, constructing oil and gas pipeline systems, offshore pipelines, and other direct auxiliary facilities).

6. Using marine areas for submerging dredged materials from water areas before ports, turning areas for ships, anchorage areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, pilot reception areas, quarantine areas, maritime channels, and other auxiliary facilities serving public interests and other maritime infrastructure constructed with state budget funds for public interest.

7. Using marine areas for construction, installation, and operation of facilities serving national and public interests.

8. The Prime Minister decides to exempt money for marine area utilization for other cases proposed by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

Article 32. Activities using marine areas must pay for the use of marine areas

1. Except for cases prescribed in Article 31 of this Decree, activities using marine areas must pay for the use of marine areas. Activities using marine areas that must pay for the use of marine areas are divided into six groups according to the purposes of use as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 34 of this Decree.

2. In cases where multiple organizations and individuals are assigned marine areas within the same sea area, the collection of fees for the use of marine areas shall be carried out separately for each organization and individual corresponding to each assigned marine area.

3. In cases where an organization or individual is assigned marine areas for different purposes within the same sea area, the collection of fees for the use of marine areas shall be carried out separately for each activity using the marine area corresponding to each assigned marine area within that sea area.

Article 33. Area subject to payment for the use of marine areas

1. The area subject to payment for the use of marine areas (except for seabed disposal) is the area recorded in the Decision assigning the marine area by the competent state management agency authorized to assign the marine area; the unit of measurement is hectares (ha).

2. In cases where the scope of implementation of the same investment project includes part of the marine area, land, coastal land with surface water, and coastal tidal land, the financial obligations to the State shall be determined separately for each corresponding area according to the provisions of the law.

Article 34. Framework for fees for the use of marine areas and specific levels of fees for the use of marine areas

1. Activities using marine areas that must pay for the use of marine areas are divided into six groups according to the purposes of use with the framework for fees for the use of marine areas as follows:

a) Using marine areas for seabed disposal (Group 1): from VND 15,000/m³ to VND 20,000/m³;

b) Using marine areas for building seaports, floating ports, offshore oil ports, and other ports and wharfs; for pre-port waters, turning areas, anchoring zones, transshipment zones, dedicated maritime channels, and other auxiliary works; for waters serving repair and construction of new vessels, passenger transport port construction; for waters serving restaurant operations, recreational and entertainment zones, and sports on the sea; for anchoring and overnight stays of tourist vessels; for oil and gas exploitation; for mineral exploitation; for salvage and archaeological work (Group 2): from VND 6,500,000/ha/year to VND 7,500,000/ha/year;

d) Using marine areas for building underground pipeline systems, installing telecommunications cables, and power cables (Group 4): from VND 5,000,000/ha/year to VND 7,500,000/ha/year;

đ) Using marine areas for aquaculture and fish port construction (Group 5): from VND 4,000,000/ha/year to VND 7,500,000/ha/year;

e) Using marine areas for wind, wave, tidal, and ocean current energy exploitation, and other uses of marine areas (Group 6): from VND 3,000,000/ha/year to VND 7,500,000/ha/year.

2. Specific levels of fees for the use of marine areas are determined as follows:

a) Based on the framework for fees for the use of marine areas prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and specific economic and social conditions, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment promulgates specific levels of fees for the use of marine areas every five years for each group of activities using marine areas under the authority to assign marine areas of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

b) Based on the framework for fees for the use of marine areas prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and specific economic and social conditions, the People's Committee of the province promulgates specific levels of fees for the use of marine areas every five years for each group of activities using marine areas within the province under the authority to assign marine areas of the provincial People's Committee;

c) The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the provincial People's Committee are responsible for promulgating specific levels of fees for the use of marine areas as prescribed in points a and b of this clause within ninety days from the date this Decree takes effect.

3. In cases where there are multiple activities using marine areas for different purposes within the same marine area but the area for each purpose cannot be determined, the highest level among the purposes of use shall be applied to calculate the fee for the use of marine areas in the assigned marine area for the organization or individual.

4. For activities using marine areas not provided with specific levels of fees for the use of marine areas as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the provincial People's Committee shall decide on a case-by-case basis but not lower than VND 3,000,000/ha/year and not higher than VND 7,500,000/ha/year.

5. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Government for adjustment of the framework for fees for the use of marine areas during each period to be consistent with economic and social conditions.

Article 35. Methods of Collection and Determination of the Amount for Using Marine Areas

1. The amount for using marine areas shall be calculated from the date when the Decision on allocating marine areas by the competent state agency becomes effective.

2. The form of payment for using marine areas shall be proposed by organizations and individuals when submitting the application for allocating marine areas. The form of payment and the amount for using marine areas to be paid must be specifically recorded in the Decision on allocating marine areas made by the competent state agency allocating marine areas. Except in cases where marine areas are used for submergence, organizations and individuals may choose one of the following forms of payment for using marine areas:

a) Annual payment for using marine areas;

b) Payment once every five years for using marine areas;

c) One-time payment for using marine areas throughout the allocated period for aquaculture activities.

3. In cases where organizations and individuals choose the annual payment form for using marine areas, it shall be regulated as follows:

a) The amount for using marine areas to be paid annually shall be determined by multiplying the area of the allocated marine area with the specific rate of payment for using marine areas stipulated in Article 34 of this Decree at the time of calculation multiplied by one year;

b) The deadline for the first payment of the amount for using marine areas: Within ninety days from the date the tax authority signs the Notice of payment of the amount for using marine areas to be paid, organizations and individuals are responsible for paying the entire amount for using marine areas due for that year. From the second year onwards, organizations and individuals may choose to pay the amount for using marine areas once or twice a year. If organizations and individuals choose to pay the amount for using marine areas once a year, the payment deadline shall be before May 31 of that year;

c) In cases where organizations and individuals choose to pay the amount for using marine areas twice a year, the payment deadlines for each period shall be as follows:

First period: Pay fifty percent by the latest before May 31 of that year;

Second period: Pay the remaining balance by the latest before October 31 of that year.

4. In cases where organizations and individuals choose the form of one-time payment for using marine areas over five years, it shall be regulated as follows:

a) The amount for using marine areas to be paid shall be determined by multiplying the area of the allocated marine area with the specific rate of payment for using marine areas stipulated in Article 34 of this Decree at the time of calculation multiplied by five years;

b) The specific rate of payment for using marine areas in this case shall be stable for a five-year cycle. At the end of the five-year stability period, the competent state agency allocating marine areas shall determine the amount for using marine areas that organizations and individuals must pay for the next five-year cycle based on the specific rate of payment for using marine areas at the time of calculation;

c) The one-time payment for using marine areas over five years shall be made once. Organizations and individuals are responsible for paying the entire amount for using marine areas due within thirty days from the date the tax authority signs the Notice of payment of the amount for using marine areas to be paid.

5. In cases where organizations and individuals are allocated marine areas for aquaculture and choose the form of one-time payment for using marine areas throughout the allocation period, it shall be regulated as follows:

a) The amount for using marine areas to be paid shall be determined by multiplying the area of the allocated marine area with the specific rate of payment for using marine areas stipulated in Article 34 of this Decree at the time of calculation multiplied by the allocation period;

b) The specific rate of payment for using marine areas in this case shall be stable for the entire allocation period. Organizations and individuals are responsible for paying the entire amount for using marine areas due within thirty days from the date the tax authority signs the Notice of payment of the amount for using marine areas to be paid.

6. In cases where marine areas are used for submergence, organizations and individuals must make a one-time full payment of the amount for using marine areas. The amount for using marine areas for submergence shall be regulated as follows:

a) The amount for using marine areas for submergence to be paid shall be determined by multiplying the volume of materials or substances submerged by unit m³ cubed with the rate of payment for using marine areas stipulated in Article 34 of this Decree at the time of calculation;

b) Organizations and individuals are responsible for paying the entire amount for using marine areas due within thirty days from the date the tax authority signs the Notice of payment of the amount for using marine areas to be paid.

Article 36. Procedures for collecting and submitting sea area usage fees

1. Within no more than five working days from the date of receipt of the Decision on allocating sea areas issued by the competent state agency, based on the amount of sea area usage fee recorded in the Decision on allocating sea areas, the Tax Department where the sea area usage activities take place shall issue a Notice to pay the sea area usage fee according to Model No. 11 promulgated together with this Decree and send it to organizations and individuals allocated sea areas.

The tax authority is responsible for notifying organizations and individuals to pay the sea area usage fee thirty working days before the deadline for paying the next sea area usage fee period. The payment of sea area usage fees for submergence purposes shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 6, Article 35 of this Decree.

2. Organizations and individuals granted sea areas have the responsibility to pay the sea area usage fee into the State budget within the time limit specified in the tax authority's notice.

3. In cases where organizations and individuals granted sea areas fail to fully pay the required amount into the State budget within the payment deadline stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, they must pay late payment penalties for the unpaid amount in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration. If organizations and individuals violate the law and their permits are revoked in accordance with point c, Clause 1, Article 28 of this Decree, the competent state management agency that has revoked the permit shall notify the state agency that allocated the sea area to consider and decide on the revocation of the allocated sea area.

4. Organizations and individuals granted sea areas shall directly pay the sea area usage fee into the State budget at the National Treasury or through organizations authorized to collect such payments in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration. Matters related to documentation and collection procedures shall comply with regulations on centralized management of State budget revenues as stipulated by the Law on Tax Administration.

Article 37. Budget for the task of allocating sea areas

The budget for the task of allocating sea areas is guaranteed by the State budget and is allocated annually in the State budget expenditure plan for the agency responsible for the task of allocating sea areas to cover the following items:

1. Costs for surveying, inspecting the site; measuring, determining the location, coordinates, area, depth of the allocated sea area; preparing a map of the allocated sea area to be issued along with the Decision on allocating sea areas; statistics and inventory of sea area usage conditions nationwide to report to the Prime Minister.

2. Costs for conferences, seminars, technical meetings, and meetings of the appraisal board for applications to allocate sea areas (if applicable).

3. Costs for appraising, processing applications to allocate, recognize, extend, amend, and supplement Decisions on allocating sea areas; returning or recovering allocated sea areas.

4. Costs for inspecting and supervising the use of allocated sea areas by organizations and individuals.

5. Costs for investigating and surveying to establish a framework for sea area usage fees and specific rates for sea area usage fees.

6. Costs for operating and maintaining technical systems serving the allocation of sea areas; purchasing, repairing equipment, means of transportation, office supplies, and direct communication services for the work of allocating and managing sea areas.

7. Other expenses directly related to the allocation of sea areas.

Article 38. Handling of Sea Area Usage Fees in Cases of Extension, Return, or Revocation of Sea Areas

1. In cases where organizations or individuals request an extension of the sea area transfer period, the sea area usage fee for the extended period shall be determined according to the provisions of this Decree. The amount of the sea area usage fee for the extended period shall be determined based on the collection rate at the time when the competent state management agency decides to extend the sea area transfer.

2. In cases where organizations or individuals have paid the sea area usage fee once for five years or for the entire transfer period of the sea area but are permitted by the competent state agency specified in Article 8 of this Decree to return the sea area before the term, return part of the sea area's area, or amend and supplement the Decision on transferring the sea area resulting in a change in the amount of the sea area usage fee to be paid, they shall be refunded the amount of the sea area usage fee already paid according to the decision of the competent state management agency through offsetting against other financial obligations to the State. If it cannot be fully offset, the remaining amount of the sea area usage fee shall be refunded by the state budget.

3. In cases where organizations or individuals have been issued a Permit for Marine Disposal and a Decision on transferring the sea area, and have paid the sea area usage fee and carried out marine disposal activities, they shall not be entitled to a refund of the sea area usage fee already paid.

4. In cases where organizations or individuals have paid the sea area usage fee but the sea area has been revoked, the handling of the sea area usage fee paid for the unused period shall be as follows:

a) No refund of the sea area usage fee paid shall be granted in cases where the sea area is revoked according to points a, b, c, d, and đ of Clause 1, Article 28 of this Decree;

b) A refund shall be granted in cases where the sea area is revoked according to point e of Clause 1, Article 28 of this Decree. The amount of the sea area usage fee to be refunded shall be calculated based on the sea area usage fee according to the original purpose of use prior to revocation, corresponding to the unused period at the time of revocation multiplied by the area being revoked. For cases where the sea area was used for marine disposal, due to the organization or individual not carrying out marine disposal activities, the amount of the sea area usage fee to be refunded shall be equal to the collection rate recorded in the Decision on transferring the sea area for marine disposal. The specific amount of the sea area usage fee to be refunded shall be calculated based on the specific sea area usage fee collection rate issued by the competent state management agency at the time of refund.

5. Procedures and formalities for the State to refund the sea area usage fee:

a) For cases stipulated in Clause 2 and point b of Clause 4 of this Article, within no more than five working days from the date of receipt of the decision of the competent state agency allowing the return of the sea area, allowing the return of part of the sea area's area, deciding to revoke the sea area, or amending and supplementing the Decision on transferring the sea area resulting in a reduction in the amount of the sea area usage fee to be paid, the Tax Bureau where the sea area usage activity takes place shall issue a notice of refund of the sea area usage fee according to the Law on Tax Administration and send it to the organization or individual entitled to the refund;

b) Organizations or individuals entitled to a refund of the sea area usage fee shall submit the notice of refund of the sea area usage fee issued by the Tax Bureau where the sea area usage activity takes place to the State Treasury to process the refund of the sea area usage fee;

c) The State Treasury or the organization entrusted by the tax authority to implement the refund of the sea area usage fee shall refund the sea area usage fee to the organization or individual according to the notice of refund of the sea area usage fee issued by the Tax Bureau where the sea area usage activity takes place.

Chapter V

RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES

Article 39. Responsibilities of Pursuant to the Law on Cultural Heritage and Decree No. 92/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage;

1. Assist the Government in implementing comprehensive and unified management of marine areas for the exploitation and utilization of marine resources throughout the country.

2. Implement the assignment, recognition, permission to return, recovery, extension, amendment, and supplementation of decisions on assigning marine areas in accordance with this Decree; closely coordinate with competent state management agencies that permit the exploitation and utilization of marine resources and other relevant agencies during the implementation process.

3. Establish and uniformly manage technical systems serving the assignment of marine areas; conduct statistics, inventory, establish, and manage information and databases on marine areas and islands throughout the country.

4. Review, adjust, supplement, and update every ten years the lowest average low-water line of mainland and islands within the scope stipulated in Clause 3, Article 3 of this Decree; the outer boundary of the three-nautical-mile territorial sea, six-nautical-mile contiguous zone, or adjust when there are changes in natural conditions and topography.

5. Inspect and supervise the implementation of legal provisions regarding the assignment and utilization of marine areas throughout the country; resolve disputes over the use of marine areas within the assigned jurisdiction according to the law.

6. Organize propaganda, dissemination of knowledge, and legal education for agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the assignment and utilization of marine areas.

7. Summarize and evaluate the situation of the assignment and utilization of marine areas nationwide, report to the Prime Minister as prescribed before January 31 each year.

Article 40. Responsibilities of Provincial People's Committees with coastal areas

1. Implement the assignment, recognition, permission to return, recovery, extension, amendment, and supplementation of decisions on assigning marine areas in accordance with this Decree; closely coordinate with competent state management agencies that permit the exploitation and utilization of marine resources and other relevant agencies during the implementation process.

2. Manage the use of marine areas for the exploitation and utilization of marine resources; provide information, manage, and utilize technical systems serving the assignment of marine areas; conduct statistics, inventory, establish, and manage information and data on the assignment and utilization of marine areas within their province.

3. Inspect and supervise the implementation of legal provisions regarding the assignment and utilization of marine areas within their province; resolve disputes over the use of marine areas within their provincial jurisdiction according to the law.

4. Organize propaganda, dissemination of knowledge, and legal education for agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the assignment and utilization of marine areas.

5. Summarize and evaluate the situation of the assignment and utilization of marine areas within their province; submit reports to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as prescribed before January 15 each year.

Article 41. Responsibilities of District People's Committees with coastal areas

1. Implement the assignment, recognition, permission to return, recovery, extension, amendment, and supplementation of decisions on assigning marine areas for aquaculture within their assigned jurisdiction as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 8 of this Decree.

2. Manage activities using marine areas for aquaculture within their assigned jurisdiction; provide information and data on the assignment and utilization of marine areas within their management area.

3. Direct the Department of Natural Resources and Environment or assign an agency or unit with the appropriate functions to prepare a map of marine areas according to Model No. 09 issued together with this Decree when deciding to assign marine areas to Vietnamese individuals for aquaculture as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 8 of this Decree.

4. Inspect and supervise the implementation of legal provisions regarding the assignment and utilization of marine areas within their district and resolve disputes over the use of marine areas within their district jurisdiction according to the law.

5. Organize propaganda, dissemination of knowledge, and legal education for agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the assignment and utilization of marine areas.

6. Summarize and evaluate the situation of the assignment and utilization of marine areas within their district; submit reports to the Provincial People's Committee as prescribed before December 30 each year.

Article 42. Responsibilities of other related agencies

1. The competent state agency before issuing a permit for the exploitation and use of marine resources shall be responsible for soliciting opinions and reaching consensus with the competent state management agency managing the sea area specified in Article 8 of this Decree regarding the location, boundaries, coordinates, area of the sea zone intended for exploitation and use of marine resources, and other related issues.

2. The Ministry of National Defense shall be responsible for providing nautical charts upon request of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to serve the purpose of allocating sea zones and managing the use of sea zones.

3. Relevant ministries and sectors shall be responsible for coordinating in providing information, documents, and answering related questions at the request of the competent state agency allocating sea zones.

4. Law enforcement forces on the sea shall be responsible for inspecting, supervising, and monitoring the activities of using sea zones by organizations and individuals within Vietnam's maritime areas; handling violations according to their authority.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 43. Transitional Provisions

1. Activities using sea zones for searching, exploring, exploiting oil and gas, and transporting extracted oil and gas from Vietnam's maritime areas to shore via pipelines (including activities using sea zones directly serving oil and gas exploitation and transportation activities: using sea zones for installing oil and gas extraction platforms, building oil and gas ports, constructing oil and gas pipeline systems, offshore oil and gas pipelines, and other direct supporting facilities) that have been permitted, approved, or extended by the competent state agency before this Decree takes effect shall continue to use the sea zones and exercise rights and obligations until the end of the period granted by the competent state agency according to the laws on oil and gas and other relevant laws, without having to go through the procedures for recognizing and allocating sea zones, and without having to pay the sea zone usage fee as stipulated in this Decree.

2. Organizations and individuals whose applications for allocation of sea zones have been accepted by the competent state agency for processing under administrative procedures before this Decree takes effect but have not yet received a resolution on their applications may choose to follow the procedures, processes, and authorities prescribed in Decree No. 51/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 21, 2014 of the Government on allocating certain sea zones to organizations and individuals for exploitation and use of marine resources or as prescribed in this Decree.

3. Organizations and individuals who have been allocated sea zones according to Decree No. 51/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 21, 2014 of the Government on allocating certain sea zones to organizations and individuals for exploitation and use of marine resources, if they wish to return the sea zones, extend, amend, or supplement the Decision on allocating sea zones after this Decree takes effect, the authority, procedures, and processes for resolving such matters shall be carried out according to the provisions of this Decree.

4. In cases where there are no suitable scale topographic maps of the seabed, the nautical charts published by the Vietnam People's Navy with appropriate scales based on the VN 2000 coordinate system shall be used for allocating sea zones.

Article 44. Effective date of implementation

1. This Decree shall take effect from March 30, 2021.

2. This Decree replaces Decree No. 51/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 21, 2014 of the Government on allocating certain sea zones to organizations and individuals for exploitation and use of marine resources.

3. Abolish Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree No. 46/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014 of the Government on collecting land rental fees and water surface rental fees (amended and supplemented by Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree No. 123/2017/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2017 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decrees on collecting land use fees, land rental fees, and water surface rental fees).

Article 45. Responsibility for Implementation

The Minister, the Heads of Ministries equivalent to Ministries, the Heads of Government Agencies, the Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees, and the Central Agencies related to the sea and coastal provinces shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.