List of Prohibited and Conditional Business Lines in Vietnam

Under the Vietnam Investment Law 2020, below is the List of Prohibited and Conditional Business Lines in Vietnam, divided into 2 parts: a prohibited list and a conditional list.

PROHIBITED LIST:

1. Trade in narcotic substances specified in Appendix I to the Law;

2. Trade in chemicals and minerals specified in Appendix II to the Law;

3. Trade in specimens of wild fauna and flora species specified in Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which are exploited from the nature; specimens of endangered, precious and rare forest fauna and flora species and aquatic species of Group I specified in Appendix III to the Law, which are exploited from the nature;

4. Prostitution;

5. Trafficking in humans or human tissues, corpses, organs or fetuses;

6. Business activities related to human cloning;

7. Trade in firecrackers;

8. Provision of debt collection services.

CONDITIONAL LIST (Appendix IV):

No.	Business lines
1	Making seals
2	Trading in supporting tools (including also repair thereof)
3	Trading in assorted fireworks, except firecrackers
4	Trading in camouflage equipment and software used for sound recording, image recording and positioning
5	Trading in paintball guns
6	Trading in military equipment for armed forces, military weapons, equipment and devices, techniques, ammunition and vehicles exclusively used for military and public security forces; components; spare parts, accessories, supplies and special-type equipment, and specialized technologies for manufacture thereof
7	Provision of pawn services
8	Provision of massage services
9	Trading in signaling devices of priority vehicles
10	Provision of security services
11	Provision of fire prevention and fighting services
12	Law practice
13	Notarial practice
14	Judicial assessment practice in the fields of finance, banking, construction, antiques, relics and copyright
15	Property auction practice
16	Bailiff profession practice
17	Practice of management and liquidation of assets of enterprises and cooperatives during the process of bankruptcy settlement
18	Provision of accounting services
19	Provision of auditing services
20	Provision of tax procedure performance services
21	Provision of customs clearance services
22	Trading in duty-free goods
23	Commercial operation of bonded warehouses and container freight stations
24	Commercial operation of places for customs clearance, goods gathering and customs inspection and supervision
25	Securities trading
26	Provision of securities registration, depository, clearing and payment services by the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation or organization of exchanges for listed securities and securities of other types
27	Insurance business
28	Reinsurance business
29	Insurance brokerage and ancillary insurance activities
30	Insurance agency
31	Provision of price appraisal services
32	Lottery business
33	Business of prize-winning electronic games for foreigners
34	Provision of credit rating services
35	Casino business
36	Betting business
37	Provision of voluntary pension fund management services
38	Petrol and oil trading
39	Gas trading
40	Provision of commercial assessment services
41	Trading in industrial explosives (including also destruction thereof)
42	Trading in explosive precursors
43	Dealing in sectors and trades involving the use of industrial explosives and explosive precursors
44	Provision of blasting services
45	Trading in chemicals, except those banned under the International Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction
46	Liquor trading
47	Trading in tobacco products, tobacco materials or machinery and equipment of the tobacco industry
48	Trading in food subject to specialized management by the Ministry of Industry and Trade
49	Operation of goods exchanges
50	Electricity generation, transmission, distribution, wholesale and retail activities and provision of electrical consultancy services
51	Rice export
52	Temporary import for re-export of excise tax-liable goods
53	Temporary import for re-export of frozen food
54	Temporary import for re-export of goods on the List of used goods
55	Trading in minerals
56	Trading in industrial precursors
57	Goods purchase and sale activities and related activities of foreign service providers in Vietnam
58	Multi-level marketing
59	E-commerce activities
60	Petroleum activities
61	Energy auditing
62	Vocational education activities
63	Quality inspection of vocational education
64	Provision of occupational skill assessment services
65	Provision of occupational safety-related technical inspection services
66	Provision of occupational safety and health-related training services
67	Provision of employment services
68	Provision of the service of sending guest workers
69	Provision of services related to voluntary drug rehabilitation, smoking cessation, HIV/AIDS treatment, and care of the elderly, people with disabilities and children
70	Provision of labor outsourcing services
71	Road transport business
72	Provision of car warranty and maintenance services
73	Car manufacture, assembly and import
74	Provision of motor vehicle inspection services
75	Provision of car driver training services
76	Provision of traffic safety inspector training services
77	Provision of driver testing services
78	Provision of traffic safety inspection services
79	Waterway transport business
80	Provision of inland waterway craft building, conversion, repair and restoration services
81	Provision of inland waterway craft crewmember and operator training services
82	Maritime crewmember training, recruitment and supply
83	Provision of maritime safety assurance services
84	Ocean shipping business
85	Provision of ship towage services
86	Import and demolition of used ships
87	Provision of ship building, conversion and repair services
88	Commercial operation of seaports
89	Air transport business
90	Provision of services of designing, manufacturing, maintaining and testing aircraft, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers and aircraft equipment and devices in Vietnam
91	Commercial operation of airports and aerodromes
92	Provision of aviation services at airports and aerodromes
93	Provision of flight assurance services
94	Provision of aviation staff training services
95	Railway transport business
96	Commercial operation of railway infrastructure facilities
97	Commercial operation of urban railways
98	Provision of multimodal transport services
99	Provision of hazardous cargo transport services
100	Pipeline transport business
101	Real estate business
102	Clean water (domestic water) trading
103	Provision of architectural services
104	Provision of construction investment project management consultancy services
105	Provision of construction surveying services
106	Provision of construction designing and construction design verification services
107	Provision of work construction supervision consultancy services
108	Provision of work construction services
109	Construction activities of foreign contractors
110	Provision of construction investment cost management services
111	Provision of construction inspection services
112	Provision of specialized construction testing services
113	Provision of condominium operation management services
114	Provision of crematory management and operation services
115	Provision of construction master plan-designing services
116	Trading in white asbestos products of the Serpentine sub-group
117	Provision of postal services
118	Provision of telecommunications services
119	Provision of digital signature certification services
120	Operation of publishing houses
121	Provision of printing services, except printing of packings
122	Provision of publication distribution services
123	Provision of social networking services
124	Gaming services in telecommunications networks and the Internet
125	Provision of pay radio and television services
126	Provision of website development services
127	Services of processing, recycling, repair or renewal of used information technology products on the List of used information technology products banned from import for foreign partners
128	Provision of information content services in mobile telecommunications networks and the Internet
129	Provision of domain name registration and maintenance services
130	Provision of data center services
131	Provision of electronic identification and authentication services
132	Trading in or provision of cyberinformation security products and services
133	Provision of imported newspaper distribution services
134	Trading in or provision of civil cryptography products and services
135	Trading in mobile phone jammers
136	Operation of early childhood education institutions
137	Operation of general education institutions
138	Operation of higher education institutions
139	Operation of foreign-invested educational institutions, representative offices of foreign educational institutions in Vietnam, and branches of foreign-invested educational institutions
140	Operation of continuing education institutions
141	Operation of specialized schools
142	Joint training with foreign partners
143	Educational quality inspection
144	Provision of overseas study counseling services
145	Fishing
146	Trading in aquatic products
147	Trading in aquatic feeds and animal feeds
148	Provision of aquatic feed and animal feed testing services
149	Trading in bio-preparations, microorganisms, chemicals and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry
150	Fishing ship building and conversion business
151	Fishing ship registration and inspection
152	Training and further training of fishing ships’ crewmembers
153	Breeding and planting of wild fauna or flora species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
154	Breeding of common forest animals
155	Export, import, re-export, transit, and introduction from the sea of specimens from the nature of the species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
156	Export, import and re-export of specimens of bred or reared animals or artificially propagated plants of the species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
157	Processing, trading, transport, advertising, display and storage of specimens of the fauna and flora species specified in the Appendices to the CITES and the list of endangered, precious and rare species of forest plants and animals and aquatic animals
158	Trading in pesticides
159	Provision of the service of treatment of objects subject to plant quarantine
160	Provision of pesticide testing services
161	Provision of plant protection services
162	Trading in veterinary drugs, vaccines, bio-preparations, microorganisms and chemicals for use in animal health
163	Provision of animal health-related technical services
164	Provision of animal testing and surgery services
165	Provision of vaccination, diagnosis, prescription, cure and heathcare services for animals
166	Provision of experiment and testing services for veterinary drugs (including veterinary drugs, veterinary drugs for aquatic animals, vaccines, bio-preparations, microorganisms and chemicals for use in animal health and aquatic animal health)
167	Trading in farm-based animal husbandry
168	Trading in cattle and poultry slaughtering
169	Trading in food subject to specialized management by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
170	Provision of animal and animal product isolation and quarantine services
171	Fertilizer trading
172	Provision of fertilizer testing services
173	Trading in plant varieties and animal breeds
174	Trading in aquatic breeds
175	Provision of plant variety and animal breed testing services
176	Provision of aquatic breed testing services
177	Provision of experiment and testing services for bio-preparations, microorganisms, chemicals and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry
178	Trading in genetically modified products
179	Provision of medical examination and treatment services
180	Provision of cosmetic surgery services
181	Pharmacy business
182	Cosmetics production
183	Trading in insecticidal and germicidal chemicals and preparations for household and medical use
184	Trading in medical equipment and devices
185	Provision of intellectual property-related assessment services (including assessment of copyright and related rights, industrial property assessment and assessment of rights to plant varieties)
186	Provision of the service of performance of radiation jobs
187	Provision of atomic energy application support services
188	Provision of conformity assessment services
189	Provision of services of inspection, calibration and testing of measuring devices and measurement standards
190	Provision of technology assessment, price appraisal and assessment services
191	Provision of intellectual property rights representation services (including industrial property representation services and representation services of rights to plant varieties)
192	Provision of film distribution and dissemination services
193	Provision of antique assessment services
194	Provision of services of formulation of master plans, and construction organization and supervision for, projects on preservation, embellishment and restoration of relics
195	Provision of karaoke or discotheque services
196	Provision of travel services
197	Dealing in sports activities of sports enterprises and professional sports clubs
198	Provision of art performance, fashion show, and beauty or model contest organization services
199	Dealing in phonograms or video recordings of songs, dances and dramas
200	Provision of accommodation services
201	Purchase and sale of national relics, antiques and treasures
202	Export of relics and antiques not under ownership of the State or ownership of political organizations or socio-political organizations; import of cultural goods subject to specialized management by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
203	Provision of museum services
204	Dealing in electronic games (except prize-winning electronic games for foreigners and online prize-winning electronic games)
205	Provision of land survey and valuation consultancy services
206	Provision of land use master plan and plan formulation services
207	Provision of services of construction of information technology technical infrastructure and development of software of land information systems
208	Provision of land database development services
209	Provision of land valuation services
210	Provision of survey and mapping services
211	Provision of hydrometeorological forecasting and warning services
212	Provision of groundwater drilling and exploration services
213	Provision of services of exploiting and using water resources, and discharging wastewater into water sources
214	Provision of services of baseline surveys and consultancy for formulation of master plans, schemes and reports on water resources
215	Provision of mineral exploration services
216	Mineral mining
217	Provision of hazardous waste transport and treatment services
218	Scrap import
219	Provision of environmental monitoring services
220	Business operations of commercial banks
221	Business operations of non-bank credit institutions
222	Business operations of cooperative banks, people’s credit funds and microfinance institutions
223	Provision of intermediary payment services and payment services without using customers’ payment accounts
224	Provision of credit information services
225	Business operations of, and provision of foreign exchange services by, non-credit institutions
226	Gold trading
227	Banknote printing and coin minting

The Law (full text): https://vbpl.vn/TW/Pages/vbpqen-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=11133