A Premise For IT Park Development

According to experts in the information technology (IT) sector, Decree No. 154/2013/ND-CP by the Government on concentrated IT parks that took effect on January 1, 2014 is a premise for creating a better environment for domestic and foreign IT businesses in Vietnam

 At the seminar on Decree No. 154/2013 ND-CP which relates to concentrated IT parks held by Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) Development Corporation last Friday, representatives of the IT Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications, HCMC, QTSC and IT businesses expressed in unison their support for the decree which they believe will create a good environment for IT and software parks.

One environment, many incentives

The seminar was also a chance for enterprises in QTSC to have a broader review of the benefits offered by IT parks, enterprises operating in these parks as well as incentives on corporate income and import taxes and customs procedures. Of these issues, tax incentives received the biggest attention.
In line with the decree, enterprises implementing new IT investment projects in IT parks are subject to a corporate income tax rate of 10% in 15 years, tax exemption in four years, and a 50% reduction of payable taxes in the next nine years. Notably, in specific cases, the time for application of preferential tax rates may be prolonged, However, the total time for application of the 10% tax rate must not exceed 30 years.
Enterprises in the parks are exempt from import tax on goods imported as fixed assets and serve production of IT products and services—including machinery, equipment, components and parts.
Addressing the audience, Nguyen Anh Tuan from the IT Department said these are the latest incentives for enterprises and investors in IT parks. The Government hopes that the new initiatives will support enterprises and investors and attract more domestic and foreign IT investors to QTSC in particular.
Le Quoc Cuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, said according to Decree 154, enterprises operating in IT parks like QTSC will receive incentives on investment credits, or be allowed to select between land allotment with land-use fees and land lease.
Moreover, Decree 154 stipulates that investors in IT parks will be receive State support in the form of technical infrastructure in and outside of the parks (roads, power and water supply, drainage and other utilities), and public passenger transport to concentrated IT parks. They will also enjoy a 50% reduction of land-use fees or land rentals depending on their selection of land allotment or land lease. What’s more, IT parks are permitted to have a customs clearance point if they meet the requirements for export scale.
Chu Tien Dung, chairman of QTSC Development Corporation, said QTSC will strengthen cooperation with provinces neighboring HCMC in establishing a concentrated IT park chain. In the near future, QTSC will become an IT park of international standards strongly appealing to foreign investors.
Dung said tax incentives or benefits for enterprises operating in IT parks in line with this decree are top priorities of enterprises. The first decree of its kind for IT parks, he added, should also create a better environment for sustainable development. “We will organize many seminars this year to help enterprises better understand the benefits in the new decree,” he said.

 

Le Quoc Cuong (C), deputy director of the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, answers questions concerning Decree 154 raised by enterprises

Investment portfolios in IT parks 1. Construction of technical infrastructural works; 2. Research & development, IT application transfer; 3. Production and trade of software products, digital contents and IT services; 4. Production and trade of hardware products, electronic products in the hi-tech list prioritized for investment in development and the list of hi-tech products subject to promotion for the sake of development as prescribed by regulations on high technology; 5. IT human resources training; 6. Technology incubation and IT enterprise incubation; trade promotion, IT investment promotion. 7. Provision of services for operations in concentrated IT parks.

Source thesaigontimes.vn