Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC: Ministry of Finance Issues New Investment Form Set — Effective Immediately on 15 May 2026, Replacing All MPI Forms

16-05-26 MTParners

Standardising investment registration and promotion forms nationwide under the 2025 Investment Law (Law No. 143/2025/QH15) and Decree No. 96/2026/ND-CP. Applications already filed under the old templates before 15 May 2026 will continue to be processed.

On 15 May 2026, the Minister of Finance of Vietnam issued Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC providing the standard templates for documents and reports relating to investment activities in Vietnam and investment promotion. The Circular takes effect on the date of signing (15 May 2026) and simultaneously replaces Circular No. 03/2021/TT-BKHDT and Circular No. 25/2023/TT-BKHDT previously issued by the former Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). This is also the first investment-form Circular issued by the Ministry of Finance after it assumed the state administration of investment from MPI.

Two key milestones: same-day effectiveness, and transfer of authority to the Ministry of Finance

Unlike most legal instruments which typically carry a 30–45 day delay between issuance and effectiveness, Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC takes effect on the signing date (15 May 2026). This means that from today, every newly filed investment registration application, in-principle approval request, periodic investment report, or investment promotion proposal submitted to the investment registration authority must use the new templates issued by the Ministry of Finance.

It is also the first investment-form Circular signed by the Minister of Finance — concrete evidence of the Ministry’s formal takeover of state administration of investment (formerly under MPI). The legal basis for this transfer is Decree No. 29/2025/ND-CP (24 February 2025) and the amending Decree No. 166/2025/ND-CP (30 June 2025) on the functions, duties, and structure of the Ministry of Finance.

Two annexes — covering the entire project life cycle

The Circular contains two annexes covering the entire investment project life cycle and investment promotion activities. Annex I provides the forms applied to investors and investment registration authorities for investment activities in Vietnam, including: the application for project implementation (Form I.1.1), the request for investor approval, the project proposal for special investment procedures under Article 47 of Decree No. 96/2026/ND-CP, applications for issuance/amendment/re-issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC), periodic project implementation reports, and notifications of suspension/extension/termination. Annex II contains the forms relating to investment promotion activities of ministries, sectors, and provinces.

Compared with the templates under Circular No. 03/2021/TT-BKHDT, the new forms are streamlined and updated to reflect the 2025 Investment Law — in particular the special investment procedure under Article 47 of Decree No. 96/2026/ND-CP (applicable to projects within industrial parks, hi-tech zones, free trade zones, and functional zones inside economic zones). The new forms also add a Personal Identification Number field (in place of the old ID card/CCCD number) consistent with the 2023 Citizen Identification Law.

Transitional rule: Applications filed before 15 May 2026 are processed under the old forms

Clause 2 of Article 5 of Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC is explicit: valid applications already prepared under the templates of Circular No. 03/2021/TT-BKHDT or Circular No. 25/2023/TT-BKHDT, and accepted by the competent authority before the new Circular’s effective date (15 May 2026) but not yet decided, will continue to be processed under the old forms. The practical significance is substantial: investors need not redo their applications from scratch, avoiding delays.

However, from 15 May 2026 onwards, all newly filed applications — including adjustment or supplementary applications for projects that already hold an IRC — must use the new templates. Enterprises currently preparing applications should urgently review and migrate to the Circular 55 forms.

Practical impact on domestic and foreign investors

A unified template set reduces the risk of applications being rejected due to use of an outdated version or missing fields — a common issue in practice given divergent local templates. For foreign investors (FDI), the most notable addition is the standardised commitment regarding market access conditions: where a foreign investor elects to apply procedures as a domestic investor, the new Section V of Form I.1.1 requires explicit waiver of the rights and interests otherwise available under domestic law or any applicable treaty — making the legal consequences of that election clear at filing.

On the other hand, since investment registration authorities at the provincial level are mid-transition (merger of Departments of Planning & Investment into Departments of Finance), application intake and processing in the field may be slower in the first weeks. Enterprises should contact the Provincial Department of Finance in the project locality in advance to confirm the current intake unit.

Recommendations for enterprises and investors

First, download the new template set issued with Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC immediately — particularly Form I.1.1 (application for project implementation), the most commonly used template. Second, review applications currently in preparation: if not yet filed before 15 May 2026, they must be re-prepared under the new templates. Third, update the internal investment-application workflow of in-house legal/investment teams, replacing all stored legacy templates. Fourth, for multi-phase FDI adjustment applications, pay special attention to new fields on disbursement progress, phased investment plans, and environmental impact assessment in Annex II of Form I.1.1 — the area most frequently incomplete and triggering supplementary requests from authorities.

📄 Download the full text of Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC and its template set: Circular-55-2026-TT-BTC.docx (~830 KB, MS Word format, original Vietnamese).

MT & Partners Law Firm, with lawyers experienced in investment and corporate registration in Vietnam, is ready to assist clients in reviewing, drafting, and filing investment registration applications and IRC adjustments in accordance with the new forms under Circular No. 55/2026/TT-BTC. Contact our hotline 0987140772 or email info@mtpartners.vn for consultation.

(*) This article is for reference only and does not replace specific legal advice.

SEO Keywords: Circular 55/2026/TT-BTC, Vietnam investment forms 2026, Form I.1.1, IRC application, Investment Law 143/2025/QH15, Decree 96/2026/ND-CP, Ministry of Finance investment registration, Provincial Department of Finance, FDI Vietnam 2026, special investment procedure, Article 47 Decree 96, investment promotion, download Vietnam investment template, foreign direct investment Vietnam, MT & Partners Law Firm, Vietnam investment lawyer.