CIRCULAR No.92-CAAV OF JANUARY 13, 1997 PROVIDING GUIDANCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGULATION ON THE REGISTRATION OF AIRCRAFT, REGISTRATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT OF OWNERSHIP OVER AIRCRAFT AND CIVIL AIRCRAFT MORTGAGE REGISTRATION
(issued together with Decision No.971-TTg of December 28, 1996 of the Prime Minister)

Pursuant to the 1991 Law on Vietnam Civil Aviation and the 1995 Law on the Amendment and Supplement to a Number of Articles of the Law on Vietnam Civil Aviation;

Pursuant to Decree No.68-CP of October 25, 1995 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department;

Pursuant to the Regulation on the registration of aircraft, registration of the assignment of ownership over aircraft and the aircraft mortgage registration issued together with Decision No.971-TTg of December 28, 1996 of the Prime Minister;

To ensure the lawful, uniform and prompt registration into the Register of Vietnam civil aircraft;

The Vietnam Civil Aviation Department provides the following detailed guidance on the registration of aircraft, registration of the assignment of ownership over aircraft and of civil aircraft mortgage.

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. All applications, documents or papers sent to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department for registration in accordance with the Regulation on the registration of aircrafts, registration of the assignment of ownership over aircraft and on aircraft mortgage registration (the Regulation for short) must be made in Vietnamese (except for proper names); documents and papers which are copies or translations must be notarized by a Vietnamese State Notary Public.

Applications and papers attached thereto must be put into envelopes and sent to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department at the following address:

Vietnam Civil Aviation Department

Gia Lam Airport- Hanoi- Vietnam.

2. The time of receiving an application shall be the date when the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department has received the application and all the relevant documents as stipulated in the Regulation. In some specific cases, the Head of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department may consider and allow the registration even though the applicant temporarily cannot submit all the papers prescribed by the Regulation, but he/she shall have to set a specific time limit for the applicant to submit the missing papers (such time limit and papers shall be specified in the "Notes" column of the registration sheet in the Register of Vietnam civil aircraft). However, in any case if the applicant has not paid the prescribed fee, his/her application shall be considered not having been received.

If additional information is needed, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department shall, within 7 days after receiving the application and relevant papers, send a written notice to the applicant. The registration time limit shall be counted from the time when the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department receives a written reply from the applicant which contains explanations or provides additional information at the request of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department.

3. Documents proving the registerer’s legal status shall, according to provisions of the Regulation, include:

a/ The identity card and household register (if any), if the registerer is a citizen;

b/ The establishment permit, the business registration certificate and the Statute of organization and operation, if the registerer is an enterprise;

c/ The establishment decision, the operating license and the Statute of organization and operation, if the registerer is a social organization;

d/ The establishment decision, if the registerer is a managerial agency of the State of Vietnam.

4. Documents evidencing the current technical status of the aircraft must at least include the following main contents:

- Type of aircraft;

- Place of production;

- Date of delivery from the manufactory;

- Special number of delivery from the manufactory;

- Date when the aircraft is put into use;

- Nationality and registration number (if any);

- Date and place of granting the registration certificate (if any);

- Use purpose;

- Date and place of the last inspection;

- The total of flying hours by then;

- The number of flying hours since the last inspection;

- Type, quantity, serial number of when delivered from the place of manufacture, place of manufacture of the aircraft engines;

- The number of passengers’ seats and aircrew;

- Unloaded weight;

- Maximum weight of fuel;

- Commercial carrying capacity;

- Maximum take-off weight ;

- Maximum landing weight;

- Maximum flying height;

- Maximum speed;

- Maximum range;

- Type of maintenance;

- Maintenance program .

Documents showing the aircraft’s current technical status may be in the form of a dossier, a report or an inventory... which must be certified by the competent authority.

5. When filling the application form as prescribed by the Regulation, the applicant may additionally declare the aircraft’s features, its separate parts or engines in a separate sheet of paper which must be signed by him/her and attached to the application.

6. The Safety Board of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department shall have to keep, manage and record each case in the Register of Vietnam civil aircraft (hereafter referred to as Register). With regard to applications to register the assignment of ownership over aircraft and the mortgage of aircraft, the Safety Board shall coordinate with the Legal Bureau of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department in considering and recording each registration in the Register.

II. DETAILED REGISTRATION

1.1. For aircraft under common ownership of Vietnamese citizens who want to register them in Vietnam, the co-owners shall have to appoint an owner to represent all other owners and have his/her name written on the application then proceed with the registration. This representative, when sending documents proving his/her legal status to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department, shall have to attach thereto the letter of procuration signed by all the other co-owners of the aircraft. The specifications of the aircraft under common ownership shall be recorded in the "Notes" column of the Registration Certificate and the registration sheet in the Register.

1.2. The term: "charter or sub-charter" mentioned in Item 3, Article 1 of the Regulation means the hire under financial charter contracts and charter contracts in accordance with corresponding provisions of law.

1.3. After consulting the concerned State managerial bodies, the Director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department shall be entitled to decide:

a/ To allow aircraft of organizations or individuals mentioned in Item 4, Article 1 of the Regulation to be registered in Vietnam under given conditions;

b/ Not to allow the registration of an aircraft if he/she judges that such registration may adversely affect the security, defense and interests of Vietnam, as prescribed in Item 3, Article 2 of the Regulation.

In cases where the registration is permitted as stipulated in Point "a" above, the registration conditions shall be stated in the "Notes" column of the Registration Certificate and the registration sheet of the Register.

1.4. When painting or fastening nationality and registration marks on an aircraft in accordance with Item 2, Article 3 of the Regulation, the aircraft owner or the person entitled to exploit the aircraft shall have to abide by the provisions of law on the painting and fastening of signs on the aircraft. Beside the nationality and registration marks, if the registerer wants to paint or fasten any other signs on the aircraft, he/she shall have to obtain permission from the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department.

1.5. For the purpose mentioned in Article 9 of the Regulation, the documents serving as legal basis for the implementation of the stipulations mentioned in Points "a", "b" and "c", Item 4, Article 4 of the Regulation include:

a/ Certification by the Ministry of Industry that the aircraft is being manufactured in Vietnam;

b/ Certification by the Ministry of Industry that the aircraft has been manufactured in Vietnam and certification by the Ministry of Trade allowing the manufacturer to show, exhibit or sell this aircraft in foreign countries.

c/ Certification by the foreign manufacturer that the aircraft has been manufactured in a foreign country and a copy of the contract on the transfer of the ownership over the aircraft, which is signed by the manufacturer and the registerer.

For cases mentioned in Item 2, Article 4 of the Regulation, in addition to the written consent from the Ministry of Defense, the applicant shall have to submit together with the application for temporary registration a permit granted by the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department concerning the jobs mentioned in Item 2, Article 4.

1.6. When recording the specifications of the aircraft temporarily registered in the Register, the duration and purpose of this temporary registration must be stated clearly in the notes on the registration sheet in the Register. The duration of the temporary registration shall be decided by the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department, based on the applicant’s proposal and the characters of the jobs which serve as basis for this temporary registration.

Upon the expiry of the temporary registration time limit prescribed in the temporary Registration Certificate, if the jobs mentioned in Items 1 and 2 of Article 4 have not been finished and the registerer wants to continue the temporary registration, he/she shall have to make an application for the extension of the temporary registration certificate 3 days before the expiry of the Certificate, stating clearly the reasons for the extension, send it to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department together with a document proving that the reasons are plausible and pay the fee as prescribed.

In cases where the registerer wants to change from temporary registration to official registration of the aircraft in Vietnam, he/she shall, by virtue of the provisions of Article 8 of the Regulation, not have to submit documents and papers which he/she has submitted for the temporary registration.

A certificate of the cancellation of the temporary registration mentioned in Item 2, Article 12 of the Regulation is a Certificate of registration cancellation in accordance with the form prescribed in the Regulation, noting down clearly in the "Note" column of certificate that the cancelled registration is a temporary registration.

1.7. For the purpose mentioned in Article 8 of the Regulation, the document proving the ownership over the aircraft mentioned in Point "b", Item 1 of Article 8 may be a certificate of registration for the assignment of the ownership over Vietnam civil aircraft, granted to the aircraft owner in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation.

Papers mentioned in Point "c", Item 1, Article 8 of the Regulation shall be accepted by the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department only when they are certified by the competent agency of the country where the aircraft has been last registered or where it has been manufactured.

2.1. For the purpose mentioned in Article 15 of the Regulation, with regard to Vietnamese organizations and/or individuals, a permit for the assignment of the ownership over an aircraft shall be understood to include documents issued by the State managerial agencies (the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Trade, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department) that allow the purchase or import of that aircraft.

2.2. If the new owner of the aircraft meets the registration conditions prescribed in this Regulation and wishes to continue the registration of this aircraft in Vietnam, he/she shall have to submit only the application for registration, the certificate of registration for the assignment of the ownership over Vietnam civil aircraft and the papers proving that the aircraft is not registered at the same time in another country, as prescribed in Point "c", Item 1, Article 8 of the Regulation and the guidance provided for in Point 1.7, Part II of this Circular.

3.1. The mortgagee of an aircraft is the person who makes and submits the application for the registration of the aircraft, the relevant documents and papers and who pays the prescribed fees.

3.2. In addition to the stipulations in Article 18 of the Regulation, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties to the mortgage contract, when the person entitled to use or exploit the aircraft replaces or changes its engine or equipment which ensures the operation of the mortgaged aircraft, the mortgaged aircraft shall be construed as including the aircraft body together with the accompanying engine and equipment.

In cases where the person entitled to use and exploit the aircraft does not make any replacement or change as mentioned above, the engine or equipment of that aircraft, wherever they are located, shall be considered to belong to the mortgaged aircraft.

3.3. In cases where the applicant for mortgage registration cannot exactly define the value of the debt secured by the mortgage of the aircraft, he/she shall have to clearly state the minimum and maximum amounts of the debt. The applicant shall have to pay the fee at the highest rate in the mortgage registration fee bracket as prescribed by law if he/she cannot define the value of this debt.

3.4. The mortgage registration in the Register shall be effective till the time when the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department receives:

a/ A written notification from the mortgagee clearly stating his/her agreement on the cancellation of the mortgage;

b/ Documents proving that the debt or obligation secured by the mortgage of the aircraft has been settled or fulfilled. Those documents must be signed and certified by the mortgagee;

c/ A decision issued by a Vietnamese court on the cancellation of the mortgage. In cases where the decision on the cancellation of the mortgage is issued by a foreign court, such a decision must be recognized by a competent Vietnamese court which shall allow its execution in Vietnam.

This Circular takes effect from the date of its issue. In the course of its implementation, if any problem arises, the concerned organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report it to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department for concrete settlement guidance.

The Director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department

NGUYEN HONG NHI