On 12 April 2021, the Ministry of Environment ("MOE") issued notification No. 550 on the Clarification on Payment of Environmental and Social Contribution of Investment Projects ("Notification"). The Notification aims to clarify the legal requirements concerning the payment of environmental and social contribution by companies with investment projects ("Investment Projects") for which environmental and social impact assessment ("ESIA") reports have been approved by MOE. These companies will hereinafter be referred to as "Project Companies".
The Notification provides a list of legal and regulatory directives and requirements Project Companies need to comply with including submission of ESIA reports, classification of Investment Projects and reports on payment of environmental and social contribution.
MOE has appealed to all Project Companies to strictly comply with the legal requirements, and has requested for the payment of environmental and social contribution to be made on a voluntary basis or depending on the size of environmental damages caused by activities of the Project Companies. In the Notification, MOE also disclosed the names of certain companies which have not fulfilled the obligation to pay environmental and social contribution. These companies often challenge MOE on such payments during public forums despite MOE’s multiple attempts to clarify this issue on many occasions.
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