What Are Tax Obligations of a Representative Office in Vietnam?

The Vietnam-based representative office of a foreign trader means a dependent unit of the foreign trader, which is established under the provisions of Vietnamese law to conduct market survey and a number of commercial promotion activities permitted by Vietnamese law.

Representative office of foreign trader in Vietnam has the rights and obligations in accordance with the law of Vietnam. Foreign trader is responsible before the law of Vietnam for all operations of its representative office in Vietnam.

Accordingly, a representative office in Vietnam is not allowed to conduct business activities, nor carry out other activities for profit-generating purposes. The representative office in Vietnam only performs the activities for the right purposes, scope and duration specified in the certificate to establish the representative office. Besides, the representative office in Vietnam has the right to rent the head office, rent and buy the facilities and materials necessary for the operation of the representative office; to recruit Vietnamese and foreign employees to work at the representative office in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law; to use an account in foreign currency, in Vietnam dong of foreign currency origin opened by a foreign trader at a bank licensed to operate in Vietnam and only use this account for the operation of the representative office; to have a seal bearing the name of the representative office according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. Representative offices in Vietnam can sign contracts, perform transactions with partners when authorized by the enterprise.

Hence, due to the limited scope of activities, the tax liability of a foreign representative office in Vietnam is narrower than that of an enterprise. As the representative office does not produce or trade in goods and services, it is not required to pay license fees as prescribed. Representative office of foreign traders in Vietnam is a dependent unit of foreign traders, established to investigate the market and carry out some trade promotion activities permitted by Vietnamese law, does not carry out production and business activities, so it is not required to pay license fees.

The fact that the representative office has the right to recruit Vietnamese or foreign employees to work at the office is the basis for arising personal income tax obligation. At the same time, the representative office of foreign organization is subject to personal income tax registration. For employees working at foreign representative offices in Vietnam, the taxable incomes are based on salaries and wages. Declaring, withholding, paying taxes and settling personal income tax of employees working at foreign representative offices is the responsibility of such representative offices.

ANT Lawyers, a law firms in Vietnam with offices in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City could help clients to set up representative offices in Vietnam and advise on the compliance on a regular basis.

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Regulations on Online Civil Status Registration in Vietnam

On July 28th, 2020, the Government issued Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP (Decree 87) regulating the electronic civil status database, online civil status registration i.e. birth certificate registration, marriage certificate registration, death certificate registration.

The Decree is the provisions on the building, management, updating, exploitation and use of the electronic civil status database; connecting and sharing data between the electronic civil status database with the national population database, the national public service portal, the public service portal, the provincial electronic one-door information system, other databases of ministries, branches and localities; issue copies of civil status extracts, certify civil status information; online civil status registration. Although an application can be submitted online, the person applying for civil status registration must still be present at the civil status registry to sign the civil status book and receive results in case of registration of the following procedures: birth certificate registration; marriage registration; guardian registration; recognition of parents, children; change, correct civil status, redefine ethnicity, supplement civil status information; death registration.

Upon receiving results at the civil status registration office, the requester for civil status registration must submit and present papers and documents that are part of the civil status registration dossier as prescribed.

Cases in which the requester is not present at the civil status registration office to sign the civil status book and receive the results, but still have to submit and present papers and documents that are part of the household registration dossier civil status according to the law on civil status, including: confirm civil status information; record in the civil status book the birth, marriage, divorce, marriage cancellation, guardianship, recognition of father, mother, child, identification of father, mother, child, adoption, change of civil status, death registration of Vietnamese citizens who have been settled at a foreign competent authority.

To perform online civil status registration, the requester needs to access the National Public Service Portal, the Provincial Public Service Portal to register an account and authenticate users according to the instructions. Upon successful account login, the requester must provide information in the available form; attach photocopies or electronic copies of papers, documents as prescribed; pay fees and charges through the online payment function or by other means as prescribed by law. After the submission of the dossier is completed, the system will automatically send a number of administrative documents for the requester to follow up, look up the progress of the application or access to complete the application when requested by the civil status registration agency.

Decree 87 will take effect from September 15, 2020. The construction of the civil status database, the development of online civil status registration, helps people to handle administrative procedures anytime, anywhere, without having to travel many times, without having to queue and not take time to wait, limiting crowds. In addition, the use of online public services also contributes to reducing the harassment, bureaucracy and troubles of a part of cadres and civil servants, increasing the publicity and transparency of the state agencies file handling.

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Vietnam Attracts Japanese Investors

During the volatility of the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision to invest in Vietnam became more and more interesting to Japanese investors.

Since 10 years ago, many Japanese enterprises have considered Vietnam as a promising foreign investment market after China. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 has left serious consequences for the Chinese economy, when a series of the world’s no.1 supply chains in this country were broken. Many foreign investors have chosen ASEAN, including Vietnam to invest, where there is a safe political system and a stable health system, and a favorable legal corridor.

According to the report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of mid-June this year, the total foreign investment in Vietnam reached 15.67 billion USD. Japan ranks 4th among countries with total registered capital to invest in the Vietnam market. In the investment scenarios in Vietnam, finding local businesses becomes a short but effective step. Foreign investors choose potential businesses to invest in or buy back businesses. In which, Saizo is a typical example.

Saizo Japan is a prestigious brand in Japan, famous for its comprehensive range of health care products. During the scientific cooperation at the Center for Scientific Research of Vietnam, realizing the potential for development from products of natural origin, Saizo Japan planned to invest in chain technology, as well as the application of the Japanese biological science and technology background.

Saizo Japan is a prestigious brand in the country of the sun, famous for its comprehensive range of health care products. During the scientific cooperation at the Center for Scientific Research of Vietnam with Master of Science Nguyen Xuan Phu, realizing the potential for development from products of natural origin, Saizo Japan planned to invest in chain technology, as well as the application of the Japanese biological science and technology.

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Millenium Oil and Gas Corporation Applied to Invest 15 Billion USD in Khanh Hoa

Millennium Oil and Gas Corporation (USA) proposed to invest in Vietnam energy sector with a liquefied gas power project in Nam Van Phong area, Khanh Hoa with a total investment of up to 15 billion USD.

After studying, Chairman of Millenium Vietnam Company (a member of Millenium Petroleum Group), if approved, they will invest in this project with a scale of 600ha, total investment capital of 15 billion USD, capacity of the power plant is 9,600MW.

In addition, Millenium Oil and Gas Group will invest in a port system to supply gas to power plants and LNG distribution agents for the whole of Southeast Asia. The location chosen by the investor is in My Giang village, Ninh Phuoc commune or maybe in Ninh Hai ward, Ninh Hoa town.

If the Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee agrees to permit the investment, the project will be guaranteed by the US Government and will work with the Government of Vietnam to implement. The group hopes to turn the LNG terminal in southern Van Phong into the energy hub of Southeast Asia. Because Millenium is a corporation specializing in oil exploitation, it will sell gas directly to consumers without intermediaries, this is an advantage.

According to the Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee, the area of investors applying for investment in the power plant and LNG storage is totally consistent with the local development orientation.

It is known that Millenium Petroleum has 35 years of experience in implementing advanced power projects from natural gas, liquefied natural gas, wind, solar, geothermal and waste.

The Group has implemented power projects in the US and countries around the world with a total investment of more than 36 billion USD. At the same time, the group is also the unit that holds many of the world’s leading advanced technologies and techniques, many of which are not available to other businesses.

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