Asia Legal

According to Resolution No. 24/NQ-CP dated February 26, 2021 of the Government, the Ministry of Finance has studied and developed a Decree regulating on the management of exported and imported goods transacted through e-commerce (hereinafter referred to as “ Decree ”). This article includes some of the latest and notable regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Finance in this Decree. Places of customs formalities For exported goods, the customs declaration can be registered at: the Sub-department of Customs where the customs declarants headquarter is located or the place has a production facilities; or the Sub-department of Customs where exported goods are gathered; or the Sub-department of Customs at the border checkpoint of exportation. For imported goods, the customs declarations are registered at: the Sub-Department of Customs at the border checkpoint of importation or the Sub-department of Customs managing the gathering place, centralized inspection for postal and express goods...

  On September 1, 2021, the Government published a draft amending and supplementing a number of articles Decree No.   31/2015/NĐ-CP  detailing several articles of the Law on employment regarding assessment and grant of certificates of national occupational skills was issued on March 24, 2015, and took effect from May 15 2016 (hereinafter referred to as “ Draft ”) for the purpose of enhancing the standardization and development of occupational skills of employees, promoting the development of skilled human resources, especially highly skilled human resources to help raise the level of Vietnamese labor skills, contributing to improve labor productivity and increase national competitiveness. This Draft focuses on the following amendments and supplements: Firstly, the Draft supplemented the definition and classification of certificates of national occupational skills. Accordingly, the definition of the certificates of national occupational skills as a certification that a wor...

Labor – Human resources always play an important role in a business. When doing investment in Vietnam, regulations on labor in general and labor contract in particular requires foreign-invested enterprises’ strict compliance. 1. Form and content of a labor contract Under Article 13 of the Labor Code 2019, a labor contract is an agreement between an employee and an employer on paid job, salary, working conditions, rights and obligations of each party in the employment relations. If the two parties conclude an agreement by another name but showing the following 3 elements, it is still considered a labor contract: paid job; salary; and management and supervision of a party. a. Form of labor contracts A labor contract must be made in writing which is in paper or via electronic means in accordance with regulations on electronic transactions, except for a labor contract with less than 1-month terms which may be concluded in verbal. b. Content of labor contracts A labor contract must contain ...

When starting a business in Vietnam, apart from developing a marketing strategy, hiring staff and raising money, one essential thing to do is to choose a proper legal entity that works well for their business, solves tax issues, provides liability protection for owners as well. There are several entities for founders to select from when launching a business in Vietnam. According to the Investment Law 2020, foreign investors can invest in Vietnam through the following forms: establishing legal entities; capital contribution, share/stakes purchase; BCC contract; implementing investment projects and investing in new forms according to the Government’s regulations. For the establishing legal entities options, the foreign investors need to choose a suitable legal entity type. According to the Enterprise Law 2020, there are 05 types of legal entities in Vietnam, which include: Sole proprietorship Partnerships Joint-stock companies Single-member limited liability companies Multi-member limite...

On 17 September 2021, the Hanoi Tax Department explained in writing the concerns Giao Hang Tiet Kiem Company regarding personal income tax (PIT) related to phone calls and mid-shift meal allowances. In order to meeting the conditions to exempt the reimbursement of phone calls and mid-shift meals from PIT and to be deductible expense, companies shall follow range of different provisions. For phone calls, according to Clause 2.dd, Article 2 of Circular No. 111/2013/TT-BTC, the payment for phone calls are types of income from wages and remunerations that the employers paid and are excluded from PIT in some circumstances. “dd) Other benefits in cash or not in cash apart from wages paid to the taxpayer by the employer in any shape or form: dd.4) Flat expenditures on stationery, business trips, phone calls, costumes, etc. that are in excess of the limits prescribed by the State. Flat expenditures are not included in taxable income in the cases below: dd.4.2) For the employees working in ...

Advertising is the employment of various means to present the public with profitable products, goods and services; non-profitable products and services; organizations and individuals trading and providing the presented products, goods and services, except for news, social policies, and personal information. In recent years, advertising services have been a field of interest to foreign investors, but barriers and inadequacies of Vietnamese law make it impossible for many investors to do so. Specifically, according to Vietnam’s WTO service commitments, Vietnam has opened the market for advertising services for foreign investors by establishing joint ventures or cooperating with Vietnamese partners allowed to do business in advertising services. Moreover, since January 1, 2009, there has been no limit on the percentage of foreign capital contribution in the joint venture. However, investment licensing agencies in localities and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of ...

The operation duration of the investment project is recorded on the Investment Registration Certificate. Depending on the location of the investment project, the field of investment, the investment capital, the project will be determined by the investment licensing authority for its operation duration, but not exceeding the following period: Investment projects inside an economic zone shall not exceed 70 years. investment projects outside an economic zone shall not exceed 50 years. The duration of a project in a disadvantaged area or extremely disadvantaged area or a project with large investment capital but with slow rate of capital recovery may be longer but shall not exceed 70 years. If a project uses land allocated or leased by the State, but the transfer of land is delayed, the delay shall not be included in the project duration or execution schedule. The duration of the project will be considered and decided by the investment registration authority, on the basis of a comprehensiv...

Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP regulating on foreign cooperation and investment in education was issued on 6 June 2018 and took effect from 1 August 2018 (hereinafter referred to as Decree 86/2018). After 3 years of implementation, in addition to remarkable results in creating a legal framework for a foreign entity participating in the educational development of Vietnam, Decree No. 86/2018 has also revealed inadequacies and asynchronous issues. Therefore, it is necessary to promulgate a revising decree amending and supplementing articles of Decree No. 86/2018 (hereinafter referred to as Draft). This article points out a brunch of new and prominent regulations amended in the mentioned Draft. Firstly, the Draft supplemented the entities eligible for engaging in joint education: In particular, the Draft supplemented the entities eligible for engaging in joint education that are private educational institutions established and operating in Vietnam (regardless of investment capital in Vietnam or ...

In the process of foreign investors investing and doing business in Vietnam, Visa and Work permit are indispensable legal documents that play a key role in immigration and legally work in Vietnam for his/her business purposes. In this article, Asia Legal will provide some regulations and contents that foreign investors need to know about Visa and Work permit when investing and doing business in Vietnam.   I.               Visa   1.             Type of Visa   foreign investors investing in Vietnam through the form of establishment or capital contribution to companies operating in Vietnam are objects who eligible for a visa to do long-term business activities in Vietnam. According to Clause 7, Article 8 of the Law on entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, foreign investors investing in Vietnam will be granted visas with...