Asia Legal

When investing in conditional business lines in Vietnam, the foreign investors need to consider whether the industry in which they intend to invest in Vietnam is a conditional business line or not. Under the law of Vietnam, there are two types of conditions applied, including: (i) Market access conditions for the foreign investors; and (ii) Conditions for doing business.  1. Market access conditions for the foreign investors   The market access conditions for the foreign investors are pre-check conditions which will be appraised by the investment registration authority of Vietnam before granting Investment Registration Certificate to the foreign investors.  According to Article 9 of the applicable Law on Investment, the foreign investors are entitled to the market access conditions applicable to the domestic investors, excep...

After more than 2 years of applying Decree 90/2019/ND-CP regarding the regional minimum wage for employees working under labour contracts, recently, the Vietnamese Government promulgate Decree 38/2022/ND-CP to raise it by 6% which has come into effect on July 1, 2022. (Unit: VND/month) Table 1: Minimum wage per month for employees under new regulations This growth will affect the following labour issues which the employers should be aware of: 1.         Increase the employee salary The minimum wage is the lowest salary paid to the employees performing the simplest work in normal working conditions to ensure a minimum living standard for them and their families. Hence, the salary for each job must not be lower than the minimum wage [2] . If the employers are paying a salary lower than the regional minimum wage specified in Decree 38/2022/ND-CP to the employees from July 1, 2022, they are responsible for increasing the salary. O...

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 ...