Decree No. 07/2016/ND-CP dated January 25, 2016 of the Government provides detailed regulations on the establishment and operation of representative offices (ROs) and branches of foreign traders in Vietnam under the Law on Commerce.
Accordingly, foreign traders wishing to set up an RO or branch must be legally recognized under the law of their home country and have at least one year of remaining operating term; for a branch, the trader must have been operating for at least five years. The licensing application dossier includes an application form, documents proving the trader’s legal status, financial statements, and documents on the proposed office location.
The license is valid for up to five years and may be renewed. An RO may only perform representation functions, market research, and trade promotion, and is not permitted to directly generate profit; a branch is permitted to conduct business activities in accordance with its license. These entities must comply with Vietnamese laws, submit periodic reports to the licensing authority, and may have their license revoked if they violate operating conditions.
| Issuing bodies: | Government | Gazette number: | 169&170-02/2016 |
| Official number: | 07/2016/NĐ-CP | Gazette dated: | 08/02/2016 |
| Types of documents: | Decree | Signer: | Nguyen Tan Dung |
| Issuing date: | 25/01/2016 | Expiry date: | |
| Effective date: | 10/03/2016 | Effect status: | In force |
| Fields: | Advertising | Updated date: | 25/01/2016 |
