Adjustment of License for establishment of representative office in Vietnam

Currently, there are many foreign companies setting up representative offices in Vietnam to carry out business activities. During the operation of a representative office, there may be changing which needs to make adjustments to the representative office establishment license. For your information, Viet An Law Firm would like to summarize and send you some legal information related this topic.

Changes to be made to adjust the representative office establishment license

• The name or address of the foreign trader’s head office;
• The head of the representative office;
• Name of the representative office;
• Operational contents of the representative office;
• Address of the representative office in a province or in a geographical area under the management of a Management Board;

Dossier for adjustment of representative office establishment license

• A written request for adjustment of the representative office establishment license (Form MD-3 according to Circular 11/2016/TT-BCT);
• Documents proving the content of changes, depending on the specific case:
  • A copy of a legal document issued by a competent authority evidencing a change in the name or address of the foreign trader’s office;
  • The document of the foreign trader appointing/appointing the new head of the representative office; copy of passport or identity card or citizen identification card (if Vietnamese) or passport copy (if foreigner) of the new head of the representative office; documents proving that the former head of the representative office has fulfilled the personal income tax obligations up to the time of change;
  • A copy of the memorandum of understanding or agreement to rent the location or a copy of the document proving that the trader has the right to exploit and use the location to locate the representative office;
  • A copy of the document on the proposed location of the head office, clearly stating the security, order, occupational safety and health conditions and other conditions.
• Original License for establishment of representative office.

Note: All papers and documents in foreign languages ​​must be translated into Vietnamese and certified. All documents in foreign languages ​​and issued by competent foreign agencies must be translated into Vietnamese, notarized and legalized to be valid for use in Vietnam.

Place of application: Provincial Department of Industry and Trade where the representative office is located.

Duration:

• Within 60 days from the date of change, the foreign trader must prepare and submit an application (direct or by post) to amend the License for establishment of representative office;
• Within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Department of Industry and Trade shall check the completeness and validity of the dossier and request supplementation if it is incomplete or invalid;
• Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the valid dossier, the Department of Industry and Trade will issue a License to amend the License for establishment of representative office, in case of refusal, there will be a written reply clearly stating the reason;
• In case the adjustment of the operation content of the representative office results in this content being inconsistent with Vietnam’s international commitments and where this content has not yet been prescribed by specialized laws, the Department of Industry and Trade shall will consult the Ministry of Industry and Trade within 03 working days from the date of receiving the valid dossier. In the next 5 working days, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will give an opinion on whether to agree or not to the adjustment and the Department of Industry and Trade will implement that direction.

Customers who need to adjust the License for establishment of representative office or have related questions, please contact Viet An Law Firm for more details!