New guidelines on enterprise registration

Question: What are new regulations on enterprise registration?

Answer: Circular 20 consists of the following new regulations:

1. Issuing new forms for enterprise registration

Circular 20 issued 88 new forms applied to enterprises, household businesses and licensing authorities. The system of forms replaces the previously applied forms issued in attachment with Circular No. 01/2013/TT-BKHDT (Circular 01) and the temporary forms that have been applied in recent times, issued together with Official Letter 4211/BKDT-DKKD.

2. Guiding issuance of the enterprise registration papers

Circular 20 stipulates where enterprises propose any issuance of the enterprise registration certificate replacing the business registration contents of the Investment License or Investment Certificate or any document of equivalent legal value without changing the business registration contents, they just need to submit papers to the Business Registration Office of the locality where enterprises are headquartered.

The submission includes (i) valid copy of the Investment Certificate or Certificate of Branch Operation Registration or Representative Office issued by the investment registration authority; (ii) valid copy of the Tax Registration Certificate; (iii) the Application for adding and updating the enterprise registration information (as per the available form).

This provision applies similarly to the cases where enterprises propose any issuance of the Certificate of Branch Operation Registration, Representative Office and the Certificate of Business Location Registration in replacement of the operation registration contents of the Investment Certificate or the Certificate of Branch Operation Registration or Representative Office issued by the investment registration authority.

3. Publicizing corporate stamp specimen

Under Circular 20, the information on enterprise name, enterprise code, head office address, business lines, name of the legal representative, corporate legal status and especially corporate stamp specimen shall be publicized free of charge on the National Business Registration Portal (dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn).

Organizations or individuals may propose any other information on business registration contents and corporate financial statements on the basis of service charge payment.

4. Requirements on information of enterprise registration

Circular 20 regulates that the enterprise is responsible for fully adding the missing information of the previous enterprise registration dossier including those on its telephone number, tax number, email and website.

In addition of telephone number information is deemed as mandatory and the application file for changing enterprise registration contents shall be deemed as invalid in case of no additional information on the corporate phone number.

In addition, where it is detected that the information on enterprise registration as recorded on the enterprise registration and the national business register database is inaccurate or incomplete, enterprises shall promptly amend and supplement such information according to the proper process.

Circular 23 took effect from January 15, 2016 and replaces the previous Circular 01.