What are the procedures for amending the License to establish a representative office in Vietnam of a foreign trade promotion organization?

How to amend the License to establish a Representative Office in Vietnam of a foreign trade promotion organization?

On March 5, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision 469/QD-BCT 2024 announcing newly issued and abolished administrative procedures in the field of trade promotion specified in Decree 14/2024/ND-CP.

Accordingly, the procedure for amending the License to establish a representative office in Vietnam of a foreign trade promotion organization is as follows:

(1) Execution sequence:

– The Foreign Trade Promotion Organization sends 01 set of documents requesting license amendment to the Department of Industry and Trade of the province or centrally run city where the representative office is located within 30 days from the date of change according to the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 27 of Decree 28/2018/ND-CP (points a and b are amended according to the provisions of point a and b, clause 2, Article 1 of the Decree). Decree 14/2024/ND-CP).

– The Department of Industry and Trade of the province or centrally run city will consider amending the License within 14 days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents.

In case no amendment is made, a written response must be made clearly stating the reason.

Thus, the Foreign Trade Promotion Organization submits a dossier requesting amendment of the license within the prescribed time limit, after 14 days the Department of Industry and Trade of the province or centrally run city will amend the License or send a document clearly stating the reason for not amending the License.

How does a Foreign Trade Promotion Organization submit an application to amend the License?

According to subsection 2.2, Section 2, Decision 469/QD-BCT 2024, the Foreign Trade Promotion Organization shall submit an application to amend the License to establish a Representative Office in Vietnam to the Department of Industry and Trade of the province or centrally run city in one of the following ways:

– Directly to the Department of Industry and Trade of the province or centrally run city where the representative office is located.

The applicant must have a letter of introduction or authorization from the representative office of the foreign trade promotion organization.

– Through postal service.

– Submit legally valid electronic application components online via the National Public Service Portal or the Provincial Administrative Procedures Information System.

Thus, the Foreign Trade Promotion Organization submits an application to amend the License in one of the three ways above.

What cases can the License to establish a representative office be amended?

According to Decision 469/QD-BCT 2024, the License to establish representative offices of foreign trade promotion organizations is amended in the following cases:

– Change the head of the Representative Office or change the information of the head of the Representative Office recorded on the License;

– Change the location of the Representative Office headquarters within the province or centrally run city where the Representative Office is located;

– Change the name or operation of a licensed Representative Office;

– Change the location of the headquarters of the foreign trade promotion organization;

– Changing the name or changing the registered place of establishment of a foreign trade promotion organization from one country to another;

– Change operations of foreign trade promotion organizations.

Accordingly, there are seven cases where the License to establish a Representative Office of a foreign trade promotion organization can be amended.

What are the components of a dossier requesting amendment to the License to establish a representative office?

Based on subsection 2.3, Section 2 of Decision 469/QD-BCT 2024, the dossier components clearly include:

– Written request to amend the License to establish a Representative Office according to Form No. 03 issued with Decree 14/2024/ND-CP signed by an authorized representative of the foreign trade promotion organization;

– Original License to establish representative office of foreign trade promotion organization in Vietnam;

– Documents and papers appointing the head of the new representative office of the trade promotion organization are translated into Vietnamese and consular legalized according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.

(applied in case of amendments as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 27 Decree 28/2018/ND-CP, amended in Point a, Clause 2, Article 1 of Decreeh 14/2024/ND-CP);

– A copy of the Establishment Registration Certificate or documents of equivalent value of the foreign trade promotion organization certified by the competent authority where the foreign trade promotion organization was established or registered for business.

These documents must be translated into Vietnamese and consularly legalized according to the provisions of Vietnamese law (applied in cases of amendment as prescribed in Point d, Point dd, Point e, Clause 1, Article 27 Decree 28/2018/ND-CP).

Thus, the application file to amend the License to establish a Representative Office in Vietnam of a foreign trade promotion organization must include: Written request to amend the License, Original License to establish the Representative Office, Documents and documents appointing the head of the new Representative Office and Copy of the Establishment Registration Certificate or documents of equivalent value.

Decree 14/2024/ND-CP takes effect from March 25, 2024.