Can an enterprise sue when it is refused to register its business name? in Vietnam

1. Can an enterprise sue when it is refused to register a business name?

Pursuant to Article 18 of Decree 01/2021/ND-CP stipulating the registration of business names as follows:

“Article 18. Business name registration

1. The founder of a business or business cannot register the same business name or cause confusion with the name of another enterprise registered in the National Business Registration Database nationwide, except for enterprises that have been dissolved or have had an effective Court decision declaring the enterprise bankrupt.

2. The Business Registration Office has the right to approve or refuse the proposed registration name of the enterprise in accordance with the law. The opinion of the Business Registration Office is the final decision. In case of disagreement with the decision of the Business Registration Department, the enterprise can initiate a lawsuit according to the provisions of law on administrative proceedings.

3. Enterprises operating under the Investment License or Investment Certificate (also the Business Registration Certificate) or documents of equivalent legal value issued before July 1, 2015 may continue to use it. registered business name and it is not required to register a change of business name in case there is an identical or confusing name with a business name registered in the National Business Registration Database.

4. Encourage and create favorable conditions for businesses with identical and confusing names to negotiate with each other to register to change their business name.”

According to the above regulations, the Business Registration Office has the right to approve or reject the proposed registered name of the enterprise according to the provisions of law. In case of disagreement with the decision of the Business Registration Office, the enterprise can sue according to the provisions of law on administrative proceedings.

2. How should a suing enterprise prepare a petition and carry out lawsuit procedures?

In case an enterprise initiates a lawsuit according to administrative proceedings, it is necessary to prepare a lawsuit petition in accordance with the provisions of Article 118 of the Law on Administrative Procedures 2015 (supplemented by Clause 7, Article 2 of the State Audit Law amended 2019) as follows:

– The lawsuit petition must have the following main contents: here:

+ Date, month, year of application;

+ Court requested to resolve administrative case;

+ Name, address; Phone number, fax number, email address (if any) of the plaintiff, defendant, person with related rights and obligations;

+ Contents of administrative decisions, disciplinary decisions on termination of employment, decisions on resolving complaints about decisions on handling competition cases, decisions on resolving complaints in state audit activities, content on resolving complaints about voter lists or summaries of developments in administrative acts main;

+ Content of decision to resolve the complaint (if any);

+ Request to ask the Court to resolve;

+ Commitment not to simultaneously complain to the person with authority to resolve the complaint.

– Attached to the petition must be documents and evidence proving the rights and legitimate interests of the petitioner. lawsuit is violated. In cases where due to objective reasons the plaintiff cannot submit all documents and evidence along with the petition, they must submit existing documents and evidence to prove that the plaintiff’s legitimate rights and interests have been violated. Other documents and evidence must be supplemented or supplemented by the plaintiff himself or herself at the request of the Court during the process of resolving the case.

Accordingly, when the plaintiff has prepared the petition, he or she shall proceed with the lawsuit procedure according to Article 117 of the 2015 Law on Administrative Procedures as follows:

– When initiating an administrative case, agencies, organizations and individuals must file a lawsuit according to the provisions of Article 118 of this Law.

– Individuals with full capacity to act in administrative proceedings can file a lawsuit themselves or ask someone else to file a lawsuit. In the name and address of the plaintiff in the application, the full name and address of the individual must be written; At the end of the application, the individual must sign or fingerprint.

– Individuals who are minors, people who have lost civil act capacity, people with limited civil act capacity, or people with difficulties in cognition and behavioral control, their legal representatives can file a lawsuit themselves or ask someone else to file a lawsuit on their behalf. In the name and address of the plaintiff in the application, the full name and address of the legal representative of that individual must be written; At the end of the application, the legal representative must sign or fingerprint.

– Individuals in the cases specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article who are illiterate, cannot see, cannot make the petition themselves, cannot sign or fingerprint themselves, can ask someone else to make the petition on their behalf and must have a person with full administrative procedural capacity to witness and sign the petition. lawsuit.

– If an agency or organization is the one suing, the legal representative of that agency or organization can file a lawsuit on their own or ask someone else to file a lawsuit. In the name and address section of the plaintiff, write the name and address of the agency or organization and the full name and position of the legal representative of that agency or organization; At the end of the application, the legal representative of the agency or organization must sign and affix the seal of that agency or organization; In case the organization suing is an enterprise, the use of the seal shall comply with the provisions of the Law on Enterprises.

Based on the above regulations, in case an enterprise sues the Business Registration Office according to administrative proceedings, prepare an application and follow the lawsuit procedures prescribed above.

3. Where does the suing enterprise file the petition?

The suing enterprise submits the petition according to the provisions of Article 119 of the Law on Administrative Procedures 2015 by the following methods;

– Submit directly to the Court.

– Submit via postal service.

– Submit online via The Court’s electronic information portal (if any).

Thus, in cases where businesses do not agree with the Business Registration Office’s notice of refusal to register their business name, they can initiate a lawsuit according to administrative proceedings. Accordingly, businesses need to prepare a lawsuit petition and send it to the competent Court according to the provisions of law.