For how long can a business temporarily suspend business?

How long can a business temporarily suspend business?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 66 of Decree 01/2021/ND-CP stipulates as follows:

Registering to temporarily suspend business and resume business before the announced deadline for enterprises, branches, representative offices, and business locations
1. In case an enterprise, branch, representative office, or business location temporarily suspends business or resumes business before the announced deadline, the enterprise sends a notice to the Business Registration Office where the enterprise, branch, representative office, or business location is located at least 03 working days before the date of suspension of business or resumption of business before the announced deadline. In case an enterprise, branch, representative office, or business location wishes to continue to temporarily suspend business after the end of the notified period, it must notify the Business Registration Office at least 03 working days before the date of continued business suspension. The business suspension period of each notice must not exceed one year.
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Accordingly, businesses are allowed to temporarily suspend business for a maximum of one year at a time.

In case an enterprise wishes to continue temporarily suspending business, after the end of the notified period, it can still notify the continued temporary suspension of business.

Do businesses temporarily suspend business have to pay license fees?

Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 4, Circular 302/2016/TT-BTC stipulates license fee rates as follows:

License fee rates
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Organizations, branches, representative offices, business locations (that are not exempt from license fees in the first year of establishment or production and business activities) are established, are granted tax registration, tax code, and business code during the first 6 months of the year, then pay the license fee for the whole year; If established and granted tax registration, tax code, and business code during the last 6 months of the year, pay 50% of the annual license fee.
Small and medium-sized enterprises converting from business households (including branches, representative offices, business locations) at the end of the license fee exemption period (fourth year from the year of business establishment): In case of ending in the first 6 months of the year, pay the license fee for the whole year, in case of ending in the last 6 months of the year, pay 50% of the total license fee. year.

An active license fee payer who sends a document to the directly managing tax agency or the business registration authority about temporarily suspending production and business activities in the calendar year (from January 1 to December 31) is not required to pay the license fee for the year of temporary business suspension with the following conditions: the written request for temporary suspension of production and business activities is sent to the tax agency or business registration authority before the deadline. must pay the prescribed fee (January 30 every year) and have not paid the license fee for the year to temporarily suspend production and business activities. In case of temporary suspension of production and business activities that do not meet the above conditions, pay the license fee for the whole year.

Thus, an enterprise temporarily suspending business operations does not have to pay license fees for the year of temporary suspension of business if it meets all the following conditions:

– Document requesting temporary suspension of production and business activities sent to the tax agency or business registration authority before the prescribed fee payment deadline (January 30 every year);

– If you have not paid the license fee for the year, please temporarily stop production and business activities.

How much is the fine for businesses that do not notify of temporary business suspension?

Pursuant to point c clause 1, point c clause 2 Article 50 of Decree 122/2021/ND-CP Regulations on violations of other notification obligations are as follows:

Breach of other notification obligations
1. Fine from 10,000,000 VND to 15,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
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c) Failure to notify or not notify on time to the business registration authority about the time and duration of business suspension or resumption.
2. Remedial measures:
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c) Force notification of the time and duration of business suspension or business resumption to the business registration authority in case of failure to notify for violations specified in Point c, Clause 1 of this Article.
Accordingly, businesses that fail to notify business suspension will be administratively sanctioned with a fine ranging from 10,000,000 VND to 15,000,000 VND.

In addition to being fined, businesses are also forced to apply remedial measures such as having to notify the time and duration of business suspension to the business registration authority.

This is the penalty level applicable to the organization. In case of individual violation, the fine will be equal to 1/2 (one-half) of the fine for an organization with the same violation.