How to become a commercial agent for foreign traders operating in Vietnam

What procedures do you need to follow to become a commercial agent for foreign traders operating in Vietnam?

1. What is a foreign trader operating in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 16 of the Commercial Law 2005 on foreign traders operating commercially in Vietnam as follows:

– Foreign trader is a trader established, registered for business in accordance with foreign law or recognized by foreign law. receive.

– Foreign traders are allowed to set up representative offices and branches in Vietnam; establish in Vietnam a foreign-invested enterprise in the forms prescribed by Vietnamese law.

– Representative offices and branches of foreign traders in Vietnam have rights and obligations according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. Foreign traders must be responsible before Vietnamese law for all activities of their Representative Offices and Branches in Vietnam.

– Foreign-invested enterprises established in Vietnam by foreign traders in accordance with Vietnamese law or international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member are considered Vietnamese traders.

According to the provisions of Article 22 Commercial Law 2005 on the authority to allow foreign traders to operate commercially in Vietnam is as follows:

– The Government uniformly manages the permitting of foreign traders to operate commercially in Vietnam.

– The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible to the Government for managing the issuance of licenses to foreign traders to invest in Vietnam in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law.

– The Ministry of Trade is responsible to the Government for managing the issuance of licenses to establish representative offices of foreign traders in Vietnam; Establish a branch, joint venture enterprise, or 100% foreign-owned enterprise in Vietnam in case that trader specializes in carrying out goods purchase and sale activities and activities directly related to the purchase and sale of goods in accordance with Vietnamese law and in accordance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

– In cases where specialized laws have specific provisions on the authority of ministries and ministerial-level agencies responsible to the Government Management of licensing for foreign traders to operate commercially in Vietnam shall comply with the provisions of that specialized law.

2. How is an agency contract regulated?

To become a commercial agent for a foreign trader conducting commercial activities in Vietnam, you must sign an agency contract according to the provisions of Article 168 of the 2005 Commercial Law as follows:

The agency contract must be made in writing or in another form with equivalent legal value. equivalent.

And the principal is the owner of the goods or money delivered to the agent (according to the provisions of Article 170 of the 2005 Commercial Law).

3. What procedures do you need to follow to become a commercial agent for foreign traders in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 50 of Decree 69/2018/ND-CP on traders acting as agents to buy and sell goods for foreign traders, specifically as follows:

– Traders are allowed to act as agents to buy and sell goods for foreign traders, except for goods under List of goods banned from export, temporarily suspended from export, goods on the List of goods banned from import, temporarily suspended from import. For goods exported or imported under a License, traders are only allowed to sign agency contracts after being granted a License by the ministry or ministerial-level agency with management authority.

– In cases where the law has specific provisions that an agent can only enter into an agency contract with one principal for a certain type of goods or service, the trader must comply with the provisions of law. that.

– Traders acting as purchasing agents must request foreign traders to transfer money in freely convertible foreign currency through banks to purchase goods according to the agency contract.

– Traders acting as purchasing agents are responsible for registering, declaring, and paying taxes and other financial obligations related to goods under the goods purchase and sale agency contract and their business activities in accordance with the law.

Note that for goods on the list of goods exported and imported under license, traders can only sign agency contracts after being approved by the competent authority. licensing authority.

For payment issues in agencies specified in Article 176 of the 2005 Commercial Law, specifically as follows:

Unless otherwise agreed, payment for goods, service provision fees and agent remunerations are made in installments after the agent completes the purchase or sale of a volume of goods or provides a volume of services. certain.

From the grounds given above, a commercial agency is a commercial intermediary activity and is neither a form of enterprise nor a line of business (there are some special cases). Therefore, you do not need to carry out registration procedures or add professions, but only need to sign a commercial agency contract in accordance with the provisions of law.