What procedures need to be followed when the License to establish a Representative Office of a foreign trader is lost?

Can a Representative Office Establishment License be reissued or not?

Pursuant to Article 18 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP regulating cases of re-issuance of an Establishment License Representative offices are as follows:

Foreign traders carry out procedures for re-issuance of Representative Office Establishment Licenses and Branch Establishment Licenses in the following cases:

– Relocating the headquarters of a Representative Office from a province, centrally run city, or geographical area under the management of a Management Board to another province, centrally run city or geographical area under the management of another Management Board.

– License to establish Representative Office, License to establish Branch is lost, destroyed, damaged or destroyed in any form.

Thus, when the License to establish a Representative Office of a foreign trader is lost, the foreign trader will carry out procedures to re-issue the Establishment License.

What are the regulations for reissuing the License to establish a Representative Office?

Pursuant to Article 19 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP stipulates as follows:

– In case of re-issuance as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 18 of this Decree, 1 set of documents includes:

+ Application for re-issuance of the License to establish a Representative Office according to the form of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, signed by an authorized representative of the foreign trader;

+ Notice of termination of operation of the Representative Office sent to the Licensing Agency of the place of relocation as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 36 of this Decree;

+ Copy of the License to establish a Representative Office. Establishing a Representative Office has been granted;

+ Documents on the expected location of the Representative Office’s headquarters at the place of relocation according to the provisions of Point e, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Decree.

– In case of re-issuance as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 18 of this Decree, 01 set of documents includes: Application for re-issuance of License to establish Representative Office, License to establish Branch according to the form of the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed by an authorized representative of the foreign trader.

Thus, based on Clause 2, Article 19 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP, when applying for re-issuance of a Representative Office Establishment License, prepare a set of documents including: Application for re-issue of Representative Office Establishment License, Branch Establishment License according to the form of the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed by an authorized representative of the foreign trader.

Sequence and procedures for reissuing the License to establish a Representative Office?

Pursuant to Article 20 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP stipulating the order and procedures for reissuing the License to establish a Representative Office as follows:

– Foreign traders shall carry out procedures to re-issue the License to establish a Representative Office for the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 18 of this Decree within 30 days from the date of notification of termination of representative office operations at the moving place. Past the above deadline, foreign traders must carry out procedures for granting a License to establish a representative office according to the provisions of Article 10 and Article 11 of this Decree.

– Foreign traders submit applications directly or by post or online (if eligible) to the Licensing Agency.

– Within 03 working days from the date of receiving the dossier, the Licensing Agency shall check and request additional documents if the dossier is not complete and valid. Requesting additional documents can be made at most once during the document processing process.

– Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents, the Licensing Agency will re-issue the License to establish a Representative Office and the License to establish a Branch. In case of not reissuing, there must be a document clearly stating the reason.

In case of reissuing the License to establish a Representative Office but the operating term on the business registration certificate is only 02 years, can it be reissued?

Pursuant to Article 7 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP stipulating the conditions for granting a License to establish a Representative Office as follows:

Foreign traders are granted a License to establish a Representative Office when they meet the following conditions:

– Foreign traders are established and registered for business in accordance with the laws of countries and territories participating in international treaties to which Vietnam is a member or recognized by the laws of these countries and territories;

– Foreign traders have been operating for at least 01 year from the date of establishment or registration;

– In case the Business Registration Certificate or equivalent document of a foreign trader stipulates an operating term, that term must be at least 01 year from the date of submission of the application;

– The operational content of the Representative Office must be consistent with Vietnam’s commitments in international treaties to which Vietnam is a member;

– In case the operational content of a Representative Office is not consistent with Vietnam’s commitments or the foreign trader does not belong to a country or territory participating in an international treaty to which Vietnam is a member, the establishment of a Representative Office must be approved by the Minister or Head of a ministerial-level agency with specialized management (hereinafter referred to as the Minister of specialized management).

Thus, based on Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP, in case the Business Registration Certificate or documents of equivalent value of a foreign trader stipulate an operating term, that term must be at least 01 year from the date of submission of the application. Therefore, in your case, if the business registration certificate is still valid for 02 years, the License to establish a Representative Office can still be re-issued.