May sole proprietorships open checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam?
- May sole proprietorships open checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam?
- What does the application for opening checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam by private enterprises include?
- What information is included in the application form for opening checking accounts of sole proprietorships in Vietnam?
May sole proprietorships open checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam?
Under the provisions of Article 11 of Circular 23/2014/TT-NHNN amended by Clause 6, Article 1 of Circular 02/2019/TT-NHNN:
Entities eligible to open checking accounts
1. The following individuals are eligible to open checking accounts at banks or branches of foreign banks:
a) A person who is aged exactly 18 years or older and has full capacity for civil acts as regulated by the Law of Vietnam;
b) A person who is aged between exactly 15 and nearly 18 years and does not have his/her incapacity or restricted capacity for civil acts;
c) A person who is under the age of 15, has restricted capacity for civil acts or is incapable of civil acts as defined by the Law of Vietnam is entitled to open a checking account via his/her legal representative;
d) A person who has limited cognition and behavioral control as defined by the Law of Vietnam may open a checking account via his/her guardian.
2. The organizations that are duly established and operate under the Law of Vietnam, including: legal entities, private enterprises, household businesses and other organizations, are allowed to open checking accounts at banks or branches of foreign banks in accordance with laws.
Thus, according to the above provisions, sole proprietorships are allowed to open checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam in accordance with the law.
What does the application for opening checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam by private enterprises include?
Under Clause 2, Article 12 of Circular 23/2014/TT-NHNN amended by Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular 16/2020/TT-NHNN:
Application for checking account opening
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2. With regard to a corporate checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:
a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 2 Article 13 of this Circular;
b) Documents proving that the organization opening the checking account is duly established and legally operating, including: establishment decision, operation license, enterprise registration certificate or other documents as prescribed by law;
c) Documents proving the capacity of legal representatives of the organization and their identity papers;
d) Decision on appointment of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works or accounting service contract (if outsourced accounting is used) and identity papers of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works.
3. With regard to a shared checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:
a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 3 Article 13 of this Circular;
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4. Documents included in the application for checking account opening specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article are originals or electronic copies or certified true copies or copies issued from their master registers or copies presented with their originals for verification purpose as prescribed by law. If a copy is presented with its original for verification purpose, the bank or foreign bank branch shall make a certification on the received copy and assume responsibility for the accuracy of the received copy compared to its original. Documents issued by foreign competent authorities must bear consular legalization in accordance with regulations of law. If documents included in an application for checking account opening are electronic copies, the bank or foreign bank branch must adopt solutions/technologies for collecting, checking and verifying information to ensure that contents of such electronic copies are adequate, accurate and corresponding with the originals.
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Thus, according to the above regulations, sole proprietorships wishing to open checking accounts at foreign bank branches in Vietnam must prepare the following documents:
- The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 2 Article 13 of this Circular;
- Documents proving that the organization opening the checking account is duly established and legally operating, including:
+ establishment decision,
+ operation license,
+ enterprise registration certificate or
+ other documents as prescribed by law
- Documents proving the capacity of legal representatives of the organization and their identity papers;
- Decision on appointment of a chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works or accounting service contract (if outsourced accounting is used) and identity papers of a chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works.
Note: Documents included in the application for checking account opening are originals or electronic copies or certified true copies or copies issued from their master registers or copies presented with their originals for verification as prescribed by law.
If a copy is presented with its original for verification, the bank shall make a certification on the received copy and assume responsibility for the accuracy of the received copy compared to its original.
Documents issued by foreign competent authorities must bear consular legalization per regulations of law.
If documents included in an application for checking account opening are electronic copies, the bank must adopt solutions/technologies for collecting, checking, and verifying information to ensure that the contents of such electronic copies are adequate, accurate and correspond with the originals.
What information is included in the application form for opening checking accounts of sole proprietorships in Vietnam?
Under the provisions of Clause 2, Article 13 of Circular 23/2014/TT-NHNN amended by Clause 8, Article 1 of Circular 02/2019/TT-NHNN:
An application form for opening checking accounts of sole proprietorships in Vietnam must include the following information:
- Full and abbreviated business name; headquarters address, transaction address, telephone number, business lines;
- Information about legal representative of the applicant as prescribed in Point a Clause 1 of this Article;
- Information about the chief accountant or the person in charge of accounting works (if any) of the applicant as prescribed in Point a Clause 1 of this Article;
- The specimen signature of the legal representative of the applicant, specimen seal (if any) and the specimen signature of the chief accountant or the person in charge of accounting works (if any) of the applicant.
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