Procedures for issuance of retail establishment license permitting the retail establishment to continue operations in Vietnam

Procedures for issuance of retail establishment license permitting the retail establishment to continue operations in Vietnam ​(Image from the Internet)

1. Conditions for establishing a retail establishment in Vietnam

Conditions for establishing a retail establishment according to Article 22 of Decree 09/2018/ND-CP are as follows:

- Establishment of the first retail establishment:

+ Having a financial plan to establish the retail establishment;

+ No overdue tax debt in the case of having been established in Vietnam for 01 year or more;

+ Location for establishing the retail establishment must comply with relevant planning in the geographical market area.

- Establishment of retail establishments other than the first retail establishment:

+ In cases not requiring an economic needs test:

 Satisfying  the  conditions  stipulated  in  Clause  1,  Article  22  of  Decree  09/2018/ND-CP.

+ In cases requiring an economic needs test:

++  Satisfying  the  conditions  stipulated  in  Clause  1,  Article  22  of  Decree  09/2018/ND-CP; 

++  Meeting  the  criteria  of  the  Economic  Needs  Test  as  stipulated  in  Clause  2,  Article  23  of  Decree  09/2018/ND-CP.

2. Procedures for issuance of retail establishment license permitting the retail establishment to continue operations in Vietnam

According to Article 38 of Decree 09/2018/ND-CP, the dossier and procedure for issuing Licenses to establish retail establishments allowing retail facilities to continue operations are as follows:

- The dossier includes:

+ Application for a license to establish a retail establishment allowing the retail facility to continue operations (Form No. 08 in the Appendix issued with Decree 09/2018/ND-CP).

+ Explanation of the retail facility including:

++  Location  of  the  retail  outlet:  Address  of  the  retail  outlet;  description  of  the  general  area,  related  areas,  and  the  area  used  to  establish  the  retail  outlet;  explanation  of  compliance  with  conditions  stipulated  at  point  c,  Clause  1,  Article  22  of  Decree  09/2018/ND-CP;  explanation  of  criteria  stipulated  at  points  c,  d,  and  dd  of  Clause  2,  Article  23  of  Decree  09/2018/ND-CP,  in  case  of  applying  for  a  license  to  establish  a  retail  outlet  for  a  retail  facility  as  regulated  in  Clause  1,  Article  23  of  Decree  09/2018/ND-CP;  accompanied  by  documents  on  the  location  of  the  retail  outlet;

++  Business  situation  of  the  retail  outlet;  business  and  market  development  plans;  labor  demand;  assessment  of  the  impact,  economic-social  effectiveness  of  the  retail  outlet’s  business  plan;

++  Business  performance  results  of  the  retail  outlet  based  on  the  audited  financial  statement  of  the  most  recent  year;

+ A comprehensive report on the business performance results of the foreign-invested economic organization based on the audited financial statement of the most recent year; financial plan; accompanied by financial documents;

+ Tax authority documents proving there's no overdue tax debt;

+ Copies: Business registration certificate, Investment registration certificate for projects to establish retail establishments (if any), Business license (if any).

- Procedure

+ Two sets of the dossier sent directly or via postal service or electronic means (if applicable) to the Ministry of Industry and Trade within 30 days from the date of the business registration certificate recording changes;

+ Within 03 working days from receipt of the dossier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reviews and requests amendments and supplements if the dossier is incomplete and invalid;

+ Within 15 days from receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reviews and forwards the dossier to the Licensing Authority where the retail establishment is located, requesting continuation of operations;

+ Within 20 days from receipt of the dossier, the Licensing Authority reviews and assesses the dossier and retail establishment location to send a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposing licensing (Form No. 09 in the Appendix issued with Decree 09/2018/ND-CP), in case of a proposal not to license it must send a reply to the Ministry of Industry and Trade stating the reasons;

+ Within 15 days from receipt of the Licensing Authority's document, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, based on the proposed opinions of the Licensing Authority and relevant contents stipulated in Article 25 of Decree 09/2018/ND-CP, makes a written approval, in case of refusal, a document stating the reasons (Form No. 10 in the Appendix issued with Decree 09/2018/ND-CP);

+ Within 05 working days from receiving the written approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Licensing Authority issues the license to establish a retail establishment, in case of refusal, a reply must be given stating the reasons.

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