NEWS

The Amended IP Law will enter into force on 1 January 2023 and is changed significantly compared to the current law. Sound marks are recognised for the first time. New definitions for author and co-author are introduced. Bad faith is introduced as a ground to cancel the validity of the trademark registration certificates.

The Draft Law on Land will amend regulations on land price bracket and land user; the basis for land allocation, land lease and change of land use purpose as well as the land use term of the investment projects.

The draft aims to achieve better competitiveness, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency in the management of the State budget. The selection methods of bidders and investors will be amended as well as the process and procedures to select bidders and investors.

Decree 35 brings many positive changes to the legal framework for IPs and EZs, addresses various shortcomings of Decree 82 and is expected to attract more investment in IP and EZ development. For example, the requirement of a minimum 60% occupancy rate no longer applies and housing accommodation for employees working in IPs and EZs.

Decree 34 provides for delayed tax and land fee payments for some types of enterprises such as SMEs, credit institutions, enterprises in certain manufacturing and services sectors. Additional requirements might apply. A request needs to be submitted by 30 September 2022 at the latest.

Circular 2 issued introduces new methods of inspecting and assessing the compliance of foreign investment activities in Vietnam with relevant laws. The new Circular gives the responsible authorities the right to run discretionary audits on foreign-invested entities.

Decree 15 has reduced the VAT rate for many goods and services from 10% to 8%. However, the implementation of this has resulted in some additional burden for companies as it is not possible to include different VAT rates in one VAT invoice. The draft decree addresses this issue.

Circular 21 introduces new domain names: id.vn, io.vn and ai.vn. The first is for individuals only and the other for both individuals and organisations. Upon expiration of a domain name, it will be suspended immediately but it can be renewed within 25 days.

The Draft Decree will impact the practice of e-commerce providers about being compliant with tax submissions. Provisional CIT obligations at the end of any calendar year will favourably impact companies with high revenue in the last quarter. Some changes related to PIT are introduced as well.

The strategy gives a number of key solutions, including actively preventing and controlling negative impacts on the environment and environmental incidents, encouraging ecological and circular economic development, green growth, and promoting sustainable production and consumption.

The decree results in changes of decisions related to the suspension or temporary reassignment of official duties, the definition of extremely serious cases of corruption has been changed and the periodic relation of office will be applied to more positions.

Circular 5 provides further information on how to define the origin of goods to qualify for reductions under the RCEP. It contains specific provisions on applicable tax differences for beneficiaries of the RCEP, unifying definitions, specifications, requirements, formalities, and tax rates. Thereby facilitating cross-border trade inside the free trade zone, one of the core incentives for RCEP signatories.