Question: We are foreign investor and would like to Setup company for providingmaintenance and warranties services for electronic equipment in Vietnam, please advise this.
Answer: This is reference to the conservation from which, weunderstand that you intend to setup a wholly foreign invested company for providingmaintenance and warranties services for electronic equipment in Vietnam.
We therefore aregrateful to present you our advice for your review and consideration.
1. BRIEF INTRODUCTION ON ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREIGN INVESTED COMPANY (FIC).
General Introduction The establishment of a FIC in Vietnam requires an Investment Certificate and a Certificate of Business Registration from the licensing authority. Depending upon the location of the company, the licensing authority may be the Provincial People’s Committee (for companies located outside industrial or export processing zones) or the provincial Industrial and Export Processing Zones Management Authority (for companies located in industrial or export processing zones). Then, you shall be required to undergo two following steps:
Step 1: Obtainment of Investment Certificate. The Law requires that within 15 working days from submission of the application dossier the competent authority shall have to issue the Investment Certificate for Foreign Investor. However, having preliminarily discussed with the Licensing Authority, we do not much expect that the licensing authority can comply with this requirement in practice, especially, those relating to conditional investment sectors. For granting the Investment Certificate, the relevant licensing authorities shall evaluate the legitimacy and the feasibility of such Investment Project to determine on granting of the Investment Certificate on the following basis:
·Legal framework including Vietnam’s WTO Commitments, Vietnam Investment Law, Vietnam Enterprise Law, Regulations applicable to specific industries as well as the master economic development plan of the city or province that the FIC shall register its head-office.
·Your financial ability, investment capital to put in the Investment Project, facilities and human resources serving the implementation of such investment project in Vietnam.
Step 2: After obtainment of Investment Certificate, Client shall be required to obtain the Certificate of Business Registration. The Law requires that within 05 working days from submission of application dossier, the competent authority shall have to issue the Certificate of Business Registration for forming the Foreign Invested Company
2. Setting up FIC for providing Maintenance and warranty services
Under Vietnam Law, foreign investor can setup FIC to provide Maintenance and warranty services. However, according to our practical experience in the similar previous cases, generally, competent authorities in Vietnam only favor to permit FIC to provide Maintenance and warranty services to Customers consuming its goods.
Until now, we have been onlyexperienced with only one case in Hanoi in which a Korean Investor is allowed to carry out Maintenance and warranty services to Customer without restriction of provision such service to goods as supplied by such FIC.
However, in another case later, on 17 November 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Trade still apply such restriction to another Investor who wishes to carry out the same service. We also would like to note that in two above said cases, the Investors are involved with trading goods in Vietnam. Thus, your success possibility is about 65%.
If you would like further information on Setup company for providing maintenance and warranties services for electronic equipment in Vietnam, please either email to our Partners at: info@sblaw.vn or call to our Office:
Ha Noi Office: +84 (4) 62 62 0246
HCM Office: +84 (8) 35 208 101.
