Removing Business Licenses for Tax Agents and Customs Procedures
The new Investment Law, recently passed by the National Assembly, marks a significant step forward in improving the business environment, with 38 conditional business lines officially having their licensing requirements removed.
Following this reduction and the amendment and simplification of 20 other sectors, the list of conditional business lines in Vietnam now stands at 196 sectors.
Notable Sectors with Licensing Requirements Removed:
The removal of business licensing applies to several key areas, most notably:
- Tax procedure services (Tax agents).
- Customs procedure services.
- Auxiliary insurance services, commercial appraisal services.
- Temporary import/re-export activities (goods subject to excise tax, frozen foods, used goods).
- Employment services, labour leasing services.
- Architectural services, construction activities by foreign contractors.
- Cosmetic surgery services, data centre services, study abroad consultation services.
New Regulatory Orientation
The Law’s main goal is to shift strongly from “pre-inspection” to “post-inspection” (or “ex-post control”), and from “licensing” to “registration” or “notification”.
The Government has directed Ministries and agencies to urgently research new management methods based on technical regulations and standards to ensure service quality and effective State management for the sectors where licensing requirements have been dropped.
