Obtaining a foreign construction contractor license

Foreign contractors, being in form of any legal nature (enterprise or individual), are permitted to conduct construction activities in Vietnam, only upon Obtaining a Foreign Construction Contractor License from a Vietnamese regulatory body.

Construction Activities Requiring a foreign construction contractor license

Construction activities that require foreign contractors to have a foreign construction license to carry out construction activities include:

Procedures to obtain a foreign construction contractor license

Obtaining a foreign construction license requires several steps and procedures to be followed and/or adhered to by foreign contractors, including:

Procedures for foreign construction contractors to obtain licenses

Document Preparation

Document Checklist

An application must be sufficiently completed prior to the foreign construction contractors are considered for the license.  The following documents must be thorough and complete:

Applicable documents both for individual or enterprise contractor

Additional documents required pertaining to enterprises

Requirements for the Document Preparation

• Application must be prepared in Vietnamese.
• The certificate of incorporation, certificate of business registration – or the like – of the foreign contractor is required to be legalized/notarized at the consular level.
• Other documents NOT prepared in Vietnamese, must be translated to Vietnamese and subsequently legalized/notarized and authenticated.
• Applicable documents both for individual or enterprise contractor.

Exceptions

Foreign construction contractor license applications submitted in the same year by the same applicant do not need to include: (i) evidence of experience and 3-year audited financial statements; and (ii) evidence of a joint-venture contract with a Vietnamese contractor or sub-contractor.

Determination of the competent authorities

Depending on the grade/scale of the project, competent authorities are classified into two categories:

Submission of the Application and License Conferment

* This procedure is applicable to both issuance of the license or modification to the license.

Post-Foreign Construction License

There are three vitally important post-license activities that are required to be completed by the foreign construction contractors following conferment of the Foreign Construction License, and include:

Executive Office Placement

In principle, an Executive Office, at the place where the Project is being constructed, shall be established by the foreign contractors following conferment of the foreign construction contractors’ licenses. Determination of an appropriate location for the Executive Office, however, largely depends on the nature of construction activities and the area within which the construction activities are implemented.

In particular, Executive Office to registration must be:

Registration of the Executive Office

Registration of the Executive Office is the registration of the contractor’s demographic information – name, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, seal, bank account, and tax code whereby the seal and tax code registrations are the two most important procedures.

Seal registration

Seal Registration

Tax code registration

The registration method of the tax code for foreign construction contractors depends on how the foreign construction contractors will perform their construction activities in Vietnam. In fact, the registration of the tax code can be completed through two of the following mechanisms, viz:

Direct tax payment method

Indirect tax payment method

Tax Code Registration Application

Originating from the foreign contractors, a tax code registration application consists of and must include:

• A photo copy of the foreign contractor’s license
• formal tax registration forms
• declaration of the use for subcontrators
• executed (signed and stamped) bank account declaration form(s)

All of which must be submitted to the Department of Tax Division pursuant to Circular No. 95/2016/TT-BTC on guidelines for tax registration, Article 7.3.

Notice of the Executive Office

After registering information pertaining to the Executive Office, the foreign contractors must submit a written notification, directly or by post, to the Department of Construction in the area where the Executive office is located, the construction authority affiliated with the Department of Construction, and relevant agencies.

Any change in the Executive Office requires submission of notification to the relevant authorities using form No. 11 annexed to Circular No. 14/2016/TT-BTC.

Reporting regulations

Before December 10, and promptly after completion of the Works ALL foreign contractors must submit a report of contract execution using form No. 9 annexed to Circular No. 14/2016/TT- BXD, to the issuing agency and the Department of Construction in the area where the project is executed.

Revocation of the construction license

Foreign construction contractors licenses are subject to revocation upon initial occurrence of any of the following(*):

(*): Pursuant to Decree No. 100/2018/ND-CP, article 1.39.

How Can We Help?

Contact us today via contact@cnccounsel.com or (+84-28) 6276 9900 to discuss foreign construction licensing from a Vietnamese regulatory body to conduct construction activities efficiently and effectively with peace of mind.