Vietnam: Foreign e-commerce floors must supplement business licenses before January 1

VIETNAM, August 15 - HÀ NỘI — Foreign-invested e-commerce floors doing business in Việt Nam must supplement their business licenses before January 1 next year if they have not provided enough according to regulations.

The update is done online through portal online.gov.vn.

The Việt Nam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency has just announced the addition of

business licenses for foreign-invested economic organisations operating in the field of e-commerce.

Decree 85 issued last year, which amends and supplements a number of articles of the Government's Decree 52 (2013) on e-commerce, has specific provisions on supplementing business licenses for foreign investors, and economic organisations with foreign investment capital.

Decree 85 adds many new regulations in the field of e-commerce.

Specifically, foreign traders and organisations that have websites providing e-commerce services in Việt Nam must register for e-commerce activities and set up representative offices in the country according to the provisions of law or appoint a representative according to regulations of authorisation in Việt Nam.

Accordingly, the representative office or the content of authorisation must ensure the responsibility to co-ordinate with State management agencies in preventing transactions of goods and services in violation of Vietnamese law; perform obligations on protecting the interests of consumers, product and goods quality according to the provisions of Vietnamese law; and make reports as required.

To provide e-commerce services in the country, foreign traders and organisations must carry out registration procedures with the Ministry of Industry and Trade within 12 months from the effective date of the Decree.

Vietnamese e-commerce trading floors must be responsible for verifying the identities of foreign traders and organisations selling goods on their e-commerce trading floor.

Previously, the Việt Nam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency also had a document requesting foreign traders and organisations that have e-commerce activities in the country to comply with regulations of the management agency, which took effect from the beginning of this year. — VNS