Vietnam Business Law is a website managed by lawyers of Venture North Law Limited (VNLaw). Venture North Law Limited (VNLaw) is a Vietnamese commercial law firm. We won the Rising Law Firm of the Year Award at the Southeast Asia Law Awards for the years 2020 and 2021 held by The Legal 500. Very few Vietnamese law firms have achieved a similar regional recognition.
Posted in: Real Estate
A foreign investor who wishes to set up a new company in Vietnam for a residential housing project in Vietnam may need to follow two different licensing routes depending on whether the project will require an in-principle approval under the investment regulations (Investment In-principle Approval)
If an Investment In-principle Approval is required then the key licensing steps for the foreign investor would be:
A land user who leases land from the Government with annual payment is not allowed to lease houses and building attached to the land unless such land user registers for real estate business under the Law on Real Estate Business 2014. At first, it seems quite illogical to limit the owner of an asset to lease it while still allow such asset to be sold. However, this is the position under the current land regulations. In particular,
In April 2015, the General Department of Tax (GDT) instructs a provincial tax department to consider imposing corporate income tax (CIT) on an offshore capital transfer transaction (Offshore Transfer) between a French seller and a Vietnamese buyer (2015 Instruction). The 2015 Instruction has raised a Vietnamese tax concern over offshore capital transfer activities. In February 2016, the GDT issues additional guidelines (2016 Instruction) for the Offshore Transfer to clarify some unclear issues under the 2015 Instruction. In particular,
Under the Law on Real Estate 2014, a real estate developer must provide a bank guarantee to any house buyer to secure for the developer’s obligations to refund all advance payment received from the buyer if the developer fails to deliver the house to such buyers on time. The refund guarantee is intended to provide additional protection to house buyers but it also adds additional costs to the transaction. There are several structures for a developer and a house buyer may employ to avoid the requirement for a refund guarantee. But each of the structures carry certain legal risks. In particular,