Consolidated Document No. 23/VBHN-BCT: Form Templates for Representative Offices and Branches of Foreign Traders in Vietnam

Overview

Consolidated Document No. 23/VBHN-BCT, certified by Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan on March 30, 2026, merges:

• Circular No. 11/2016/TT-BCT dated July 5, 2016 (effective August 20, 2016) - the original circular
• Circular No. 03/2024/TT-BCT dated January 30, 2024 (effective March 18, 2024) - first amendment
• Circular No. 38/2025/TT-BCT dated June 19, 2025 (effective July 1, 2025) - second amendment, decentralizing administrative procedures
• Circular No. 15/2026/TT-BCT dated March 25, 2026 (effective April 10, 2026) - third amendment

All four circulars implement Government Decree No. 07/2016/ND-CP dated January 25, 2016 on Representative Offices and Branches of foreign traders in Vietnam.

Article 1 - 14 Form Templates

The consolidated document issues 14 forms in four groups:

Applications (8 forms):

• MD-1: Application for issuance/re-issuance of a Representative Office license (re-issuance under Clause 1, Article 18 of Decree 07/2016)
• MD-2: Application for re-issuance of a Representative Office license (re-issuance under Clause 2, Article 18 of Decree 07/2016)
• MD-3: Application to adjust a Representative Office license
• MD-4: Application to extend a Representative Office license
• MD-5: Application for issuance of a Branch license
• MD-6: Application for re-issuance of a Branch license
• MD-7: Application to adjust a Branch license
• MD-8: Application to extend a Branch license

Licenses (2 forms): GP-1 (Representative Office), GP-2 (Branch)

Termination notice (1 form): TB-1

Reports (4 forms): BC-1 (Representative Office activity report), BC-2 (Branch activity report), BC-3 (annual periodic report by the licensing authority), BC-4 (report on Branch license issuance/re-issuance/adjustment/extension/revocation, submitted by provincial People's Committees to MOIT - newly added from July 1, 2025)

Article 2 - Provincial Codes

The province/city codes shown on licenses follow the current official list of administrative units and codes in effect at the time of licensing (this article has been amended twice to keep pace with administrative-unit reorganizations).

Article 3 - License Format

Representative Office and Branch establishment licenses are printed on A4 paper; the content format follows Table 2 of the Appendix (replaced by Appendix 2 of Circular 15/2026/TT-BCT, effective April 10, 2026).

Article 4 - Implementation: Key Decentralization Change

Effective July 1, 2025:

1. Provincial People's Committees are now the focal point for receiving and processing applications to issue, re-issue, adjust, and extend Branch licenses, and for handling Branch terminations (previously handled directly by MOIT under Decree 07/2016/ND-CP). The term «Ministry of Industry and Trade» in the Branch-related application forms (MD-5, MD-6, MD-7) has been replaced with «Provincial People's Committee».
2. The Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy (MOIT) manages and operates the Representative Office/Branch database on the MOIT web portal (www.moit.gov.vn).
3. Licensing authorities must update the database within 15 days of issuing, re-issuing, adjusting, extending, or revoking a license, or of a Representative Office/Branch ceasing operations.
4. Licensing authorities must update administrative-penalty information in the database as soon as a penalty decision is issued.
5. Before February 28 each year, provincial People's Committees must report to MOIT on Branch licensing activity (issuance, re-issuance, adjustment, extension, revocation) in their locality.

Article 5 - Effective Dates and Transitional Provisions

• The original Circular (11/2016/TT-BCT): effective August 20, 2016, replacing Circular No. 11/2006/TT-BTM.
• Circular 03/2024/TT-BCT: effective March 18, 2024.
• Circular 38/2025/TT-BCT: effective July 1, 2025; also repeals numerous provisions in other MOIT circulars covering unrelated fields (industrial explosives, oil and gas safety, product quality management, cross-border transit, tobacco trading, e-commerce websites, electricity works protection, foreign trade management, and others) that fall outside the scope of Representative Offices/Branches.
• Circular 15/2026/TT-BCT: effective April 10, 2026; replaces certain forms in Appendix I of Circular 38/2025/TT-BCT and the license-content Table 2.

Transitional provisions: Licenses, certificates, approvals, and consent documents issued before the relevant circular's effective date remain valid until their stated expiry. Applications that were already fully accepted by the competent authority before the effective date continue to be processed under the rules in effect at the time of acceptance.

Appendix

The document is accompanied by 14 detailed form templates (applications, licenses, reports, notices) and Table 2, which provides instructions for completing license content - businesses should download and use the correct form when filing.