VI As of July 1, 2026, the Government’s Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP and the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 90/2026/TT-BTC on tax registration officially take effect. These regulations introduce tax administration requirements aimed at enhancing the transparency of corporate information, standardizing tax registration data, and meeting tax administration requirements under applicable laws. Notably, taxpayers that are branches or representative offices of foreign companies operating in Vietnam (“Representative Offices” or “ROs”) are required to pay attention to the obligation to declare information on the legal owner and beneficial owner of the foreign company when registering for tax. In this article, Pham Consult provides an overview of these requirements.
1. Tax Registration Obligations of Branches and Representative Offices
Branches and representative offices of foreign companies operating in Vietnam are subject to direct tax registration with the tax authorities pursuant to Clause 3, Article 10 of the 2025 Law on Tax Administration and Point b, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular No. 90/2026/ND-CP:
“Article 4. Entities Subject to Tax Registration
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2. Taxpayers subject to direct tax registration with the tax authorities include:
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b) … branches and representative offices of foreign organizations in Vietnam…”
For initial tax registration of a branch or representative office of a foreign company, the place of submission and required tax registration dossier are specifically prescribed in Point a1, Clause 1, Article 7 of Circular No. 90/2026/ND-CP. In the event of changes to tax registration information, the place of submission and required dossier are prescribed in Article 9 of the Circular.
A notable new requirement under Circular No. 90/2026/TT-BTC is the addition of information concerning the legal owner and beneficial owner to the tax registration dossier of branches and representative offices of foreign companies.
2. Timing for Making the Required Declarations
Pursuant to Articles 6, 7 and 8 of Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP concerning the time limit for tax registration, taxpayers’ responsibilities, and the use of tax identification numbers:
a) Upon initial tax registration
A branch or representative office of a foreign company operating in Vietnam must prepare Schedule BK07-ĐKT and submit it together with the tax registration dossier within 10 working days from the date on which the branch or representative office is granted an Establishment and Operation License or another legally equivalent document by the competent Vietnamese authority.
b) Upon changes to tax registration information
Where there is any change to tax registration information or information declared in the relevant schedules, the branch or representative office of the foreign company operating in Vietnam must carry out the procedure for updating its tax registration information within 10 working days from the date on which the change arises.
For branches and representative offices of foreign companies that were issued tax identification numbers before July 1, 2026, when carrying out procedures to update their tax registration information, they must additionally submit Schedule BK07-ĐKT in accordance with Circular No. 90/2026/TT-BTC if the information has not previously been declared.
In particular, during a period of suspension of operations, if there is any change to information concerning the legal owner or beneficial owner, the branch or representative office of the foreign company operating in Vietnam remains required to update its tax registration information with the tax authorities in accordance with applicable regulations.
3. Applicable Form
Branches and representative offices of foreign companies operating in Vietnam must make the required declaration using Form BK07-ĐKT – Form for declaration of Legal Owner and Beneficial Owner of the Foreign Company Having a Branch or Representative Office in Vietnam, issued together with Circular No. 90/2026/TT-BTC. Under the applicable regulations:
- A legal owner means an organization or individual recorded as the owner of capital contributions, shares, or equivalent ownership rights in a company under the laws of the country where the company is established or registered.
- A beneficial owner is determined in accordance with Clause 7, Article 3 of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering, Clause 35, Article 4 of the Law on Enterprises, and the implementing regulations of these laws.
When completing Form BK07-ĐKT, branches and representative offices of foreign companies operating in Vietnam should pay particular attention to the following fields:
a) Information on the legal owner – Under the column “Legal Document/Registration Number”:
- For a Vietnamese individual (excluding overseas Vietnamese who do not have an identity card/citizen identity card): state “Identity Card/Citizen Identity Card” and provide the relevant citizen identity card number.
- For a foreign individual or an overseas Vietnamese holding a passport: state “Passport” and provide the passport number.
- For a foreign individual or an overseas Vietnamese who does not have a passport: state “Other Legal Document” and provide the number of the relevant document.
b) Information on the beneficial owner – Under the column “Legal Document”:
- For an individual: provide the type of legal document and the corresponding document number in accordance with the applicable category above.
- For an organization: state the type of legal document issued to the organization and provide the corresponding document number.
