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What a company branch is

Under article 44 of Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020 (the Law on Enterprises), a chi nhánh (a branch) is a dependent unit of the enterprise, carrying out all or part of the enterprise's functions, including acting as its authorised representative. A branch has no legal personality separate from the parent company.

A branch may register its own seal if it needs one, and may sign contracts, issue invoices and meet tax obligations as prescribed. The enterprise chooses whether the branch keeps independent or dependent accounts, and that choice concerns the books; for tax, where the branch's VAT and corporate income tax are declared follows articles 19 and 21 of Thông tư 89/2026/TT-BTC.

The branch's business lines must fall within those already registered by the parent company. A branch may not register lines outside that scope.

The rules on naming a branch

Under article 40 of Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020, the branch name must be written in the letters of the Vietnamese alphabet, plus F, J, Z and W, numerals and symbols. It must contain the enterprise's name followed by the word "Chi nhánh".

The branch name must be written or displayed at the branch premises. On transaction papers, files and publications issued by the branch, the branch name is printed or written in a smaller typeface than the enterprise's Vietnamese name.

What the branch registration file contains

Under clause 2 of article 45 of Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020 (the Law on Enterprises), the file submitted to the Phòng Đăng ký kinh doanh (the business registration office) at Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai contains:

- The application to register branch operations, on Mẫu số 17 (form 17) issued with Thông tư số 68/2025/TT-BTC (Circular 68/2025 of the Minister of Finance, dated 1 July 2025).

- A copy of the decision and of the minutes of the meeting on establishing the branch.

+ For a limited liability company with two or more members and for a partnership: the decision and minutes of the members' council.

+ For a joint stock company: the decision and minutes of the board of management.

+ For a single-member limited liability company: the decision of the company owner.

- A copy of a valid CCCD, identity card or passport of the person appointed to head the branch. If the personal identification number has already been declared in the file, this copy need not be attached.

- A power of attorney for the person filing, if the company's legal representative does not file in person.

The file must be submitted within ten days of the decision to establish the branch (clause 1 of article 30 of Nghị định 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Decree 168/2025).

The branch registration procedure in Gia Lai

Step 1: assemble the documents above.

Step 2: file through the national business registration portal (https://dangkyquamang.dkkd.gov.vn). After the administrative merger, the authority that receives files and issues branch operation registration certificates locally is the Phòng Doanh nghiệp và Kinh tế tập thể at Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai, 181-183 Lê Hồng Phong, Phường Quy Nhơn, telephone 0256.3903666.

Step 3: collect the result at Sở Tài chính. A valid file results in the branch operation registration certificate within three working days.

How to state the branch address

The branch premises must be within Vietnamese territory, identified by administrative boundary, with a clear contact address. They may not be in an apartment building unless the unit has a commercial designation. A branch may be located in a province or city other than the parent company's head office.

After the administrative merger of 1 July 2025, Gia Lai province, formed from the former Bình Định and Gia Lai, has only commune and ward levels; the district level is no longer an intermediate administrative unit. When stating the address, the enterprise writes the house number and street (or the group and hamlet where there is no house number or street) and the current commune or ward name, instead of the old district name.

Telephone, fax, email and website are not compulsory in the registration file.

Which taxes a branch pays

Lệ phí môn bài (the annual business licence fee): its collection ended on 1 January 2026 under clause 7 of article 10 of Nghị quyết 198/2025/QH15, so a branch no longer files a declaration and the 1.000.000 đồng a year under Thông tư 302/2016/TT-BTC no longer applies. Since 1 January 2026 enterprises no longer pay the thuế môn bài (the annual business licence fee): it has been abolished.

Thuế GTGT (value added tax), under article 19 of Thông tư 89/2026/TT-BTC from 1 July 2026: a branch in the same province as the head office is declared together with it, at the tax office managing the head office; a branch with its own seal and bank account, selling directly, using its own invoices, keeping full records of output and input tax and wishing to declare separately, files and pays with the tax office managing the branch. A branch in another province with its own bank account, selling directly and using its own invoices, declares separately with the tax office where it operates; where the branch is a production facility, the head office declares centrally and allocates the tax to the branch's province (article 15 of Nghị định 252/2026/NĐ-CP). VAT is declared monthly, or quarterly if the previous year's revenue was 50 billion đồng or less.

Thuế TNDN (corporate income tax), under article 21 of Thông tư 89/2026/TT-BTC: a branch is a dependent unit and does not file its own corporate income tax return; the head office declares with its tax office, including what arises at the branch. Where a branch in another province is a production facility, the head office allocates part of the tax to that province, unless it is a micro enterprise.

The process

1. Prepare the file Draft the notice of registration of branch operations on Mẫu số 17 - Phụ lục I issued with Thông tư 68/2025/TT-BTC of 1 July 2025, with the meeting minutes and the decision, a copy of the branch head's legal document where no personal identification number is declared, and a power of attorney if there is one.
2. File online File through the national business registration portal; the file is routed to the Phòng Doanh nghiệp và Kinh tế tập thể at Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai.
3. Collect the result Collect the branch operation registration certificate at Sở Tài chính if the file is in order.