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How a branch differs from a representative office and a business location

A chi nhánh (a branch) may carry out all or part of the parent company's functions, including signing commercial contracts and issuing value added tax invoices to customers.

A văn phòng đại diện (a representative office) performs liaison and marketing functions only. It may not sign commercial contracts and does not issue invoices.

A branch may have its own seal (the enterprise decides, under clause 2 of article 43 of Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020) and may open its own bank account. The enterprise chooses whether the branch keeps independent or dependent accounts, and should weigh this before filing. For tax, a branch is a dependent unit, so its corporate income tax is declared by the head office (article 21 of Thông tư 89/2026/TT-BTC); its VAT may be declared separately with the tax office managing the branch if it has its own account, sells directly and uses its own invoices (article 19).

What the branch registration file contains in Gia Lai

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).

Where to file and how long it takes

The file is submitted through the national business registration portal (https://dangkyquamang.dkkd.gov.vn) and handled by the Phòng Doanh nghiệp và Kinh tế tập thể (the Enterprise and Collective Economy Division) of Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai, at 181-183 Lê Hồng Phong, Phường Quy Nhơn, telephone 0256.3903666.

After Bình Định and Gia Lai were merged under Nghị quyết 202/2025/QH15, in force from 1 July 2025, the former Sở Kế hoạch và Đầu tư was merged into Sở Tài chính. That is the authority which now receives enterprise registration files, and it is no longer Sở Kế hoạch và Đầu tư.

With a valid file, the branch operation registration certificate is issued within three working days of receipt of the file (clause 3 of article 45 of Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020).

Since 1 January 2026 enterprises no longer pay the thuế môn bài (the annual business licence fee): it has been abolished. Once the branch operation registration certificate is issued, the branch has a thirteen-digit code that serves as its tax code. What has to be done immediately afterwards: put up the signboard at the branch premises, register a digital signature, and register for e-invoices.

How Tư Vấn Sao Việt handles it

Tư Vấn Sao Việt drafts the file and deals directly with the Phòng Đăng ký kinh doanh at Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai on your behalf. The process covers advice on the accounting arrangement that suits you, drafting the file on the forms currently in force, filing and following it up, and handing over the certificate and the seal.

Once the certificate is issued, you can add the monthly accounting service if the branch keeps independent accounts or declares its own VAT.

The process

1. Advice and choice of accounting arrangement Decide whether the branch will keep independent or dependent accounts before drafting the file, since it affects how tax is declared afterwards.
2. Draft the file on Mẫu số 17 Prepare the registration application, the internal decision and minutes appropriate to the parent company's form, and a copy of the identity document of the branch head where no personal identification number is declared.
3. File with Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai File with the Phòng Đăng ký kinh doanh at Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai, 181-183 Lê Hồng Phong, Phường Quy Nhơn.
4. Receive the certificate and the seal Once the file is in order, receive the branch operation registration certificate with its thirteen-digit code, and the seal.
5. Complete the post-registration steps Since 1 January 2026 enterprises no longer pay the thuế môn bài (the annual business licence fee): it has been abolished. Put up the signboard, register a digital signature, and register for e-invoices.