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When you must file a change of business lines

An enterprise must file a change when it adds a new business line, removes one it no longer trades in, or adjusts the detail of a line already registered. Under clause 2 of article 31 of Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020 (the Law on Enterprises), the enterprise is responsible for notifying changes to its registered particulars within ten days of the change. Filing late can attract an administrative penalty for breach of the enterprise registration rules.

The Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký doanh nghiệp (the enterprise registration certificate) does not list business lines. A change of business lines therefore does not mean a new certificate is issued: the business registration authority simply updates the business line information in the national enterprise registration database.

How to state business line codes correctly

The enterprise must choose a level-four economic activity from the Hệ thống ngành kinh tế Việt Nam (the Vietnamese standard industrial classification) under Quyết định 36/2025/QĐ-TTg (Decision 36/2025) for the change filing.

If you want to be more specific than level four, choose a suitable level-four code and then set out the detail beneath it, as long as that detail falls within the scope of the code chosen. For example, code 4649 'Wholesale of other household goods' can be detailed as wholesale of suitcases, bags and wallets, cosmetics, ceramic and glassware, household electrical appliances, or furniture.

For conditional business lines defined in specialised legislation, use the exact name given in that legislation, even where the activity does not appear in the Vietnamese standard industrial classification.

You can look up your registered business lines free of charge on the national business registration portal (https://dangkyquamang.dkkd.gov.vn). Register the lines you actually trade in: registering a great many unrelated lines tends to confuse counterparties about what your main activity really is.

What the change of business lines file contains

Under Điều 49 Nghị định số 168/2025/NĐ-CP, the file submitted to the provincial business registration authority where the enterprise has its head office contains:

1. The notice of change to the registered particulars of the enterprise.

2. A copy or the original of the resolution or decision on the change of business lines: of the company owner for a công ty TNHH một thành viên (a single-member limited liability company); of the members' council for a công ty TNHH hai thành viên trở lên (a limited liability company with two or more members) or a công ty hợp danh (a partnership); or of the general meeting of shareholders for a công ty cổ phần (a joint stock company).

Where to file, and how long it takes

After Bình Định and Gia Lai were merged into Gia Lai province on 1 July 2025 under Nghị quyết 202/2025/QH15, the power to issue enterprise registration certificates no longer rests with the former Sở Kế hoạch và Đầu tư (the Department of Planning and Investment) but with Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai (the provincial Department of Finance), through its Phòng Doanh nghiệp và Kinh tế tập thể (Enterprise and Collective Economy Division), at 181-183 Lê Hồng Phong, Phường Quy Nhơn, telephone 0256.3903666.

Within three working days of receiving the file, the provincial business registration authority checks that it is in order, considers market access conditions for any line restricted to foreign investors, and then updates the business line information in the national enterprise registration database.

If the file is not in order, the authority notifies in writing what must be corrected or added. An enterprise that wants one may be issued a certificate confirming the change to its registered particulars.

Cost and timing at Tư Vấn Sao Việt

The service fee for amending the business licence, per amendment, including a change of business lines, is 500.000 đồng, completed in three working days from a valid file. There is an express package that returns the licence in one day, with a surcharge agreed case by case.

You pay the service fee only once you have the result. No deposit is required.

The process

1. Prepare the internal resolution or decision The owner, the members' council or the general meeting of shareholders, depending on the company form, passes a resolution or decision on the change of business lines.
2. Draft the notice of change to registered particulars Draw up the notice with the list of level-four codes under Quyết định 36/2025/QĐ-TTg, setting out the detail of each line where needed.
3. File with Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai File with the Phòng Doanh nghiệp và Kinh tế tập thể at Sở Tài chính tỉnh Gia Lai, 181-183 Lê Hồng Phong, Phường Quy Nhơn. Take the receipt and the appointment for collection.
4. The authority processes and updates the database The authority checks the file, verifies market access conditions where there is a foreign element, and updates the business lines in the national enterprise registration database.
5. Collect the result Collect the certificate confirming the change to registered particulars, if requested, and the updated legal file.