Legal and Tax Updates

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin For tax advisors, CFOs, and finance personnel throughout Cambodia, the last few weeks of March are typically extra stressful due to the 31 March deadline for filing annual Tax on Income (TOI) declarations with the General Department of Taxation (GDT). Cambodia’s tax system...

The Royal Government of Cambodia has issued the Sub-Decree on Requirements and Procedures for Business Combinations dated 6 March 2023 (“Merger Sub-Decree”). The Merger Sub-Decree elaborates on the prohibition on anti-competitive business combinations set out in Article 11 of the Law on Competition. The Merger Sub-Decree was officially implemented on its signature date (of 6...

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar intends to promote foreign investments in the electric vehicle sector in Myanmar by means of a mix of legal and policy initiatives aimed at incentivizing such investments.   For the purpose of this article we have considered the year 2022 as the most critical year for legal regulations...

Enforcement date and the upcoming rules On 10 March 2023, the State Administration Council (“SAC”) made effective the Trademark Law (“TL”). The Notification No. 82/2023 provides 1st April 2023 as the effective date for the TL to come into effect. Prior to the abovementioned announcement, the Intellectual Property Department (“IPD”) under the Ministry of Commerce...

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” — Bilbo Baggins For those embarking on the process of obtaining a Value Added Tax (VAT) refund in Cambodia – it may feel at times...

On 16 June 2022, the Vietnamese National Assembly officially approved the amended Intellectual Property Law (“Amended IP Law”). This marks the third time the Vietnamese IP Law has been amended and supplemented since its promulgation in 2005. Its latest update contains revisions and supplements more than 100 articles, marking the most expansive overhaul of this...

The Law on Competition (2018) (“Law”) is effective, but it is not fully implemented due to the lack of appointed regulatory authority. Hence only the Law’s merger provisions have been enforced through the regulator under the now repealed Law on Competition 2004, the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority, under the authority of Vietnam’s Ministry of...

On 14 February 2023, the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) issued Notification 5367 (“Notification 5367”), which provided the 2022 market interest rates for Employee Loans and loans between related parties in accordance with Article 15 of Prakas 543 on Tax on Salary and Instruction No. 7015 GDT dated 13 March 2020 and Instruction No. 10979...

The Ministry of Immigration and Population of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has issued a notice that updates the application process to extend eBusiness Visas for foreigners working for companies or engaging in business in Myanmar. All such applications must be submitted in the name of a company that is duly incorporated and...

According to Prakas No. 052 dated 3 November 2022 before applying for accreditation, a valuation company or valuation specialist in the real estate sector is required to obtain a valuation services license or a valuation professional certificate from the Real Estate Business and Pawnshop Regulator (“RPR”) of the Non-Banking Financial Services Authority (“NBFSA”). On 27...