Legal and Tax Updates

At the end of January 2018, the Thai government approved a Ministerial Regulation providing a tax incentive (“Tax Incentive”) to any Angel Investor investing in a start-up company that conducts a promoted business activity in an industry approved by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (“NSTDA”). More specifically, the Tax Incentive is granted to...

The day has finally come to pass where the IRS has announced that they will end its major US tax amnesty program, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). This program, in addition to the streamlined filing program and other international variants, was created to provide non-compliant US tax payers residing beyond their shores with the...

As the Lao PDR continues to regulate and govern the use of information and communication technology in business, companies should undertake an audit of their systems and processes to ensure compliance with recent regulations issued by the Government of Lao PDR. Over the last 5 years, the Government of the Lao PDR has enacted a...

Last week, on 27 Feb 2018, the Thai Cabinet approved a draft ministerial regulation regarding government fees for the incorporation of new limited companies and partnerships. The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has now revised the governmental fee rates to be in line with World Bank recommendations. The new rates will be set at THB 5,000...

The foreign employee work permit application for 2018 must be submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) by 31 March 2018. This obligation applies to every employer in Cambodia, including representative offices, branches, limited liability companies, casinos, and NGOs. Failure to apply before the deadline will result in late submission fines being...

CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE PROCEDURES AND STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION OF ANIMAL FEED, FEED INGREDIENTS AND ADDITIVES, Prakas № 51 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (“MAFF”), dated 16 January 2018. Prakas 51 aims to determine the procedures and standard requirements for the registration of animal feed, feed ingredients, and additives in order...

In March 2016, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) and the Ministry of the Interior (“MOI”) issued Joint Prakas 2703 (“Joint Prakas 2703”) to ensure that all relevant foreign nationals entering Cambodia, including owners or directors of enterprises, establishments, foreign investors or workers, fulfill certain legal requirements under the Labour Law and the...

With the 2018 year well under way it is now time for enterprises in Cambodia to turn their attention to their annual compliance obligations. We sumarise these below for your reference. 2018 Patent Tax All taxpayers operating in Cambodia are required to register and pay Patent Tax by the 31st  of March each year for...

With the turn of the year, we are seeing a number of power projects receiving the green light to move forward. These projects are located both inside and outside of Myanmar’s Special Economic Zones (“SEZ”). While the investment benefits provided by the Myanmar Investment Commission may overlap with the SEZ in many circumstances, there are...

On 15 February 2018, the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) released Notification 2126, which provides the “market rates” for determining the caps on interest rate deductions for loans that had been entered into using Khmer Riel (“KHR”) and United States Dollars (“USD”) in the 2017 financial year. The “market rates” for 2017 are as follows:...