The content of legal advice for independent business entrepreneurs

According to the provisions of Vietnamese law, Decree No. 39/2007/ND-CP of March 16, 2007, on commercial activities independently and regularly without having to register for business, has clearly defined the concept of independent business individual/entrepreneur as follows:

“1. Individual engaged in commercial activities is a person who carries out one, several, or all activities permitted by law on goods trading, service provision, and other profit-making activities. They are not subject to business registration and are not called “traders” under the provisions of the Commercial Law. Specifically, include individuals conducting the following commercial activities:

a. Street vendors are activities of buying and selling without a fixed location (buying, selling, or buying and selling at a time), including receiving books, magazines, cultural products from traders are allowed to trade in these products according to the provisions of law for peddling;

b. Petty trading is the activity of buying and selling small items with or without a fixed location;

c. Trading in junk food means activities of selling gifts, cakes, food, and drink, with or without fixed locations;

d. Shipment trading is the activity of buying goods from another place in each shipment to sell them to wholesalers or retailers;

e. Providing services such as shoe shine, lottery ticket sale, lock repair, car repair, car parking, car wash, haircut, painting, photography, and other services with or without a fixed location;

f. Other independent and regular commercial activities are not subject to business registration.

2. Mobile businesses are commercial activities that do not have a fixed location.”

As such, Vietnamese law allows entrepreneurs to conduct independent commercial business without having to register their business.

Individuals who conduct commercial activities independently, often, without having to register their business, maybe called commercial operators. Therefore, they will not have to register their business, but to conduct business activities, they must strictly comply with the following provisions:

i. Scope of goods and business services of individuals engaged in commercial activities:

1. Individuals involved in commercial activities are allowed to trade in products and services according to the provisions of law, except for the following types:

a. Goods and services on the list of those banned from business as prescribed by law;

b. Illegal goods, counterfeit goods, products of unknown origin, goods with expired dates, goods failing to ensure food hygiene and safety conditions as prescribed by law; goods of poor quality, including deteriorated or of poor quality, contaminated products, diseased animals and plants;

c. Products and services on the list of those restricted from trading under the provisions of law.

2. In the case of trading goods and services on the list of qualified businesses, individuals conducting commercial activities must comply with the requirements of law related to the trading of these types.

3. Individuals engaged in commercial activities must abide by the rules on taxes, prices, charges, and fees related to goods and business services. In the case of trading food and catering services, individuals conducting commercial activities must fully meet the conditions prescribed by law on food hygiene and safety for the trading of these types.

4. It is strictly forbidden for individuals to conduct commercial frauds in weighing, measuring, counting, and providing false, deceptive, or easily misled about the quality of the goods and services or the nature of the commercial activity they conduct.

ii. Ensuring security, order, hygiene, and safety in the business activities of businesspeople:

1. In commercial operations, individuals engaged in commercial activities must comply with the provisions of the law on ensuring security, social order, and safety (including regulations on the implementation of civilized lifestyle), clean environment, disease prevention, fire prevention and fighting, natural disaster prevention, and transportation. Individuals are strictly prohibited:

a. Conducting illegal commercial activities or in ways that disrupt the social order, adversely affect the environment and human health, harm the safety and general welfare of the community;

b. Using electronic means to conduct commercial activities and related activities that infringe the interests of consumers, steal intellectual property rights, or not guarantee the right to privacy of personal information.

2. When conducting a mobile business, individuals engaged in commercial activities must neatly and orderly arrange their means of transport, equipment, sales instruments, and goods; and have appropriate garbage and waste containers. Individuals of commercial activities are strictly prohibited from committing the following acts in mobile business:

a. Stalking, soliciting, dragging, scrambling, causing trouble, making vulgar and rude words/gestures to guests;

b. Gathering masses or using loudspeakers, gongs, drums, horns, trumpets, and other amplifying devices to promote and advertise mobile business activities without committing to local authorities on where these activities are carried out the proper use, and the assurance of safety and social order;

c. Street vendors are noisy in public and affect the overall tranquility between 10 pm and 5 am the next morning;

d. Print, draw, write on the wall; hanging flags, banners, panels, posters, signboards, and advertising boards in contravention of law, not following the beautiful traditions and customs, and adversely affecting the general beauty;

e. Using mobility devices, equipment, and tools to conduct commercial activities that do not meet basic standards such as engineering, safety, hygiene, and adversely affecting the general beauty;

f. Emptying waste and urinating indiscriminately; throwing or letting transport means, equipment and tools carry out commercial activities, packaging, paper, garbage, goods, animal fats and other objects on roads, into rivers, sewers, ditches, or any areas that pollute the environment, obstruct traffic and cause inconvenience to the community;

g. Cooking, sleeping, resting on-road sections reserved for people and means of transport; walkways, stair floors of apartment buildings; bus stop; places of cultural, entertainment and public recreation activities, which adversely affect the general beauty, safety, and social order;

h. Taking advantage of children and people with disabilities to conduct commercial activities.

With the experience of a team of highly qualified lawyers, it is sure that VNilaw.com will help entrepreneurs feel secure in developing their business in compliance with Vietnamese law.