Scenario: a 100% Taiwanese-owned company building a technical-plastics components plant at VSIP Nghe An (Hung Nguyen district) has just received its Investment Registration Certificate from the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board and its Enterprise Registration Certificate. Rather than a flat list of ten tasks, management wants to know which agency handles what, so work can be assigned. This article groups the ten procedures into four agency clusters — tax, banking, labor and social insurance, operations — matching how state agencies in Nghe An receive dossiers.
Cluster 1 — Tax office: initial tax filing, license fee, e-invoices
The company files its initial tax dossier with the tax office directly administering Hung Nguyen district. First in this cluster is the license-fee (mon bai) declaration: due no later than 30 January of the year following establishment under Clause 1, Article 10 of Decree 126/2020/ND-CP; the first year is exempt under Decree 22/2020/ND-CP (amending Decree 139/2016/ND-CP), but the declaration must still be filed. Next, register the applicable VAT calculation method. Third — decisive for the ability to sell — register to use e-invoices under Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (19 October 2020), as amended by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP (effective 1 June 2025): register via the tax authority’s electronic portal and issue invoices only after acceptance. Because the project is export-oriented, note the new Clause 2a, Article 8 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (added by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP): commercial e-invoices apply where the exporter meets the conditions for transmitting commercial-invoice data electronically to the tax authority; otherwise use electronic VAT invoices or sales invoices. The public digital signature must be purchased before this step, since every return and invoice is signed with it.
Cluster 2 — Banks: ICA account, 90-day contribution, import-export code
The company opens a VND payment account and a foreign investment capital account in Vietnam (ICA account) at a licensed bank. The current framework is Circular 38/2026/TT-NHNN (effective 18 August 2026), replacing Circular 06/2019/TT-NHNN in full: the old term “direct investment capital account (DICA)” is now the “foreign investment capital account in Vietnam (ICA)”. A notable change: investors may open the capital account right after the Enterprise Registration Certificate is issued, where the company is established before the investment registration procedure — consistent with the new sequencing under the 2025 Investment Law. On contributions: Clause 2 of Article 47 (multi-member LLCs), Clause 2 of Article 75 (single-member LLCs) and Clause 1 of Article 113 (joint-stock companies) of the Enterprise Law 59/2020/QH14 require full contribution of committed charter capital within 90 days of issuance of the Enterprise Registration Certificate, excluding time for transporting or importing contributed assets and completing ownership-transfer procedures. Since the project will import and export through Cua Lo port, the company also registers an import-export code and a customs digital signature for electronic clearance — this sits with the customs system, separate from the domestic-tax cluster.
Cluster 3 — Labor and social insurance: internal regulations, work permits, social insurance
Nghe An has abundant labor and the project plans to hire thousands of workers — so this cluster must be completed before mass recruitment. The company adopts internal labor regulations, a salary scale, and properly typed labor contracts; registers first-time participation in social, health and unemployment insurance with the local social insurance agency under the Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15 (effective 1 July 2025). For Taiwanese experts installing the production line: obtain work permits under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP (replacing Decree 152/2020/ND-CP); the dossier includes documents prepared abroad, so start early. Foreign employees within the statutory scope must join compulsory social insurance under Decree 158/2025/ND-CP (effective 1 July 2025, replacing Decree 143/2018/ND-CP). Experience in Nghe An’s industrial parks: social-insurance arrears for thousands of workers are detected quickly through linked tax-insurance data — do not wait for an inspection to fix this.
Cluster 4 — Operations: seal, signboard, fire-safety and environmental sub-licenses
Under Article 43 of the Enterprise Law 59/2020/QH14, the company decides for itself the type, quantity, form and content of its seal; the seal-specimen notification procedure has been gone since 1 January 2021. Have the seal engraved at a licensed establishment and issue a regulation on seal management, use and custody. Mount the signboard at the VSIP Nghe An workshop showing the exact name and enterprise code. On sub-licenses: fire-prevention design appraisal and acceptance; the environmental dossier matching project scale; acceptance of completed construction before commissioning. The Southeast Economic Zone Management Board — the IRC issuer — also serves as the one-stop focal point supporting post-licensing procedures for projects inside the economic zone and industrial parks; contact it early for guidance instead of visiting each department yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Which authority issues the IRC for a project inside VSIP Nghe An?
The Southeast Economic Zone Management Board issues it for investment projects inside economic zones and industrial parks in the province — it is also the one-stop supporter for post-licensing procedures. Projects outside industrial parks and economic zones file with the investment registration authority under the provincial People’s Committee per delegation rules.
What customs preparation is needed for exporting through Cua Lo port?
Register an import-export code, register a customs digital signature for electronic declarations, and settle the invoicing approach: commercial e-invoices if the conditions for electronic data transmission to the tax authority are met (Clause 2a, Article 8 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, added by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP); otherwise electronic VAT invoices or sales invoices.
Hiring thousands of workers in Nghe An — what to watch on social insurance?
Register social, health and unemployment insurance participation as soon as labor contracts are signed, under the Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15 (effective 1 July 2025). Labor, tax and insurance data are now linked; arrears for a large workforce are easily detected and collected retroactively with late-payment interest.
What are the conditions for remitting profits abroad?
The company must have fulfilled its financial obligations to the State (corporate income tax paid and other duties settled), hold audited financial statements for the profit-generating year, and remit through the foreign investment capital (ICA) account under Circular 38/2026/TT-NHNN. Profits may only be remitted once all these conditions are met.
