About the concept
According to the provisions of Article 166 of the 2005 Commercial Law, a commercial agent is:
“Commercial agency is a commercial activity whereby the principal and the agent agree that the agent on their own behalf buy and sell goods for the principal or provide services to the principal. for customers to receive remuneration”.
From the above regulations, commercial agency is a commercial activity in which the agent will, on behalf of the principal, purchase and sell goods or provide services and receive remuneration.
About form
According to the provisions of Article 169 of the 2005 Commercial Law, commercial agents have the following forms of agency:
- An off-take agent is a form of agency in which the agent buys and sells a complete volume of goods or provides a complete service to the principal.
- Exclusive agency is a form of agency in which in a certain geographical area the principal only assigns one agent to buy or sell one or a number of goods or provide one or a certain type of service. determined.
- General agent for buying and selling goods and providing services is a form of agency in which the agent organizes a system of affiliated agents to carry out the purchase and sale of goods and provision of services for the principal. .
The general agent represents the affiliated agent system. Affiliated agents operate under the management of the general agent and on behalf of the general agent.
- Other forms of agency as agreed upon by the parties.
Currently, according to regulations, there will be various forms of agents such as: offtake agents, exclusive agents, and agents for buying and selling goods and providing services. In addition, there are other forms of agency agreed upon by the parties.
II. Can Vietnamese traders act as agents to buy and sell goods for foreign traders?
According to Clause 1, Article 50, Decree 69/2018/ND-CP regulates traders acting as agents to buy and sell goods for foreign traders as follows:
“Traders are allowed to act as agents to buy and sell goods for foreign traders, except for goods on the List of goods banned from export or temporarily suspended from export, and goods on the List of goods banned from import and temporarily suspended from import. . For goods exported and imported under License, traders may only sign agency contracts after being granted a License by the ministry or ministerial-level agency with management authority.
According to the above regulations, Vietnamese traders have the right to act as agents to buy and sell goods for foreign traders.
However, these types of goods must not be on the List of goods banned from export or temporarily suspended from export or on the List of goods banned from import or temporarily suspended from import.
III. Procedures for import, export and return of goods under agency contracts for foreign traders
According to the provisions of Article 52 of Decree 69/2018/ND-CP, procedures for exporting and importing goods under agency contracts are as follows:
“Goods under agency contracts to buy and sell goods with foreign traders must be followed when exported or imported in accordance with the same regulations as for exported and imported goods specified in this Decree.” .
Accordingly, goods under goods purchase and sale agency contracts with foreign traders will go through import and export procedures according to the provisions of Article 4 of Decree 69/2018/ND-CP.
For returning goods specified in Article 53 of Decree 69/2018/ND-CP as follows:
“Goods under sales agency contracts in Vietnam for foreign traders may be re-exported if they cannot be consumed in Vietnam. Tax refund is carried out according to regulations of the Ministry of Finance.
Vietnamese traders have the right to re-export goods under sales agency contracts with foreign traders if those goods cannot be sold in Vietnam.
To save time on researching procedures, filling out forms, notarizing, and waiting to submit documents, you can contact HT for consultation and assistance wit TRADERS BE AGENTS IN BUYING AND SELLING GOODS
Contact us at:
Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
Phone: +84 935 439 454.