Alcohol trading is on the list of conditional business investment lines, and alcohol is a product regulated by the State to be restricted from being sold in the market because alcohol is a stimulant that directly affects consumers’ health.
Vietnam’s legal regulations on alcohol business are somewhat stricter than in other industries, so to conduct alcohol business, investors need to understand the legal regulations and the alcohol business requires a license.
Therefore, business owners have to know the procedure for obtaining a liquor license in order to have a better overview before setting up a company in the alcohol business.
Legal Basis
- Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP dated September 14, 2017, on alcohol trading.
- Decree 17/2020/ND-CP amending the Decree related to business investment conditions in the field of state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
- Investment Law 2020.
- Enterprise Law 2020.
What types of alcohol businesses are there?
The liquor business includes business activities such as:
- Alcohol production activities.
- Alcohol distribution activities.
- Alcohol wholesale activities.
- Alcohol retail activities.
- Selling alcohol for on-site consumption.
General provisions on conditions for the alcohol business
The regulations for the wine industry are based on production scale and business size.
1. Conditions for doing business in industrial wine production
☑ An enterprise must be established in compliance with the law.
☑ Having a line of machines, equipment, and technological processes for wine production to meet the expected production scale.
☑ Ensure food safety conditions as prescribed.
☑ Ensure conditions for environmental protection as prescribed.
☑ Meet alcohol labeling regulations.
☑ Expertise in the field and profession of wine production requires qualified technical staff.
2. Conditions for doing business in craft wine production
☑ Must be an enterprise, cooperative, union of cooperatives or business household established in accordance with the law.
☑ Ensure the conditions on food safety and label alcohol goods according to regulations.
3. Conditions for alcohol distribution business
☑ Must be an enterprise established in accordance with the law.
☑ Having the legal right to use a warehouse or warehouse system with a total usable floor area of 150m2 or more.
☑ An alcohol distributor must provide a written introduction to their business or a contract in principle. This can be from a wine producer, another alcohol distributor, or an international alcohol supplier.
☑ Distributors of alcohol must have distribution systems for alcohol in 02 provinces or in centrally-run municipalities or more. In each province or centrally-run city, at least one wholesaler must be present.
☑ Wines intended for businesses must ensure food safety conditions according to regulations.
☑ Assure compliance with all applicable requirements regarding fire prevention, fighting, and environmental protection.
4. Conditions for wholesale alcohol business
☑ Must be an enterprise established in accordance with the law.
☑ Legal right to use a warehouse/warehouse system that has a total floor area of 50m2 or greater.
☑ Wines for business must meet all regulations to ensure food safety.
☑ An enterprise doing wholesale business in alcohol must have a written introduction or a contract in principle from a wine producer, alcohol distributor, or other alcohol wholesalers.
☑ Ensure full compliance with requirements on fire prevention and fighting and environmental protection as prescribed.
☑ Having a liquor wholesale system in the province or centrally run city, where the trader is headquartered with at least 3 alcohol retail traders.
5. REGULATIONS ON WINE BUSINESS AND PRODUCTION IN VIETNAM – Conditions for alcohol retail business
☑ Must be an enterprise, cooperative, union of cooperatives or business household established in accordance with the law.
☑A liquor retail business must have a written introduction or a contract in principle from a wine producer, alcohol distributor, or liquor wholesaler.
☑ Ensure full compliance with requirements on fire prevention and fighting and environmental protection as prescribed.
☑ Having the lawful right to use a fixed business location with a clear address.
☑ Wines intended for businesses must ensure food safety conditions according to regulations.
6. Conditions for doing business in selling alcohol for on-site consumption
☑ Must be an enterprise, cooperative, union of cooperatives, or business household established in accordance with the law.
☑ Having the lawful right to use a fixed business location with a clear address.
☑ Liquor must be supplied by a merchant with a License to manufacture, distribute, wholesale or retail alcohol.
☑ If a trader wants to produce alcohol by himself for local consumption, he/she must obtain an industrial liquor production license or a manual alcohol production license for business purposes in accordance with regulations.
☑ Ensure full compliance with requirements on fire prevention and fighting and environmental protection as prescribed.
7. Conditions for the organization of manual wine production to sell to enterprises licensed to produce industrial alcohol for reprocessing
☑ Having a sales contract with an enterprise that has a license to produce industrial wine.
☑ If alcohol is not sold by an enterprise with an industrial alcohol production license, the individual or organization that produces alcohol must follow procedures to grant a license for manual grape production for business purposes.
In conclusion, the wine market in Vietnam is considered to be a dynamic and rapidly evolving market with both opportunities and challenges. At the same time, when starting a company, it will be related to tax and accounting procedures. Most business owners do not fully understand tax regulations, coming to us your businesses can be completely assured, we will provide free advice on taxes, tax fees to pay… help legal businesses and long-term development.
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