“Electronic Identity Accounts for Businesses: Unraveling the Knot for FDI Enterprises.”

The upcoming enforcement of Decree 69/2024/ND-CP on electronic identification and authentication, effective July 1, 2025, marks a significant step in Vietnam’s digital transformation journey. While this decree aims to comprehensively digitize administrative processes, it presents a unique challenge for foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) with legal representatives who are foreign nationals.

According to Articles 7 and 12 and Clause 4 of Article 40 of the decree, all enterprises established or registered in Vietnam must have an electronic identification account to complete online administrative procedures. However, the process of obtaining a personal identification number or linking information to the VNeID system for foreign nationals serving as legal representatives of FIEs has not yet been implemented.

This gap in the process creates a significant roadblock for FIEs, including well-known market players, as they aspire to comply with the decree but are unable to open the required electronic identification accounts. Addressing this issue is crucial to ensuring a smooth and equitable digital transformation process for all economic entities.

As the enforcement date draws near, FIEs face potential risks and challenges that could directly impact their operations and obligations to the state. Firstly, they may experience administrative paralysis, unable to complete necessary procedures at state agencies. Critical processes such as labor, business registration, licensing, reporting, and other legal compliance requirements have already been digitized and integrated into the National Public Service Portal.

The lack of electronic identification accounts will result in delays, disruptions, and potential project halts, directly affecting business efficiency. Moreover, failure to fulfill mandatory obligations may expose FIEs to administrative penalties, lawsuits, or even criminal liability in certain cases.

Secondly, FIEs may face increased operational costs and decreased business efficiency. Without electronic identification accounts, enterprises cannot access the state’s online administrative processing systems, forcing them to revert to traditional, time-consuming methods of completing paperwork, deploying personnel, printing documents, and traveling for submissions.

This not only incurs unnecessary costs but also significantly impacts overall business efficiency. These challenges call for the attention of relevant authorities, especially the Ministry of Public Security, to research, refine, and issue more convenient and specific guidelines for granting electronic identification accounts to FIEs.

Timely addressing these bottlenecks will not only facilitate smoother business operations for FIEs but also demonstrate Vietnam’s commitment to providing a transparent, modern, and investor-friendly environment, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the economy.