Myanmar’s Patent Law, enacted as the 2019 Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 7, has recently come into force, marking a significant step forward in aligning the country’s intellectual property (IP) framework with international standards. Effective from May 31, 2024, this law introduces comprehensive provisions for patent rights protection, fostering innovation and supporting economic development. To qualify […]

Stamp Duty (“SD”) is applicable on all chargeable instruments unless explicitly exempted under Schedule 1 of the Myanmar Stamp Act 1899 (“MSA”). Chargeable instruments mean documents that create, transfer, extinguish, or record rights or obligations and upon which governmental charges are collected in order to give legal effect thereto. Some commonly used chargeable instruments include […]

On 19 August 2019, the Union Parliament of Myanmar, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, enacted Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Law (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 24/2019) to replace the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act (1894) as well as to provide a legal framework for resettlement and rehabilitation for the first time in Myanmar. Highlights of this note Overview What’s […]

In the beginning of last year, private schools were classified as a promoted sector under the MIC notification 13/2017 and therefore opened to foreign investors. In addition, the Union Parliament (the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) released a new draft Private School Law (the “Draft PSL”) in December 2017. VDB Loi is working in collaboration with the Ministry […]

Introduction: The end of the comprehensive overhaul of Myanmar’s corporate legal framework is finally in sight with an updated Companies Law (the “MCL”) approved by Myanmar’s Parliament. Once the MCL is signed into law by the President, the outdated Myanmar Companies Act of 1914 (the “1914 Act”) will be abolished, bringing Myanmar Companies Law in […]

Along with recent economic and political reforms, Union Government of Myanmar has made changes to Myanmar’s financial year (1 April to 31 March). The first new financial year will start from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019; i.e. 2018–2019 financial year. The decision was made on 7 September 2017 at Union Government Meeting No. […]

VDB-Loi’s comments on the draft Law on Registration of Deeds and the Law Amending the Farm Land Law have recently been submitted to the Amyotha Hluttaw (Lower House). As the situation currently stands, the Amyotha Hluttaw will submit VDB-Loi’s comments to the Pyithu Hluttaw (Upper House) with their additional commentary after discussions. Upon a recent […]

The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw published a new law on 8 March, 2017, the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens (Union Parliament Law 5/2017). This new law sets out general duties of relevant ministries and authorities to protect privacy and security of citizens, while a “citizen” is defined as “the person who is a citizen […]