On April 8, 2020, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 41/2020/ND-CP, which took effect on the same day, on deferral of payment of taxes and land rental (“Decree 41”). This is considered a relief measure for taxpayers amid the COVID-19 epidemic.Decree 41 provides for extension of the deadline for tax payment for a number of taxpayers, including companies in many sectors, small and extra-small enterprises, and credit institutions providing supporting services for clients affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.

Thailand has issued a new regulation setting out criteria and conditions for power purchase agreements (PPAs) for very small power producers (VSPPs) under the Community Power Plants for the Local Economy project—part of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s (EGAT) Energy Policy for the Local Economy. The Regulation Re: Procurement of Electricity from Very Small Power Producers was issued on April 2, 2020, by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and published in the Government Gazette on April 10, 2020.

On April 11, 2020, the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) issued Guidelines for the Domestic Transportation of Goods, and Entering and Exiting the Lao PDR, during the Protection, Control, and Eradication Period for COVID-19 No. 266/MPWT.

On April 13, 2020, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MEYS) issued an Instruction on Enhancing Distance or E-Learning and Teaching by Private Institutions at All Levels.  

Since the first reported case of COVID-19 on March 23, 2020, the Myanmar government has announced several notifications and preventive guidelines. On March 25, the Office of the President of Myanmar issued rules for government personnel and offices with the aim of guarding against the spread of the virus.

On April 3, 2020, Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) issued Official Letter No. 1145/BTTTT-CATTT to provide guidelines on a set of technical criteria and specifications for cloud computing solutions for e-government deployment (the “Guidelines”).State agencies and organizations will rely on these Guidelines to assess and select solutions or lease cloud computing services for the development of e-government. Private-sector entities are also encouraged to refer to these Guidelines when setting up and deploying their own cloud computing platform solutions.

To ease the formalities of setting up business operations in Thailand, the Department of Business Development (DBD) of the Ministry of Commerce, in collaboration with the Revenue Department (RD), has announced that, from April 20, 2020 onward, new partnerships and companies may submit a VAT registration application simultaneously with an application to register their incorporation. Both registrations will be effective on the same day, which means that the new company or partnership will become a VAT registrant upon its incorporation.

The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has issued two notifications, dated April 7, 2020, regarding the method of offering for sale and issuing of insurance policies, and the conduct of agents, brokers, and banks, as part of the OIC and the Ministry of Finance’s relief measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures are temporary and are intended to address the disruption caused by the necessary suspension of face-to-face distribution channels, to avoid physical contact, and to promote social distancing.Key provisions include: