Laos’ Ministry of Finance previously announced that the submission deadline for 2019 financial reports was postponed from March 30, 2020, to April 30, 2020 (as detailed in our earlier alert, here), subject to further extensions that may be necessary as the COVID-19 situation developed. On April 21, 2020, the Ministry issued Notification No. 0764 which confirms an extension of that deadline to May 29, 2020.

On April 17, 2020, the Immigration Department of Laos’ Ministry of Public Security issued Notification No. 752, which states that, further to the extension of the lockdown measures by the Prime Minister (see here for more information), the Immigration Department will also extend the terms of Notification No.

In response to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Indonesian Ministry of Health has implemented detailed guidelines for large-scale social restrictions (known as pembatasan sosial berskala besar  or PSBB). PSBB has been applied in two provinces so far—Jakarta and West Sumatra—and may be extended to others in due course. Although the restriction has wide ranging effects on many business sectors, IP owners are still able to exercise their rights by registering them through the online system of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP).

Tilleke & Gibbins has recently updated the Myanmar section of Practical Law’s Employment and Employee Benefits Global Guide , a Thomson Reuters Practical Law online publication that provides an overview of employment and employee benefits in jurisdictions worldwide.

Implementing recent cabinet resolutions to introduce social security relief measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 17, 2020, Thailand’s Ministry of Labor published two regulations under the Social Security Act (SSA) in the Government Gazette:

In recent years, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Office) has promoted the domestic development of intellectual property through a range of activities under the National Program for IP Asset Development. These activities include public awareness campaigns, trade promotion activities, IP training, and support for the registration of IP rights of Vietnamese individuals and organizations.

On April 10, 2020, Laos’ Ministry of Finance published Notification No. 1027/MOF to provide further details on income tax relief outlined in a previous notification, issued on April 2, to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.The new notification provides clarification on the tax exemption that was provided for salaries and other income below LAK 5 million (approximately USD 560) per month.

On April 19, 2020, Myanmar’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population announced a nationwide inspection of factories and workshops from April 20 to 30 to ensure safety and hygiene standards specified by the Ministry of Health and Sports in their notification issued on March 19. Only those that meet the standards will be allowed to continue operating during the COVID-19 outbreak.