This page lists every instrument that makes up the law of the Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region (GMC), with its law number, commencement date and a one-line description. It is maintained by Basnet Law, the first incorporated law firm in GMC, as the reference index for our GMC guide series.
What this guide covers
GMC law has four layers: the Royal Charter; the Acts made by the GMC Authority under Article 4(2) of the Charter; the applied statutes and financial services rules imported by Schedule under the Application of Laws Act 2024; and the rulebooks of the Gelephu Financial Services Office (GFSO), the regulator of financial services and virtual assets.
Layer 1 — The Royal Charter
| Instrument | Date | What it does |
|---|
| Royal Charter No. 1 of 2024 | 10 February 2024 | Establishes GMC as "a fully independent and autonomous region in the Kingdom of Bhutan" with executive, legislative and judicial authority including final adjudication (Art. 1); creates the GMC Authority (Art. 3) with power to make laws subject to Royal Assent (Art. 4); amendable only by Royal Decree (Art. 7). |
Layer 2 — GMC Acts (in order of law number)
All Acts below are made "in exercise of the powers under Article 4(2) of the GMC Royal Charter No. 1 of 2024".
| Act | Law No. | Commencement | One-line description |
|---|
| Application of Laws Act 2024 | 1 of 2024 | 2024 (amended 2025 and 2026) | The gateway statute: applies the received common law and equity (s. 3), the applied statutes in Schedule A (s. 4), the applied financial services rules in Schedule B (s. 5) and Schedule C Bhutan sales tax laws (s. 5A). |
| Companies Act 2025 | 1 of 2025 | Deemed 26 December 2024 | Formation (ss. 17–19), one member (s. 20A), no par value shares (s. 62A), resident director (s. 145), inward redomiciliation (Part 10A, ss. 355–364A). Administered through the GCRO. |
| Customs Act 2025 | 2 of 2025 | Deemed 26 December 2024 | Customs and excise duty, free trade zones, warehousing, drawback, declarations (s. 96), offences (ss. 128–141). |
| Employment Act 2025 | 3 of 2025 | Deemed 26 December 2024 | Notice (s. 10), dismissal (s. 14), salary and deductions (ss. 20–33), hours and rest days (ss. 36–38), retrenchment and retirement benefit (ss. 45–46). |
| Employment of Foreign Workforce Act 2025 | 4 of 2025 | Deemed 26 December 2024 | Work passes: prohibition (s. 5), application (s. 7), employer's register (s. 8), self-employed foreigners (s. 10), levy (s. 11). |
| Financial Services Act 2025 | 5 of 2025 | Deemed 26 December 2024 | General Prohibition (s. 16), licensing (ss. 27–31), Controlled Functions (s. 43), Schedule 1 regulated activities, Schedule 2 financial promotions, virtual asset rules (s. 5A). |
| Income Tax Act 2025 | 6 of 2025 | Deemed 26 December 2024, subject to s. 1(3) | 15% on companies (s. 43(1)(a)); 0% for non-citizen individuals to 31 December 2030 (s. 43(1)(ba)); founders company exemption (s. 13Y); strategic and development company rate (s. 43D). Provisions listed in s. 1(3) commence only on Gazette notification. |
| Application of Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 | 7 of 2025 | 26 December 2024 | Deletes Schedule A items replaced by GMC Acts; inserts s. 5A and Schedule C. |
| Business Names Registration Act 2026 | 1 of 2026 | 2026 | Registration before trading (s. 5); authorised representative where proprietors are abroad (s. 11); unregistered businesses cannot enforce contracts (s. 31). |
| Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2026 | 2 of 2026 | 2026 | Separate legal personality (s. 4), minimum two partners (s. 28), resident manager (s. 29), register of controllers (Part 6A). |
| Limited Partnerships Act 2026 | 3 of 2026 | 2026 | General and limited partners (s. 3), limited partner safe harbours (s. 6, First Schedule), registration (s. 11), local manager (s. 28). |
| Partnership Act 2026 | 4 of 2026 | 2026 | Definition (s. 1), agency of partners (s. 5), joint liability (s. 9), default rules (s. 24), dissolution (ss. 32–35). |
| Sale of Goods Act 2026 | 5 of 2026 | 15 June 2026 (s. 63) | Implied terms as to title (s. 12), description (s. 13), quality and fitness (s. 14), sample (s. 15). |
| Unfair Contract Terms Act 2026 | 6 of 2026 | 15 June 2026 (s. 30) | Negligence (s. 2), standard terms and consumer contracts (s. 3), reasonableness test (s. 11), choice-of-law anti-avoidance (s. 27). Not applicable to pre-commencement contracts. |
| Application of Laws (Amendment) Act 2026 | 7 of 2026 | 15 June 2026 | Deletes Schedule A items 15 and 18. |
Layer 3 — Applied laws under the Application of Laws Act 2024
Schedule A — applied statutes, with modifications (s. 4). After the 2025 and 2026 deletions, the current items are: 2 Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 2007; 4 Electronic Transactions Act 2010; 8 Immigration Act 1959; 10 Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018; 11 Interpretation Act 1965; 12 Official Secrets Act 1935; 13 Personal Data Protection Act 2012; 14 Property Tax Act 1960; 16 Spam Control Act 2007; 17 Stamp Duties Act 1929. Deleted items were replaced by GMC Acts (item 1 Companies Act 1967 by the Companies Act 2025; item 9 Income Tax Act 1947 by the Income Tax Act 2025).
Schedule B — applied financial services rules, with modifications (s. 5). AML Rules; Captive Insurance Business Rules; COBS; FUNDS; GEN; GLO; MIR; MKT; PIN; PRU. Regulator references read as the GMC Authority or its regulator; Islamic finance references are removed.
Schedule C — Bhutan sales tax laws (s. 5A, inserted 2025). The Bhutan Sales Tax, Customs and Excise Act 2000 and related rules and tax Acts of 2001 to 2023, including the BTC and Tariff Schedule (7th edition, 2022). Bhutan repeals take effect in GMC only if the GMC Authority accepts them.
Residual rules (s. 7). Default Bhutan law applies generally; the applied general law is presumptive for civil and commercial matters and prevails over the applied financial services rules in a conflict unless the GMC Authority decides otherwise.
Layer 4 — GFSO rulebooks
| Rulebook | Status |
|---|
| General Rulebook (GEN) 2026 | Version 1.0, dated 7 May 2026. Principles (Ch. 2), systems and controls (Ch. 3), location of offices (4.5), licence applications (5.2), Controlled Functions (5.3), mandatory appointments (5.5), change of control (8.8), Representative Offices (Ch. 9). |
| AML and Sanctions Rulebook | Listed on gmc.bt/GFSO. |
| Conduct of Business (COBS) | Listed on gmc.bt/GFSO. |
| Fund Rulebook | Listed on gmc.bt/GFSO. |
| Market Infrastructure Rulebook | Listed on gmc.bt/GFSO. |
| Prudential Rulebooks (insurance, banking, investment) | Listed on gmc.bt/GFSO. |
| Virtual Asset Guidance | Supplementary guidance for virtual asset firms, referred to on gmc.bt/GFSO. |
A note on currency: every "$" in these Acts means United States dollars (Companies Act 2025, s. 4A; Income Tax Act 2025, s. 2AA; Employment Act 2025, s. 2AA).
Series articles that explain the library
- Which Law Applies in GMC? A Section-by-Section Guide to the Application of Laws Act 2024 and Its 2025 and 2026 Amendments — how the Schedules work and what the two amendment Acts changed.
- Where GMC Law Comes From: Schedule A of the Application of Laws Act and the Statutes GMC Re-enacted — the re-enactment technique and its interpretive consequence.
- Is GMC a Separate Jurisdiction? — the Charter and the meaning of autonomy.
- The Dollar Jurisdiction — the USD reading clauses across the Acts.
- Commercial Contracts in GMC: The Sale of Goods Act 2026 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 2026 — the two newest Acts.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official source for GMC legislation?
Yes. The GMC Authority publishes the Charter and the Acts at gmc.bt/legislation, and GFSO publishes its rulebooks at gmc.bt/GFSO. This library follows that list.
Are the 2025 Acts really in force from December 2024?
Yes. The Companies, Customs, Employment, Employment of Foreign Workforce, Financial Services and Income Tax Acts are each deemed to have come into operation on 26 December 2024. The Income Tax Act is the exception in part: s. 1(3) lists provisions that commence only on a date appointed by Gazette notification.
Does foreign case law bind GMC courts?
The Application of Laws Act 2024 applies the common law and equity of established common law jurisdictions in GMC so far as suited to GMC circumstances and subject to GMC enactments (s. 3). GMC courts have final adjudication under Article 1 of the Charter, so decisions from those jurisdictions are the persuasive starting point rather than binding precedent.
Where are fees, forms and timelines set?
Not in the Acts. They are delegated to regulations, the Registrar, the Controller of Work Passes or GFSO. We confirm current figures on request, and revise this library whenever an instrument is added, amended or brought into force.
You may contact Basnet Law at basnet@basnetgmc.com or office@basnetgmc.com for any legal queries related to GMC.
References
- Royal Charter No. 1 of 2024, Arts. 1, 3, 4, 7
- Application of Laws Act 2024, ss. 3, 4, 5, 5A, 7, Schedules A, B, C; Application of Laws (Amendment) Acts 2025 and 2026
- Companies Act 2025, ss. 4A, 17–19, 20A, 62A, 145, 355–364A
- Financial Services Act 2025, ss. 5A, 16, 27–31, 43, Schedules 1 and 2
- Income Tax Act 2025, ss. 1(3), 2AA, 13Y, 43(1)(a), 43(1)(ba), 43D
- Employment Act 2025, ss. 2AA, 10, 14, 20–33, 36–38, 45–46
- Employment of Foreign Workforce Act 2025, ss. 5, 7, 8, 10, 11
- Customs Act 2025, ss. 96, 128–141
- Business Names Registration Act 2026, ss. 5, 11, 31; LLP Act 2026, ss. 4, 28, 29; LP Act 2026, ss. 3, 6, 11, 28; Partnership Act 2026, ss. 1, 5, 9, 24, 32–35
- Sale of Goods Act 2026, ss. 12–15, 63; Unfair Contract Terms Act 2026, ss. 2, 3, 11, 27, 30
- GEN Rulebook 2026 (v1.0, 7 May 2026), Chs. 2, 3, 4.5, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 8.8, 9
