Basnet Law Pte. Ltd. is the first incorporated law firm in the Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region (GMC). We are on the ground in Gelephu, we advise international clients and international law firms on GMC law, and we publish the GMC guide series on this site. Our story is best told through the legal timeline of the jurisdiction itself, because the firm exists to read that timeline for clients.
A jurisdiction built by statute
GMC did not grow out of an existing legal system. It was created on 10 February 2024 by Royal Charter No. 1 of 2024, which describes GMC as "a fully independent and autonomous region in the Kingdom of Bhutan" with executive, legislative and judicial authority, including final adjudication (Art. 1). The Charter gives the GMC Authority power to make laws, subject to Royal Assent (Art. 4), and can itself be amended only by Royal Decree (Art. 7).
The first Act was the Application of Laws Act 2024, which chose the legal foundation: the common law and equity of established common law jurisdictions, applied so far as suited to GMC and subject to GMC enactments (s. 3), together with the applied statutes in Schedule A (s. 4) and the applied financial services rules in Schedule B (s. 5). That choice told every lawyer what kind of jurisdiction GMC would be: a common-law commercial centre with a financial-regulatory rulebook built on a known model.
On 26 December 2024 the core commercial statutes were deemed to come into operation: the Companies Act 2025, the Financial Services Act 2025, the Income Tax Act 2025, the Employment Act 2025, the Employment of Foreign Workforce Act 2025 and the Customs Act 2025. From that date it was possible to incorporate a company (Companies Act 2025, s. 17), to apply for a Financial Services Licence (Financial Services Act 2025, s. 27) and to know the tax rate on the resulting income: 15% for companies (Income Tax Act 2025, s. 43(1)(a)) and 0% for non-citizen individuals on income derived on or before 31 December 2030 (s. 43(1)(ba)).
In 2026 the entity law was completed with the Business Names Registration Act, the LLP Act, the Limited Partnerships Act and the Partnership Act, and on 15 June 2026 the Sale of Goods Act 2026 (s. 63) and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 2026 (s. 30) came into force. GFSO published Version 1.0 of its General Rulebook on 7 May 2026.
Where the firm fits
Basnet Law Pte. Ltd. is a company incorporated in GMC. This means the firm is itself subject to the Companies Act 2025, including the requirement for at least one director ordinarily resident in GMC (s. 145(1)) and the private company rules in s. 18. We work under the statutes we advise on, in the place they apply. When we tell a client that "ordinarily resident" includes a holder of a valid work pass (s. 145(1A)), or that a company trading under its own corporate name is exempt from business name registration (Business Names Registration Act 2026, s. 4), we are describing rules that apply to us as well.
Being first means we work from the text: read the section, read the Schedule, and say plainly where the Act delegates a matter to regulations, the Registrar or GFSO. GMC courts and practitioners can rely on common law precedents from any common law jurisdiction, so a settled body of case law stands behind every question we answer. The guide series on this site applies that method in public.
What we do
- Advise international clients on structuring into GMC under the Companies Act 2025, the 2026 partnership Acts and the Income Tax Act 2025.
- Act as GMC local counsel to international law firms, including local law opinions and applied-law mapping under the Application of Laws Act 2024.
- Support Financial Services Licence applications to GFSO under s. 27 of the Financial Services Act 2025 and the GEN Rulebook.
- Advise employers on the Employment Act 2025 and the work pass regime under the Employment of Foreign Workforce Act 2025.
- Publish and maintain the GMC guide series, the GMC Law Library and the regulatory tracker.
Frequently asked questions
What does "incorporated law firm" mean?
A law firm that is incorporated as a company under the Companies Act 2025 rather than run as a sole proprietorship or partnership. Basnet Law Pte. Ltd. was the first law firm incorporated in GMC.
Do you advise on Bhutanese law outside GMC?
Our published work concerns GMC law. Where a matter turns on Bhutan law applying by default under s. 7 of the Application of Laws Act 2024, we say so and address it in the engagement.
Do you work with foreign law firms?
Yes. We advise international law firms on GMC law and take referral instructions where GMC counsel is needed for opinions, filings or resident roles. See our page for international law firms.
How current is your published material?
Each article carries its date of writing. Our regulatory tracker records commencement dates, and we revise articles when the law changes.
How do I contact you?
By email at the address below. We respond from Gelephu.
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, 4, 7
- Application of Laws Act 2024, ss. 3, 4, 5, 7
- Companies Act 2025, ss. 17, 18, 145
- Financial Services Act 2025, s. 27
- Income Tax Act 2025, ss. 1(3), 43(1)(a), 43(1)(ba)
- Business Names Registration Act 2026, s. 4
- Sale of Goods Act 2026, s. 63; Unfair Contract Terms Act 2026, s. 30
- GEN Rulebook 2026 (v1.0, 7 May 2026)
