Circular 109/2026/TT-BTC management of provision of tax procedure services

CIRCULAR

On management of the provision of tax procedure services

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of, and measures for the implementation of, the Law on Tax Administration;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 29/2025/ND-CP defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, amended and supplemented under Decree No. 166/2025/ND-CP;

At the request of the Director General of Department of Taxation;

The Minister of Finance hereby promulgates the Circular on management of the provision of tax procedure services.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular provides regulations on management of the provision of tax procedure services under the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15, including:

1. Assessment of professional competence in taxation.

2. Knowledge updating for persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services.

3. Inspection of the provision of tax procedure services.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Tax agents, business households and business individuals providing tax procedure services.

2. Persons participating in the assessment of professional competence in taxation.

3. Taxpayers using tax procedure services.

4. Persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services.

5. Tax officers and tax offices at all levels.

6. Socio-professional organizations operating in the fields of tax procedure services and tax consultancy services (hereinafter referred to as socio-professional organizations acting as tax agents).

7. Other organizations and individuals involved in the provision of tax procedure services specified in this Circular.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Tax procedure services mean the services specified at Point c, Clause 5, Article 40 of Law No. 108/2025/QH15 provided by tax agents, business households or business individuals providing tax procedure services.

2. Persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services mean tax agents’ staff members, business households and business individuals eligible for provision of tax procedure services specified in Article 64 of the Government’s Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of, and measures for organizing and guiding the implementation of, the Law on Tax Administration.

Chapter II

ORGANIZATION OF ASSESSMENTS OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE IN TAXATION

Article 4. Persons participating in competence assessments

1. A person participating in an assessment of professional competence in taxation must be a Vietnamese or a foreigner permitted to reside in Vietnam for 12 months or more who fully satisfy the following conditions:

a) Having full civil act capacity.

b) Possessing a university or higher degree in economics, tax, finance, accounting, audit or law, or possessing a university or higher degree in another specialty with a total of units of syllabuses or credits or class periods of the subject of economics, finance, accounting, audit, tax or financial analysis accounting for at least 7% of the total syllabuses or credits or class periods of the whole course.

2. A person wishing to participate in a competence assessment shall submit a complete dossier to the competence assessment council in accordance with this Circular.

Article 5. Dossier for participation in competence assessments

1. A person registering to participate in an assessment of professional competence in taxation shall submit a dossier to the competence assessment council, comprising:

a) An application for participation in a competence assessment, made according to Form No. 1.1 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

b) A certified copy, electronic copy from the master register or a certified electronic copy of the original university or postgraduate diploma specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular; if the diploma shows that the specialty is other than economics, tax, finance, accounting, audit or law, the person participating in competence assessment shall enclose the diploma with a mark sheet showing the number of units of syllabuses or credits or class periods of all subjects learnt.

c) A passport that remains valid at the time of registration for participation in the competence assessment (for a foreigner) (a copy accompanied by a notarized translation).

The dossier specified in this Article shall be submitted electronically or in paper form in accordance with the instructions of the competence assessment council.

Article 6. Fees for participation in competence assessments

1. A person participating in an assessment of professional competence in taxation shall pay the fees specified in the notice of the competence assessment council. Those who have paid fees but fail to participate in the assessment shall not be refunded the paid fees.

2. The competence assessment council shall estimate costs for assessment organization on the principle of covering costs with collected fees.

Article 7. Contents and forms of competence assessments

1. An assessment of professional competence in taxation covers

a) Tax law subject, including the laws on tax administration, value-added tax, corporate income tax, excise tax, personal income tax, royalty, and other taxes; and charges and fees belonging to the state budget, and guiding documents.

b) Accounting subject, including the Accounting Law, accounting standards, corporate accounting regime, accounting regimes applicable to business households and individuals, and other legal documents on accounting.

2. Forms of competence assessments

Competence assessment tests shall be conducted on paper or computers in the form of written or multiple-choice tests in Vietnamese. The duration of each subject shall depend on the form of assessment, ranging from 60 minutes to 180 minutes.

Article 8. Competence assessment organizers

1. An organizer of assessments of professional competence in taxation must be a socio-professional organization acting as a tax agent whose establishment is permitted by the competent state agency specified in Clause 2, Article 15 of the Government’s Decree No. 126/2024/ND-CP dated October 08, 2024, providing the organization, operation and management of associations.

2. Competence assessment organization

a) The competence assessment council shall be established by the organizer specified in Clause 1 of this Article and shall be responsible for organizing competence assessments in accordance with this Circular.

b) The competence assessment council has the following tasks:

b.1) To officially notify on the organizer's website the conditions for and time and venue of assessments and other relevant information at least 45 days before the date of assessment;

b.2) To post up the list of participants (with their full names, dates of birth, passport information (for foreigners)/identity/citizen identity card information, identification numbers, competence assessment subjects, and venue of assessment) and other relevant information on the competence-assessing unit’s website at least 15 days before the date of assessment;

b.3) To organize competence assessments, grade competence assessment tests and review competence assessment results;

b.4) To post up assessment results and result review results on within 30 days from the date an assessment is completed or from the deadline for receiving assessment result review requests;

b.5) To the recognize satisfactory result for assessment subject which is 50 points or more on a 100-point scale or 5 points or more on a 10-point scale.

b.6) To take responsibility for the security and safety of participants and related organizations and individuals during an assessment.

c) Within 15 days after the results are announced, participants may file a request for review of assessment results with the competence assessment council.

d) Reservation of assessment results: Satisfactory results may be reserved for 36 months from the month of announcement of assessment results or assessment result review results.

3. The competence assessment organizer shall publicly disclose the assessment results on its website or in the mass media and provide competence assessment results to:

a) Persons participate in assessments of both subjects specified in Article 7 of this Circular and achieve satisfactory results as specified at Point b.5, Clause 2 of this Article.

b) Persons falling into the cases specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 9 of this Circular and achieve a satisfactory result for the competence assessment subject as specified at Point b.5, Clause 2 of this Article.

c) Persons specified in Clause 3, Article 9 of this Circular.

Persons participating in an assessment of professional competence in taxation who achieve the results specified in this Clause and update knowledge in accordance with Chapter III of this Circular satisfy the professional standard specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 64 of Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP.

4. The competence assessment organizer shall send the assessment results to the Department of Taxation for public disclosure on the Department of Taxation’s website and shall report on the organization of competence assessments and the results of assessments of professional competence in taxation at the request of the Department of Taxation.

Article 9. Exemption from competence assessments

1. Assessment participants who have worked in the tax sector and fully satisfy the following conditions, shall be exempted from the tax law subject:

a) Conditions for exemption from a competence assessment subject

a.1) Having worked for at least 60 consecutive months counted to the time of retirement or resignation, and holding of the rank of tax specialist or tax examination officer or tax controller, and having worked in the field of tax administration for at least 36 months (aggregately counted during 05 working years to the time of retirement or resignation).

a.2) Not having been subject to administrative discipline while on public duty in the form of caution or severer form within 24 months counted to the time of retirement or resignation.

a.3) Having registered for the exemption within 36 months from the month of retirement or resignation.

b) Dossier for exemption from a competence assessment subject

b.1) An application for participation in a competence assessment, made according to Form No. 1.1 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

b.2) A certificate of working period, made according to Form No. 1.2 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

b.3) A copy of the retirement or resignation decision.

2. A person participating in a competence assessment who satisfy either of the following conditions, shall be exempt from the accounting subject:

a) Conditions for exemption from a competence assessment subject

a.1) Possessing a university or postgraduate degree in accounting or audit and having worked as an accountant or auditor for at least 60 consecutive months counted to the time of registration for the exemption. The period during which the assessment participant has worked as an accountant or auditor shall be counted from the time he/she graduates from the university or postgraduate course on accounting or audit to the time of registration for the exemption.

a.2) Having passed the advanced accounting-finance or management accounting subject exam for grant of accountant certificates (if any) or auditor certificates organized by the Ministry of Finance as prescribed and the exam results remain to be reserved.

b) Dossier for exemption from a competence assessment subject

b.1) An application for participation in an assessment of professional competence in taxation, made according to Form No. 1.1 provided in the Appendix to this Circular, if the applicant has a satisfactory result for the tax law subject that remains within the preservation period.

b.2) A copy accompanied by a notarized translation of the passport that remains valid at the time of dossier submission (for a foreigner).

b.3) One of the following papers proving the participant’s eligibility for exemption from the assessment subject(s):

b.3.1) Certified copies or electronic copies from the master registers or certified electronic copies of the original university or postgraduate diploma and of the certificate of the social insurance contribution history proving the working period issued by the social insurance agency.

b.3.2) The certificate of exam marks, for the persons specified at Point a.2 of this Clause (certified copy or electronic copy from the master register or certified electronic copy of the original).

3. A person participating in a competence assessment who satisfy either of the following conditions, shall be exempt from both tax law subject and accounting subject:

a) Conditions for exemption from a competence assessment subject

a.1) Possessing an auditor certificate or accountant certificate granted by a competent state agency under regulations.

a.2) Having worked in the tax sector for at least 10 consecutive years, counted to the time of retirement or resignation, and satisfying the following conditions:

a.2.1) Having held the rank of tax specialist or tax examination officer or tax controller for at least 10 years or having held the rank of principal specialist or principal examination officer or principal tax controller or higher and having worked in the field of tax administration for at least 60 months (aggregately counted during 10 working years to the time of retirement or resignation).

a.2.2) Not having been subject to administrative discipline while on public duty in the form of caution or severer form within 24 months counted to the time of retirement or resignation.

a.2.3) Having registered for the exemption within 36 months from the month of retirement or resignation.

b) Dossier for exemption from a competence assessment subject

b.1) An application for recognition of satisfaction of professional competence requirements in taxation, made according to Form No. 1.3 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

b.2) A copy accompanied by a notarized translation of the passport that remains valid at the time of dossier submission (for a foreigner), for cases specified at Point a.1 of this Clause.

b.3) A certified copy or electronic copy from the master register or certified electronic copy of the original auditor certificate or accountant certificate, for the cases specified at Point a.1 of this Clause.

b.4) A certificate of the working period, made according to Form 1.2 provided in the Appendix to this Circular, for the cases specified at Point a.2 of this Clause.

b.5) The retirement or resignation decision, for the case of exemption from competence assessment subjects specified at Point a.2 of this Clause (copy).

The dossier specified in this Article shall be submitted to the competence assessment council during the period for receipt of dossiers for participation in competence assessments as notified by the competence assessment council.

Chapter III

UPDATING OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE PROVISION OF TAX PROCEDURE SERVICES

Article 10. Subjects required to update knowledge

1. Persons subject to knowledge updating are those engaged in the provision of tax procedure services.

2. Persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services shall participate in annual knowledge updating courses (except in the year in which they participate in an assessment of professional competence in taxation).

Article 11. Contents to be updated and documents used for knowledge updating

1. Contents to be updated

a) Regulations on taxes, charges, fees and tax administration.

b) Regulations on corporate accounting, and accounting applicable to business households and business individuals.

Based on contents to be updated specified in this Clause, and practical conditions, the Department of Taxation shall develop a framework program on contents to be updated for the year and promulgate it before January 31 every year.

2. Documents used for knowledge updating

Documents used for knowledge updating must have the contents specified in Clause 1 of this Article, and shall be presented in written form or the form of electronic data.

Article 12. Duration and forms of knowledge updating

1. Duration of knowledge updating for persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services

a) The duration of knowledge updating must be at least 24 hours (equivalent to 3 days) in a year. The number of knowledge updating hours shall be aggregately counted from January 01 to December 31 every year.

b) The knowledge updating time shall be counted on the principle that 1 learning hour is equivalent to 1 hour of knowledge updating. The knowledge updating time must not exceed 4 hours per class and not exceed 8 hours per day.

c) Document evidencing knowledge updating hours is a paper or electronic certificate issued by a knowledge updating course organizer as prescribed by the law on e-transactions, stating that a tax agent’s staff member has participated in a knowledge updating course.

2. Forms of knowledge updating

Individuals may book their participation in direct or online knowledge updating courses organized by eligible units specified in Clause 1, Article 13 of this Circular.

Article 13. Organization of knowledge updating courses

1. Knowledge updating course organizers include:

a) Socio-professional organizations acting as tax agents;

b) Colleges, universities, academies and schools for training officers that offer tax-related training disciplines and provide the knowledge updating contents specified in Clause 1, Article 11 of this Circular.

2. The entities specified in Clause 1 of this Article may organize knowledge updating courses after developing knowledge updating programs and materials that satisfy the requirements specified in this Circular and having a team of lecturers with at least 05 years’ working, research or teaching experience relating to the knowledge updating contents.

3. Responsibilities of knowledge updating course organizers

a) To prepare detailed plans for knowledge updating courses no later than the first quarter of every year in conformity with the framework program promulgated by the Department of Taxation.

b) To monitor and roll-call trainees attending knowledge updating courses; to issue certificates of participation in knowledge updating courses according to Form 1.4 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

c) To archive files on organization of knowledge updating courses; to promptly provide adequate and accurate information and documents on organization of knowledge updating courses at the request of competent state agencies.

4. When provincial-level tax offices organize general training courses for taxpayers; persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services shall inform the provincial-level tax offices before participating in the first training course for attendance monitoring and issuance of certificates of participation in knowledge updating (if certificate is requested). The program contents and knowledge updating materials must satisfy the requirements specified in Article 11 of this Circular and conform to the framework program promulgated by the Department of Taxation.

5. Knowledge updating course organizers shall disclose the list of individuals participating in knowledge updating courses on their websites or in the mass media.

Chapter IV

INSPECTION OF THE PROVISION OF TAX PROCEDURE SERVICES

Article 14. Inspection of the provision of tax procedure services

1. Managing tax offices shall inspect the provision of tax procedure services by tax agents, business households and business individuals in conjunction with tax inspections conducted in accordance with Law No. 108/2025/QH15 and this Circular.

2. The inspections specified in this Article shall be conducted on the basis of risk management application in accordance with the Minister of Finance's Circular No. 94/2026/TT-BTC dated July 01, 2026, providing compliance management and risk management in tax administration.

3. The order and procedures for inspection and handling of violations detected through inspection must comply with Law No. 108/2025/QH15 and guiding documents on tax inspection.

Article 15. Disclosure of inspection results

1. The managing tax office shall disclose the results of an inspection of the provision of tax procedure services within 05 working days from the date of issuance of the inspection conclusion, at the head office of the managing tax office and in the mass media, including the name, tax identification number, name of the at-law representative, head office address and inspection results.

2. Within 03 working days after tax agents, business households, business individuals and persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services have taken remedial actions in accordance with the conclusion of an inspection of the provision of tax procedure services, the tax office shall update or remove the disclosed information.

3. If the disclosed information contains errors, the tax office shall correct, update or remove such information within 03 working days from the date of detection.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 16. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect from July 24, 2026.

2. This Circular replaces the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 10/2021/TT-BTC dated January 26, 2021, guiding the management of tax procedure service practice.

Article 17. Transitional provisions

1. Exam result certificates and review result certificates issued during the effective period of Circular No. 10/2021/TT-BTC shall remain valid for preservation for 36 months from the month in which the exam results or review results are announced.

2. Tax procedure service practice certificates granted under the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 117/2012/TT-BTC dated July 19, 2012, guiding the provision of tax procedure-related services, and Circular No. 10/2021/TT-BTC shall be as valid as tax procedure service practice certificates specified in this Circular.

3. Tax agents’ staff members providing services before the effective date of this Circular may continue providing services through December 31, 2026, without having to prove the number of their knowledge updating hours. If wishing to further providing of tax procedure service practices from 2027 onward, they shall update knowledge under Chapter III of this Circular.

4. Certificates of participation in knowledge updating courses granted by knowledge updating course organizers under Circular No. 10/2021/TT-BTC shall have the same validity as certificates of participation in knowledge updating specified in this Circular.

Article 18. Implementation organization

1. The Department of Taxation shall promulgate regulations on knowledge updating and regulations on assessments of professional competence in taxation; and guide and inspect the organization of assessments of professional competence in taxation and knowledge updating specified in this Circular.

2. Managing tax offices shall organize inspections of the provision of tax procedure services by tax agents, business households and business individuals within their respective management areas.

3. Persons engaged in the provision of tax procedure services shall comply with this Circular and other relevant legal documents.

4. If newly promulgated legal documents amend, supplement or replace the documents referred to in this Circular, the newly promulgated ones shall apply.

5. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and settlement./.