Law 48/2024/QH15 on Value-Added Tax

LAW

ON VALUE-ADDED TAX

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law on Value-Added Tax.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law provides for objects subject and not subject to value-added tax, taxpayers, tax bases, tax calculation methods, and value-added tax credit and refund.

Article 2. Value-added tax

Value-added tax is a tax imposed on the added value of goods or services arising in the process from production, circulation to consumption.

Article 3. Taxable objects

Goods and services used for production, trading or consumption in Vietnam are subject to value-added tax, except those specified in Article 5 of this Law.

Article 4. Taxpayers

1. Taxpayers include organizations, households and individuals producing or trading in goods or services subject to value-added tax (below referred to as business establishments).

2. Organizations and individuals importing goods subject to value-added tax (below referred to as importers).

3. Organizations and individuals engaged in production and business in Vietnam purchasing services (including cases of purchasing services attached to goods) from foreign organizations without Vietnam-based permanent establishments, overseas individuals who are non-residents in Vietnam, except for the cases specified in Clauses 4 and 5 of this Article; organizations engaged in production and business in Vietnam purchasing goods and services to conduct activities of prospecting, development of oil and gas field, oil and gas production of foreign organizations without Vietnam-based permanent establishments, overseas individuals who are non-residents in Vietnam.

4. Foreign suppliers without Vietnam-based permanent establishments that conduct e-commerce business or digital platform-based business activities with organizations and individuals in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as foreign suppliers); organizations that are managers of foreign digital platforms that make tax deduction and tax payment on behalf of foreign suppliers; business organizations in Vietnam applying the value-added tax calculation method of deducting tax on services purchased from foreign suppliers without Vietnam-based permanent establishments through e-commerce channels or digital platforms that make tax deduction and tax payment on behalf of foreign supplier.

5. Organizations being managers of e-commerce floors, managers of digital platforms with the function of making payments that make tax deduction and on-behalf tax payment, and declare deducted tax amounts for business households and individuals doing business on e-commerce floors and digital platforms.

6. The Government details Clauses 1, 4 and 5 of this Article; and provides for regulations on taxpayers in cases where foreign suppliers provide services to buyers being business organizations in Vietnam and apply the tax deduction method prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article.

Article 5. Non-taxable objects

1. Cultivation, planted forest and husbandry products, and reared and fished aquatic products which have not yet been processed into other products or have been just preliminarily processed and sold by producing and fishing organizations and individuals, and products at the stage of importation.

2. Domestic animal breeding products in accordance with the law on animal husbandry, and materials for propagating varieties of plants in accordance with the law on crop production.

3. Animal feed under the law on animal husbandry; aquatic feed under the law on fisheries.

4. Salt products made of seawater, natural rock salt, refined salt and iodized salt in which sodium chloride (NaCl) is a major component.

5. State-owned residential houses sold by the State to current tenants.

6. Irrigation and drainage; soil ploughing and harrowing; dredging of intra-field canals and ditches for agricultural production; services of harvesting farm produce.

7. Transfer of land use rights.

8. Life insurance, health insurance, student insurance, other human-related insurance services; insurance for domestic animals, insurance for plants, other agricultural insurance services; insurance for ships, boats, equipment and other necessary equipment for fishing; and reinsurance; insurance for oil and gas structures and equipment, oil tankers bearing foreign nationalities which are hired by foreign petroleum contractors or sub-contractors for operation in Vietnam’s sea areas or contiguous sea areas subject to the common exploitation regime as agreed between Vietnam and foreign countries with adjacent or opposite seashores.

9. The financial, banking and securities trading and commercial services as follows:

a) Credit provision services in accordance with law on credit institutions and the charges specifically stated in the Loan Agreement of the Vietnamese Government with the foreign lender;

b) Lending services of taxpayers that are not credit institutions;

c) Securities trading, including securities brokerage, securities dealing, securities issuance guarantee, securities investment consultancy, management of securities investment funds, management of securities investment portfolio as prescribed by the law on securities;

d) Capital transfer, including transfer of part or the whole of capital invested in other economic organizations (regardless of establishing or not establishing a new legal person), transfer of securities, transfer of capital contribution rights and other forms of capital transfer as prescribed by law regulations, including the case where an enterprise is sold to another enterprise for production and business and the purchasing enterprise takes over all rights and obligations of the sold enterprise as defined by law regulations. Capital transfer stipulated at this Point does not include investment project transfer or asset sale;

dd) Selling debts, including sales of payables and receivables;

e) Foreign currency trading;

g) Derivative products under the laws on credit institutions, securities and commercial law, including: interest rate swapping, forward contracts, futures contracts; buying or selling options; and other derivative products;

h) Selling security property of debts of government-established organizations of which 100 percent of chartered capital is held by the State with the function of buying and selling debt to deal with bad debts of Vietnam’s credit institutions.

10. Healthcare and animal health services as follows:

a) Healthcare services, including: medical and treatment services, medical preventive services for humans, birth control, convalescence and functional rehabilitation for patients; care for elderly people and people with disabilities; transportation of patients, rent of patient rooms and beds at medical establishments; test, scanning, radiograph; blood and blood preparations for patients.

The service of care for elderly people and people with disabilities covers also medical care, nutritional care and organization of cultural, sports, recreational, physiotherapy and functional rehabilitation for them.

In case a medical treatment service package as provided by the Ministry of Health covers also curative medicines, the revenue from these curative medicines is also not subject to value-added tax;

b) Animal health services, including: medical examination and treatment and preventive services for domestic animals.

11. Funeral services.

12. Activities of renovation, repair and construction of historical-cultural relics, scenic spots, cultural, artistic works, public service works, infrastructure works and residential houses for social policy beneficiaries, which are funded with people’s contributions or humanitarian aid (accounting for 50% or more of the total capital used for the project).

13. Activities of teaching and vocational training as provided for by law on education and vocational education.

14. State budget-funded radio and television broadcasting.

15. Publication, import and distribution of newspapers, journals, bulletins, special editions, political books, textbooks, teaching materials, law books, scientific-technical books, books serving foreign affairs information, books printed in ethnic minority languages, and propaganda paintings, pictures and posters, including those in the forms of audio or visual tapes or discs or electronic data; money and money printing.

16.  Mass transit by bus, trains, inland waterway vessels.

17. Machinery, equipment, parts and supplies which cannot be manufactured at home and need to be imported for direct use in scientific research and technological development; machinery, equipment, spare parts, special-purpose means of transport and supplies which cannot be manufactured at home and need to be imported for prospecting, exploring and developing oil and gas fields; aircraft, helicopters, gliders, drilling platforms and ships which cannot be manufactured at home and need to be imported for the formation of enterprises’ fixed assets or which are hired from foreign parties for production and business activities or for lease.

18. Defense and security products according to the lists issued by the Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Security; imported products and services serving the defense and security industry according to the list issued by the Prime Minister.

19. Goods imported as humanitarian aid or non-refundable aid. Goods and services sold to foreign organizations or individuals or international organizations for use as humanitarian aid, and non-refundable aid to Vietnam.

20. Goods transferred out of border gate or transited via the Vietnamese territory; goods temporarily imported for re-export; goods temporarily exported for re-import; raw materials imported for the production or processing of goods for export under contracts signed with foreign parties; goods and services traded between foreign countries and non-tariff zones and among non-tariff zones.

Goods imported from abroad by the financial leasing companies are transported directly into the non-tariff zones for financial leasing of enterprises in the non-tariff zones.

21. Technology transfer under the Law on Technology Transfer; transfer of intellectual property rights under the Law on Intellectual Property; software products and software services as prescribed by law regulations.

22.  Gold imported in the form of bars or ingots which have not yet been processed into fine-art articles, jewelries or other products.

23. Exported products which are mined natural resources or minerals not yet processed into other products and exported products which are mined natural resources or minerals that have been processed into other products according to the list regulated by the Government, in line with the state's policy of not encouraging and restricting the export of raw natural resources and minerals.

24. Artificial products used for the substitution of diseased people’s organs, including body parts for long-term implantation in the human bodies; crutches, wheelchairs and other tools used exclusively for the disabled.

25. Goods and services of production and business households and individuals with an average annual income of VND 200 million or less; assets sold by non-business organizations and individuals who are not value-added tax payers; national reserve goods sold by the National Reserves; collected charges or fees in accordance with the law on charges and fees.

26. Imported goods, for the following cases:

a) Gifts given to state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations or people’s armed forces units within the import duty-free quota in accordance with the law on import duty and export duty;

b) Gifts or donations within the import duty-free quota in accordance with the law on import duty and export duty from foreign organizations and individuals to Vietnamese individuals; personal effects of foreign organizations and individuals within diplomatic immunity quotas and personal properties within the import duty-free quota in accordance with the law on import duty and export duty;

c) Goods within the import duty-free luggage quota in accordance with the law on import duty and export duty;

d) Imported goods for supporting, sponsoring the prevention, combat, and overcoming of the consequences of catastrophes, natural disasters, epidemics, and wars as regulated by the Government;

dd) Goods purchased, sold and exchanged across borders to serve the production and consumption of border residents included in the List of goods purchased, sold and exchanged by border residents in accordance with law regulations and within the import duty-free quotas as regulated by the law on import duty and export duty;

e) Vestiges, antiques or national precious objects as defined by the law on cultural heritages that are imported by authorized state agencies.

27. Establishments trading goods and services not subject to value-added tax as specified in this Article are not entitled to deduct or reclaim input value-added tax, except for cases of application of 0% tax rate as specified in Clause 1 Article 9 of this Law.

28. The Government shall detail this Article. The Minister of Finance shall prescribe the dossiers and procedures for determination of non-taxable objects prescribed in this Article.

Chapter II

TAX BASES AND TAX CALCULATION METHODS

Article 6. Tax bases

Value-added tax bases include taxable price and tax rate.

Article 7. Taxable price

1. The taxable price is specified as follows:

a) For goods and services sold by business establishments, the taxable price is the selling price exclusive of value-added tax; for excise tax-liable goods and services, the taxable price is the selling price inclusive of excise tax but exclusive of value-added tax; for environmental protection tax-liable goods, the taxable price is the selling price inclusive of environmental protection tax but exclusive of value-added tax; for goods liable to both excise tax and environmental protection tax, the taxable price is the selling price inclusive of excise tax and environmental protection tax but exclusive of value-added tax.

b) For imported goods, the taxable price is the dutiable value of imported goods in accordance with the law on import duty and export duty plus import duty plus taxes being additional import duties under law regulations (if any), plus excise tax (if any) and plus environmental protection tax (if any);

c) For goods and services used for internal consumption and exchange, gifts, and donations, the taxable price is that of the goods or service of the same or similar type at the time of such activities.

For goods and services used for sales promotion in accordance with the commercial law, the taxable price is determined as zero (0);

d) For lease of property, the taxable price is the rent amount exclusive of value-added tax.

In case the rent is paid in installments or prepaid for a lease term, the taxable price is the rent paid in installments or prepaid for the lease term, exclusive of value-added tax.

d) For goods sold on installment or deferred payment, the taxable price is the lump-sum selling price exclusive of value-added tax, excluding interests on installment or deferred payment;

e) For goods processing, the taxable price is the processing price, exclusive of value-added tax;

g) For construction and installation, the taxable price is the value of the completed and taken-over work, work item or job, exclusive of value-added tax. For cases of construction and installation without contracted supply of materials, machinery or equipment, the taxable price is the construction and installation value not including the value of materials, and machinery, equipment;

h) For real estate business activities, the taxable price is the real estate selling price, exclusive of value-added tax minus land use levy or land rental paid to the state budget (the land price to be subtracted). The Government shall prescribe the determination of the land price to be subtracted as prescribed in this Point in accordance with the land law;

i) For commissioned goods and service sale and purchase agency and brokerage activities, the taxable price is the commission earned from these activities excluding value-added tax;

k) For goods and services with payment invoices showing VAT-inclusive payment prices, the taxable price shall be determined by using the following formula:

l) For casino, prize-winning electronic game or betting, the taxable price is the amount earned from these activities minus the amount paid to customers for tokens returned and the prizes paid to customers (if any), including excise tax, excluding value-added tax;

m) For production and business activities including: power production activities of the Vietnam Electricity; transportation, loading and unloading services; tourist services in the form of tours; pawning service; books subject to value-added tax sold at the distribution price (cover price); printing activities; services of assessment agency, agency for indemnity consideration, agency for claiming compensations from third parties and agency for handling of wholly compensated goods for remuneration or commission, the taxable price is the VAT-exclusive selling price. The Government shall prescribe the taxable price for production and business activities specified in this Point.

2. The taxable price for goods and services specified in Clause 1 of this Article covers revenues and surcharges earned by business establishments.

3. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 8. Time of value-added tax determination

1. The time of value-added tax determination is stipulated as follows:

a) For goods, it is the time of transfer of the right to own or use goods to the purchaser, or the time of making an invoice, regardless of whether money has been collected or not;

b) For services, it is the time of completion of provision of services or the time of issuance of the service provision invoice, regardless of whether the invoiced amount is paid or not.

2. The Government shall define the time of value-added tax determination for the following goods and services:

a) Exported goods, imported goods;

b) Telecommunications services;

c) Insurance business services;

d) Activities of supply of electricity, electricity and clean water production activities;

dd) Real estate business activities;

e) Construction, installation and oil and gas activities.

Article 9. Tax rates

1. The 0% tax rate applies to the following goods and services:

a) Exported goods include: goods sold from Vietnam to overseas organizations and individuals and consumed outside Vietnam; goods sold from Vietnam to organizations in non-tariff zones and consumed in non-tariff zones directly serving export production activities; goods sold in quarantine areas to (foreigners or Vietnamese) individuals who have completed exit procedures; goods sold at duty-free shops;

b) Exported services include services provided directly to overseas organizations and individuals and consumed outside Vietnam; or services provided directly to organizations in non-tariff zones and consumed in non-tariff zones directly serving export production activities;

c) Other exported goods and services include international transportation; services for leasing vehicles used outside the territory of Vietnam; aviation and maritime services provided directly or through agents for international transportation; construction and installation of works overseas and in non-tariff zones; digital information products provided to foreign parties with records and documents proving consumption outside Vietnam in accordance with the Government's regulations; spare parts used for repair and maintenance of vehicles, machinery and equipment for foreign parties and consumed outside Vietnam; intermediary processed goods for exportation according to law regulations; goods and services not liable to value-added tax upon exportation, except the cases ineligible for the 0% tax rate provided at Point d of this Clause;

d) Cases ineligible for the 0% tax rate include: offshore transfer of technologies or intellectual property rights; services of offshore reinsurance; credit extension services; capital transfer; derivative products; post and telecommunications services; exported products specified in Clause 23, Article 5 of this Law; tobacco, liquor and beer imported and then exported; petrol and oil purchased domestically sold to business establishments operating in non-tariff zones; automobiles sold to organizations and individuals operating in non-tariff zones.

2. The 5% tax rate applies to the following goods and services:

a) Clean water for production and life, excluding bottled drinking water and other beverages;

b) Fertilizers, ores for fertilizer production, pesticides and animal growth stimulators in accordance with law regulations;

c) Services of digging, embanking and dredging canals, ditches, ponds and lakes for agricultural production; cultivating and tending plants and preventing and controlling pests; and preliminarily processing and preserving agricultural products;

d) Cultivation, planted forest products (except wood and bamboo shoots), husbandry products, reared and fished aquatic products which have not yet been processed into other products or have been just preliminarily processed, except for products specified in Clause 1, Article 5 of this Law;

dd) Latex in the forms of crepe, sheet, strip or granule; nets, net ropes and cords for weaving fishing nets;

e) Products made of jute, rush, bamboo, leaves, straw, coir, coconut shells, water hyacinth, and other handicraft products made of raw materials from agricultural production; carded or combed cotton; newsprint;

g) Fishing vessels in coastal areas; specialized machinery and equipment for agricultural production as prescribed by the Government;

h) Medical equipment as prescribed by law on medical equipment management; preventive and curative medicines; pharmaceutical ingredients, medicinal materials used as materials for the production of preventive and curative medicines;

i) Teaching and learning aids, including: models, drawings, writing boards, chalks, rulers, compasses;

k) Traditional and folk art performance activities;

l) Children’s toys; books of various kinds, excluding books specified in Clause 15 Article 5 of this Law;

m) Scientific and technological services as prescribed by the Law on Science and Technology;

n) Sale, lease and lease-purchase of social houses in accordance with the Housing Law.

3. The 10% tax rate applies to goods and services not specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, including services provided by foreign suppliers without Vietnam-based permanent establishments to organizations and individuals in Vietnam via e-commerce channels and digital platforms.

4. A business establishment trading in many types of goods and services with different value-added tax rates (including those not subject to value-added tax) must declare value-added tax according to each tax rate prescribed for each type of goods and services; if the business establishment does not determine each tax rate, it must calculate and pay tax according to the highest tax rate of the goods and services that the establishment conducts the production and trading.

5. Cultivation, planted forest and husbandry products, and reared and fished aquatic products which have not yet been processed into other products or have been just preliminarily processed and are used as animal feed or medicinal materials shall be subject to the value-added tax rate applicable to cultivation, planted forest and husbandry products, aquatic products.

Discarded products, byproducts, and scrap recovered for recycling and reuse, when being sold, are subject to the value-added tax rate applicable to corresponding goods items of discarded products, byproducts, and scrap sold.

6. The Government shall detail Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. The Minister of Finance shall prescribe the dossier and procedures for application of the 0% value-added tax rate defined in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 10. Tax calculation methods

Value-added tax calculation methods include tax credit method and direct calculation method.

Article 11. Tax credit method

1. The tax credit method is specified as follows:

a) The amount of value-added tax payable under the tax credit method shall be equal to the output value-added tax amount minus the credited input value-added tax amount;

b) The amount of output value-added tax shall be equal to the total value-added tax amount of goods sold or services provided as indicated on an added-value invoice.

The value-added tax amount of the goods and service sold that is indicated on an added-value invoice shall be equal to the taxable price of the sold goods or service subject to value-added tax multiplied by the value-added tax rate applicable to such goods or service.

In case of using an invoice indicating the payment price being the VAT-inclusive price, the output value-added tax amount shall be determined to be equal to this price minus the taxed price specified in Point k, Clause 1, Article 7 of this Law;

c) The credited input value-added tax amount shall be equal to the total value-added tax amount indicated on an added-value invoice for purchasing goods or services, the value-added tax payment document for imported goods or the tax payment document for the purchase of services specified in Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 4 of this Law and satisfying the conditions specified in Article 14 of this Law.

2. The tax credit method applies to business establishments that fully comply with the accounting, invoice and document regimes in accordance with law regulations on accounting, invoices and documents, including:

a) Business establishments having an annual turnover of at least VND 1 billion from goods sale or service provision, except for households and individuals engaged in production and business;

b) Business establishments that voluntarily apply the tax credit method, except for households and individuals engaged in production and business;

c) Foreign organizations and individuals providing goods and services to conduct activities of prospecting, development of oil and gas field, oil and gas production for whom tax is declared, credited and paid by their Vietnamese partners by the credit method.

3. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 12. Direct tax calculation method

1. The amount of value-added tax payable under the direct calculation method on added value is equal to the added value multiplied by the value-added tax rate applicable to the activities of buying, selling and processing gold, silver and precious stones. For gold, silver or gem sale, purchase and fashioning, the payable value-added tax amount calculated by the method of direct calculation on added value shall be equal to the added value multiplied by the applied value-added tax rate.

The added value of the activities of gold, silver or gem sale, purchase and fashioning shall be determined by the payment price of the sold gold, silver and gem minus the payment price of the corresponding purchased gold, silver and gem.

A business establishment engaged in gold, silver or gem sale, purchase and fashioning activities shall separately account these activities so as to pay tax by the method of direct calculation on added value.

2. The amount of value-added tax payable under the turnover-based direct method by multiplying the turnover by the percentage shall be applied as follows:

a) Subjects of application include:

a1) Enterprises, cooperatives and unions of cooperatives that have an annual turnover of less than VND 1 billion, except those registering for voluntary application of the tax credit method prescribed in Clause 2, Article 11 of this Law;

a2) Households and individuals engaged in production and business, except for cases prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article;

a3) Foreign organizations without Vietnam-based permanent establishments, overseas individuals who are non-residents in Vietnam with the turnover earned in Vietnam but have not fully complied the accounting, invoice and document regimes, excluding foreign suppliers prescribed in Clause 4, Article 4 of this Law;

a4) Other organizations, except for cases of paying tax by the credit method prescribed in Clause 2, Article 11 of this Law;

b) The rate (%) used for calculating value-added tax shall be specified as follows:

b1) Distribution and supply of goods: 1%;

b2) Services and construction without contracted supply of materials: 5%;

b3) Production, transportation and services associated with supply of goods, construction with contracted supply of materials: 3%;

b4) Other business activities: 2%;

c) Turnover used for calculation of value-added tax is the total sales of goods and services indicated on goods and service sale invoices, inclusive of extra charges and surcharges enjoyed by business establishments.

3. Households and individuals engaged in production and business that do not comply or fail to fully comply with the accounting, invoice and document regimes as prescribed by law regulations shall pay value-added tax by the tax presumption method in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration.

4. The Government shall detail Clause 1 of this Article. The Minister of Finance shall specify in detail the groups of goods and services subject to the rate defined at Point b Clause 2 of this Article.

Chapter III

TAX CREDIT AND REFUND

Article 13. Prohibited acts related to tax credit and refund

1. Buy, give, sell, organize advertising, broker the buying and selling of invoices.

2. Establish transactions for buying and selling goods, or providing services that are fictitious or conducted in contravention of the law.

3. Make invoices for selling goods, providing services during the period of suspension of business operations, except for the case of making invoices for customers to perform contracts signed before the date of notification of suspension of business operations.

4. Use unlawful invoices or documents or illegally use invoices or documents in accordance with the Government's regulations.

5. Fail to transfer the electronic invoice data to the tax agency according to regulations.

6. Distort, misuse, illegally access, destroy the information system on invoices and documents.

7. Give, receive, broker bribes or performing other acts related to invoices and documents to obtain value-added tax credit, refund, appropriation, and evasion.

8. Tax administration officers or tax administration offices and business establishments or importers; or establishments and importers colluding or linking with or covering up one another for the purposes of using unlawful invoices or documents or illegally using invoices or documents to obtain value-added tax credit, refund, appropriation, and evasion.

Article 14. Input value-added tax credit

1. Business establishments paying value-added tax according to the tax credit method are entitled to credit input value-added tax as follows:

a) Input value-added tax of goods and services used for the production and trading of goods and services liable for value-added tax may be wholly credited, including also the uncompensated input value-added tax on lost goods and services liable for value-added tax, goods exposed to natural loss in transportation due to their physic and chemical properties;

b) For goods or services used for the production of and trading in both goods or services liable and not liable to value-added tax, only the input value-added tax amount on goods or services used for the production of and trading in goods or services liable to value-added tax is creditable. Business establishments shall separately account creditable and non-creditable value-added tax amounts. If it is impossible to do so, the input value-added tax shall be credited based on the percentage (%) of turnover liable to value-added tax to total turnover of sold goods or services;

c) Input value-added tax of goods and services sold to organizations and individuals using  humanitarian aid and non-refundable aid may be wholly credited;

d) Input value-added tax on goods and services used in prospecting, exploring and developing oil and gas fields may be wholly credited;

dd) Input value-added tax amount arising in a month or quarter is declared and credited when determining the amount of tax payable in that month or quarter. The input value-added tax amount that has not been fully credited in a month or in a quarter may have those amounts credited in the subsequent month or quarter.

Business establishments detecting errors or omissions in the declaration and credit of input value-added tax may make declaration before tax offices or competent agencies announce decisions on tax examination and inspection as follows:

Taxpayers shall make additional declaration in the month or quarter in which any error or omission in input value-added tax arises if the tax declaration in such month or quarter results in an increase in the tax payable or a decrease in the tax refundable; the taxpayers must fully pay the increased amount of tax payable or have the corresponding refunded tax recovered and pay any late payment interests (if any) to the state budget. 

Taxpayers shall make declaration in the month or quarter in which any error or omission in input value-added tax is detected if the tax declaration in the month or quarter in which any error or omission in input value-added tax arises results in a decrease in the tax payable or solely causes an increase or decrease in the refundable value-added tax carried forward to the subsequent month or quarter;

e) Business establishments may either account non-creditable input value-added tax amounts as expenses for enterprise income tax calculation or include them in the historical costs of fixed assets in accordance with law regulations on enterprise income tax, except for value-added tax amounts on purchased goods and services without non-cash payment documents according to the Government’s regulations.

g) The Government shall detail the input value-added tax credit applicable to: goods and services forming fixed assets serving employees; cases of contribution of capital in assets; goods and services purchased through authorization to other organizations or individuals and authorized organizations or individuals are named in the purchase invoices; fixed assets being passenger cars of up to 9 seats; production and business establishments which organize closed production and centralized cost-accounting.

2. Conditions for input value-added tax credit are prescribed as follows:

a) Having an added-value invoice on goods or service purchase, or a document proving the payment of value-added tax at the stage of importation, or a document proving the payment of value-added tax on behalf of the foreign party as prescribed in Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 4 of this Law. The Minister of Finance shall prescribe the document of value-added tax payment on behalf of the foreign party;

b) Having a non-cash payment document for purchased goods and services, except for some special cases as prescribed by the Government;

c) For exported goods and services, in addition to the conditions prescribed at Point a and Point b of this Clause, the business establishment must also have: a contract signed with a foreign party on goods sale or processing or service provision; a goods sale or service provision invoice; a non-cash payment document; a customs declaration on exported goods; a packing list, a bill of lading, and goods insurance documents (if any). The Government regulates the conditions for input value-added tax credit for cases of exportation of goods through overseas e-commerce platforms and some other special cases.

3. Business establishments that do not satisfy the regulations on tax credit defined in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and their invoices and documents made from prohibited acts defined in this Law shall not be entitled to value-added tax credit.

4. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 15. Value-added tax refund

1. Tax refunds applicable to export shall be defined as follows:

a) If in a month or a quarter, a business establishment exports goods or services and the input value-added tax amount for exported goods or services not yet credited is VND 300 million or more, the business establishment shall be entitled to value-added tax refund on a monthly or quarterly basis, except for cases where imported goods are then exported to another country;

b) If in a month or a quarter, a business establishment either exports goods or services or sells domestically goods or services, the business establishment must separately account for the input value-added tax used for the production and trading of exported goods and services; If it is impossible to do so, the input value-added tax of exported goods and services shall be determined based on the percentage (%) of turnover of exported goods and services to total turnover of goods or services liable to value-added tax of the period of tax refund. The tax refund period is determined from the value-added tax period with the input value-added tax that has not been fully credited continuously and has not been refunded to the value-added tax period in which the request for a tax refund is filed.

After the clearing with the value-added tax payable on domestically sold goods and services, if the input value-added tax of exported goods and services (including the input value-added tax that may be separately accounted for and the input value-added tax determined according to the above percentage) is VND 300 million or more, the business establishment will be entitled to value-added tax refund for exported goods and services. The refunded value-added tax for exported goods and services shall not exceed 10% of the turnover of exported goods and services of the tax refund period. The input value-added tax amount that has been determined for exported goods and services but has not been refunded because it exceeds 10% of the turnover of exported goods and services of the previous tax refund period shall be credited from the next tax period to determine the amount of value-added tax to be refunded for exported goods and services of the next tax refund period.

2. Tax refund applicable to investment shall be defined as follows:

a) For business establishments that have registered to pay value-added tax by the tax credit method and have investment projects (new investment projects, expanded investment projects) in accordance with the law regulations on investment (including also investment projects subject to phasing or consisting of different items of investment, except for investment projects not involving formation of fixed assets of the enterprise) currently in the investment phase, or oil and gas prospecting, exploration and development projects currently in the investment phase, if the amount of input value-added tax generated in the investment phase has not yet been fully refunded, the business establishments shall clear the input value-added tax amount of investment projects against the payable value-added tax amount for currently conducted production and business activities (if any). After the clearing, if the amount of input value-added tax of investment projects that has not yet been fully credited is VND 300 million or more, business establishments will be entitled to value-added tax refund.

In case an investment project has been completed (including investment projects divided into multiple phases, investment items with phases, completed investment items) but the business establishment has not yet carried out the procedures for the refund of value-added tax arising during the investment phase (for the completed investment item or investment phase), the business establishment shall submit a dossier of request for value-added tax refund according to regulations within 01 year from the date of completion of the investment project or the date of completion of the investment phase or investment item.

The date of completion of the investment project or the date of completion of the investment phase or investment item is the date of turnover generation of the investment project or the date of turnover generation of the investment phase or investment item. The turnover specified in this Clause does not include revenue arising during the trial period, revenue from financial activities, and liquidation of raw materials of investment projects;

c) Business establishments shall not be entitled to value-added tax refund but may carry forward to the next period the tax amount not yet credited of the investment projects under the law on investment for the following projects:

b1) Investment projects of business establishments which fail to sufficiently contribute the charter capital as registered at the time of submission of dossiers of tax refund; investment projects of business establishments which do business in sectors or trades subject to conditional business investment while not fully satisfying the conditions for doing business under the law regulations on investment, or investment projects of business establishments which do business in sectors or trades subject to conditional business investment which fail to fully maintain the business conditions throughout the operation duration, except for investment projects being currently in the investment phase for which, for the time being, it is not required to obtain competent state agencies’ permission for doing business in sectors or trades subject to conditional business investment in accordance with the law on investment and specialized laws; investment projects for which it is not required to obtain permission for doing business in sectors or trades subject to conditional business investment in accordance with the law on investment and specialized laws;

b2) Investment projects on exploitation of natural resources and minerals (except the oil and gas prospecting, exploration and development projects specified at Point a of this Clause), and investment projects on production of products that are mined natural resources or minerals that have been processed into other products prescribed in Clause 23, Article 5 of this Law.

3. For business establishments that only produce goods or provide services subject to 5% value-added tax rate, if their input value-added tax amount not fully credited is VND 300 million or more after 12 consecutive months or 4 consecutive quarters, they are entitled to value-added tax refund; business establishments producing goods or provide services subject to multiple value-added tax rates are entitled to value-added tax refund according to the allocation rate prescribed by the Government.

4. Business establishments paying value-added tax by the credit method are entitled to value-added tax refund upon their dissolution or bankruptcy if they have overpaid value-added tax amounts or input value-added tax amounts not fully credited.

In case a cooperative group paying value-added tax by the credit method is transformed into a cooperative, the cooperative is entitled to inherit the overpaid value-added tax amounts or input value-added tax amounts not fully credited of the cooperative group for tax credit and refund in accordance with regulations.

5. Foreigners and Vietnamese residing abroad holding passports or international travel documents are entitled to tax refund for goods which they purchase in Vietnam and carry abroad upon their exit.

The Government shall prescribe the dossiers, procedures, tax amounts to be refunded, and tax refund methods for the cases specified in this Clause.

6. Value-added tax refund for programs and projects using non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) or non-refundable aid, humanitarian aid shall be regulated as follows:

a) Program or project owners or principal contractors or organizations designated by foreign donors to manage programs or projects funded with non-refundable ODA are entitled to refund of value-added tax amounts paid for goods and services purchased in Vietnam for these programs or projects;

b) Vietnam-based organizations that use non-refundable aid money, humanitarian aid money of foreign organizations or individuals to purchase goods and services for programs or projects funded with non-refundable or humanitarian aid in Vietnam are entitled to refund of value-added tax amounts paid for these goods and services.

7. Persons entitled to diplomatic privileges and immunities in accordance with the law regulations on diplomacy who purchase goods or services in Vietnam for use are entitled to refund of the paid value-added tax amounts indicated in added-value invoices or payment documents indicating value-added tax-inclusive prices.

8. Business establishments having decisions on value-added tax refund of competent agencies in accordance with law regulations and cases of value-added tax refund under treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

9. Business establishments entitled to value-added tax refund prescribed in this Article must satisfy the following conditions:

a) Business establishments entitled to value-added tax refund prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article must be business establishments that pay value-added tax by the credit method, open and keep accounting books and documents in accordance with the accounting law; and have a bank deposit account according to their tax identification numbers;

b) Satisfy the regulations on input value-added tax credit as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 14 and do not fall into the cases prescribed in Clause 3, Article 14 of this Law;

c) The seller has declared and paid value-added tax in accordance with regulations for invoices issued to the business establishments requesting a tax refund.

10. Taxpayers entitled to value-added tax refund, whose input value-added tax amounts fully satisfy the conditions for tax refund as prescribed in this Article and complying with the regulations on tax declaration under the law on tax administration shall prepare dossiers of request for value-added tax refund for each tax refund case and send them to the competent tax agency for receipt.

The tax agency shall classify dossiers of request for value-added tax refund eligible for tax refund before examination or subject to examination before tax refund and process such dossiers in accordance with the law on tax administration.

11. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 16. Invoices and documents

1. Goods and service purchase and sale must be accompanied by invoices and documents according to law and the following regulations:

a) Business establishments which apply the tax credit method shall use added-value invoices. In case value-added tax-subject goods or services are sold with added-value invoices that do not indicate value-added tax amounts, the output value-added tax shall be determined to be the payment price indicated in the invoice multiplied by the value-added tax rate, except cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Business establishments which apply the direct tax calculation method shall use sale invoices.

2. For stamps, tickets and cards which are payment documents pre-printed with payment prices, those prices are inclusive of value-added tax.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 17. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 Article 3 of the Law on Personal Income Tax No. 04/2007/QH12, which was amended and supplemented by Law No. 26/2012/QH13 and Law No. 71/2014/QH13

“1. Incomes from business activities, including:

a) Incomes from goods production or trading or service provision;

b) Incomes from independent professional activities of individuals possessing practice licenses or certificates in accordance with law regulations.

Incomes from business activities specified in this Clause exclude incomes of households and individuals engaged in production and business with an turnover below the level specified in Clause 25, Article 5 of the Law on Value-Added Tax.”

Article 18. Effect

1. This Law takes effect on July 01, 2025, except for cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Regulations on the revenue level of households and individuals engaged in production and business not subject to value-added tax in Clause 25, Article 5 of this Law and Article 17 of this Law shall take effect from January 1, 2026.

3. Law on Value-Added Tax No. 13/2008/QH12, which was amended and supplemented by Law No. 31/2013/QH13, Law No. 71/2014/QH13 and the Law No. 106/2016/QH13 shall cease to be effective from the effective date of this Law.

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This Law was adopted on November 26, 2024, by the XV^thNational Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 8^th session.