TAX ADMINISTRATION
- New Organizational Structure of the Tax Sector:
The organizational structure of the Tax sector and tax authorities at all levels has been reorganized under: Decision No. 381/QĐ-BTC dated February 26, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which stipulates the functions, duties, powers, and organizational structure of the Tax Department (formerly the General Department of Taxation); Decision No. 904/QĐ-BTC dated March 3, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which stipulates the functions, duties, powers, and organizational structure of Regional Tax Sub-Departments; and Decision No. 15/QĐ-CT dated March 3, 2025, issued by the Tax Department, which stipulates the functions, duties, powers, and organizational structure of District-level Tax Teams.
Accordingly, the tax authority system is organized vertically from the central to the local level under a three-tier model:
a) Tax Department (formerly the General Department of Taxation);
b) Regional Tax Sub-Departments (20 Regional Tax Sub-Departments have been established to replace the previous 63 Provincial/Municipal Tax Departments);
c) District-level Tax Teams.
The new tax administration model is built on the principle of “management by taxpayer combined with functional responsibility.” Under this model, each tax officer is assigned to manage specific taxpayers and is responsible for providing comprehensive support, including tax registration, tax declaration, tax debt management, policy consultation and support, and overall tax administration.,…
(Decision No. 381/QĐ-BTC dated February 26, 2025, and Decision No. 904/QĐ-BTC dated March 3, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance; Decision No. 15/QĐ-CT dated March 3, 2025, issued by the Tax Department)
- New Organizational Structure of the Customs Sector:
The organizational structure of the Customs sector and Regional Customs Sub-Departments has been reorganized under: Decision No. 382/QĐ-BTC dated February 26, 2025, which stipulates the functions, duties, powers, and organizational structure of the Customs Department (formerly the General Department of Customs); Decision No. 966/QĐ-BTC dated March 5, 2025, which stipulates the functions, powers, and organizational structure of Customs Sub-Departments under the Customs Department; The Customs Department also issued Decision No. 10/QĐ-CHQ dated March 5, 2025, defining the organizational units under the Regional Customs Sub-Departments.
Accordingly, the Customs authority system is organized vertically from the Central to the Local level in a three-tier model:
a) Central Level: The Customs Department (formerly the General Department of Customs), comprising 12 units;
b) Local Level: Includes 20 Regional Customs Sub-Departments. Each region oversees one or several localities that share similarities in terms of geography, culture, transportation, economy, society, and the scale of import-export activities;
c) Border/Non-border Customs Units: Under the authority of the Regional Customs Sub-Departments.
Accordingly, the organizational structure of the Customs sector and its various agencies will be restructured with the goals of rejuvenating the workforce, enhancing capacity, and sharing experiences across regions; reorganizing the structure of the sector according to the direction of streamlining the management apparatus, reducing intermediate points, minimizing functional overlaps, improving operational efficiency, and reducing state budget expenditures; and promoting the process of modernization and digitalization according to the Customs sector development strategy through 2030.
(Decision No. 382/QĐ-BTC dated February 26, 2025, and Decision No. 966/QĐ-BTC dated March 5, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance; Decision No. 10/QĐ-CHQ dated March 5, 2025, issued by the Customs Department)
- Official Dispatch No. 4370/BTC-DNTN on Business Registration in Case of Provincial Mergers, Abolishment of District-Level Units, and Commune Mergers:
In accordance with the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister under Decision No. 571/QĐ-TTg dated March 12, 2025, on the establishment of the Steering Committee for the reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the development of a two-tier local government model, the Ministry of Finance provides the following guidance on business registration in cases of changes in administrative boundaries:
a) Enterprises and business entities may continue to use their previously issued Business Registration Certificates, Household Business Registration Certificates, Cooperative Registration Certificates, Partnership Registration Certificates, and Certificates of Branch/Representative Office/Business Location Registration.
b) The business registration authority shall not require enterprises, household businesses, cooperatives, cooperative unions, or partnerships to register changes of address solely due to changes in administrative boundaries.
(Official Dispatch No. 4370/BTC-DNTN dated April 5, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance)
CORPORATE INCOME TAX (CIT)
- Determining deductible expenses related to depreciation of fixed assets:
In cases where a fixed asset lacks documentation proving ownership by the enterprise (e.g., the enterprise has not been granted the Land Use Rights Certificate or Certificate of Ownership of assets attached to land), as prescribed by law, the asset does not meet the conditions for depreciation to be included as a deductible expense when calculating taxable income for CIT purposes.
(Official Dispatch No. 655/TCT-CS dated February 14, 2025, issued by the General Department of Taxation))
- Land rental expenses for unused areas not deductible:
In cases where a company incurs a one-time payment for land lease and management fees for leased land not yet used for production or business activities, such expenses are not deductible when determining taxable income for corporate income tax (CIT) purposes at the time the land has not yet been put into use for the company’s production or business operations.
(Official Dispatch No. 140/CT-CS dated March 14, 2025, issued by the Tax Department)
VALUE-ADDED TAX (VAT)
- Guidance on VAT declaration and deduction for online advertising invoices:
One of the conditions for deducting input VAT is having a valid VAT invoice for purchased goods or services, or documentation for VAT paid at the import stage, or documentation for VAT paid on behalf of foreign parties.
According to the invoices attached to the inquiry letter from the company, which were issued by foreign suppliers, these are businesses operating on digital platforms that have registered for tax in Vietnam, paying VAT and corporate income tax (CIT) based on the revenue ratio method (the General Department of Taxation publicly lists foreign suppliers who have registered for tax on the Foreign Supplier Portal at: etaxvn.gdt.gov.vn). These invoices are not VAT invoices for organizations declaring VAT under the credit method and therefore do not meet the conditions for input VAT deduction as stipulated by the law.
(Official Dispatch No. 473/CTPHY-TTHT dated February 20, 2025, issued by the Phu Yen Tax Department)
- VAT guidance on goods exported through foreign e-commerce platforms:
Based on the feedback from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Information and Communications, in cases where an enterprise engages in the sale of goods on foreign e-commerce platforms, the enterprise does not meet the conditions to apply the 0% VAT rate or to deduct or refund VAT in accordance with the current VAT law.
(Official Dispatch No. 986/TCT-CS dated February 28, 2025, issued by the General Department of Taxation)
PERSONAL INCOME TAX (PIT)
- Issuance of the automatic personal income tax (PIT) refund process::
Immediately after the deadline for submitting the PIT finalization declaration of the income-paying organization, the Tax Department’s application will automatically review and compile the data to generate a suggested PIT finalization declaration.
Taxpayers, as individuals, can use the eTax Mobile application or the eTax service for individuals provided by the General Department of Taxation to check the information on the suggested PIT finalization declaration automatically generated by the Tax Department’s application.
If the taxpayer agrees with the information on the suggested PIT finalization declaration, they can confirm and submit the tax finalization dossier via the application. In case of disagreement with the suggested PIT finalization declaration, the taxpayer is allowed to correct the information in the corresponding fields and add explanations for the discrepancies with the data suggested by the Tax Department, then proceed to submit the final tax return with supporting documentation.
For suggested PIT finalization declarations requesting a refund, if they meet the following conditions, the system will process the refund automatically:
a) At the time of processing the PIT refund application, the income-paying organization has completed its obligation to remit the PIT that has been withheld, or the total PIT paid by the individual taxpayer into the state budget for the tax period in which the refund is requested.
b) The PIT refund application has the “Total taxable income” item matching the data compiled in the tax period’s finalization based on the tax authority’s database at the time of processing the application, and the “Total tax refund requested” item is less than or equal to the data compiled in the finalization of the tax period in the tax authority’s database.
c) The taxpayer’s refund bank account information has been verified and linked to the tax authority’s database.
However, if the conditions outlined above are not met, the system will propose to assign a department or tax officer to check and process each individual tax refund application.
(Decision No. 108/QĐ-TCT dated January 24, 2025, issued by the General Department of Taxation; Official Letter No. 126/DNL-THNV dated February 14, 2025, issued by the Large Enterprise Tax Department.)
OTHER CONTENTS
- Decree 81/2025/ND-CP dated April 2, 2025, on the Extension of the Deadline for Paying Special Consumption Tax on Domestically Produced Cars:
This Decree applies to: enterprises producing or assembling automobiles in Vietnam; tax authorities; and other relevant organizations and individuals.
The deadline for paying special consumption tax is extended for the tax amount due for the tax periods of February, March, April, May, and June 2025 for domestically produced or assembled automobiles. The extension is effective from the original deadline for payment as stipulated by the tax laws until November 20, 2025.
After the extended period under this Decree, the payment of special consumption tax on domestically produced or assembled automobiles will be subject to the current regulations.
- Decree 90/2025/ND-CP amending Decree 17/2012/ND-CP guiding the Independent Audit Law:
The decree adds enterprises and organizations for which the law requires the annual financial statements to be audited by an audit firm or a branch of a foreign audit firm in Vietnam, including:
a) Adding other large-scale enterprises as specified in Point d, Clause 1, Article 37 of the Independent Audit Law 2011, which meet at least two out of the three following criteria:
- Having an average number of employees participating in social insurance of 200 or more per year;
- Having annual total revenue of 300 billion VND or more;
- Having total assets of 100 billion VND or more.
b) Adding the principle for determining the average number of employees participating in social insurance, annual total revenue, and total assets of other large-scale enterprises as specified.
(Decree 90/2025/ND-CP, dated April 14, 2025, effective from April 14, 2025)