Vietnam

2 % VAT reduction on Standard VAT rate for 2023 The Vietnamese government has approved tax reductions for 2023. As a result of this new approval, 2% VAT reductions will be applied to goods and services subject to 10% VAT until December 31, 2023.     This reduction is designed to help businesses cope with rising interest rates, poor liquidity, and higher logistics prices, as well as boost the economy. 

Standard VAT rate will resume to 10% from 1st January 2023 We previously communicated about the temporary reduction of the standard VAT rate in Vietnam from 10% to 8%, effective from 1 February 2022 to 31 December 2022. According to Decree 15/2022, the standard VAT rate will be reinstated back to 10% from 1 January 2023.

Proposal for temporary VAT reduction on oils  The Ministry of Finance in Vietnam has proposed to reduce the VAT on petrol and oil by 20% or 50%, lasting for six months.   According to the Ministry, an increase in inflation is occurring in many countries, and the global oil price will continue to fluctuate. For this reason, it is imperative to reduce taxes on petrol and oil to curb inflation and stimulate the economy.  The proposal has been passed onto the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration. 

No requirement for e-invoices for export customs declarations

A recent notification (No. 2054) issued by the General Department of Customs (GDC) set forth the requirements for invoices for exported goods.

According to the notification, invoice to be used for export customs declarations is a commercial invoice or equivalent document, and that it is not required to issue additional electronic VAT invoices to perform export customs procedures.

Launch the tax portal for cross-border businesses Vietnam's General Department of Taxation (GDT) has launched a web portal for foreign suppliers involved in cross-border business activities in Vietnam. The web portal allows cross-border businesses to register, declare, and pay tax without submitting any physical paperwork to the Vietnamese tax authorities. Through this new portal, foreign cross-border businesses will be able to pay their taxes directly instead of relying upon a third party. The Vietnamese government also seeks to address the shortfall in tax collection, particularly from foreign businesses on Vietnam-sourced income.

Temporary reduction in VAT standard rate The Vietnamese government released Decree 15/2022/ND-CP on 28 January 2022 providing tax exemptions and reductions under Resolution 43/2022/QH15, this aims to support social-economic recovery and development. One of the key points of this Decree is the temporary reduction on the standard VAT rate:

• The VAT for goods and services is reduced from 10% to 8%.
• This change will be effective from 1 February 2022 to 31 December 2022.

New Circular guiding the Tax admin law 2019 and Decree 123/2020 on E-invoice

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance has issued Circular 78/2021 on 17 September 2021 to guide the implementation of several articles of the Law on Tax Administration and the Government’s Decree 123 on invoices and documents.

The following are some noteworthy points from the circular:

• For business using e-invoice without verification code, the e-invoice data must be transmitted to the tax authority within the date the e-invoice is sent to the buyer at the latest, except for certain sectors such as telecommunication, insurance, banking, air transportation, securities, etc.
• If an enterprise uses e-invoices without verification code and would like to switch to e-invoices with verification code, they should follow the guidelines outlined in Article 15 of Decree 123/2020.
• When an e-invoice has errors that must be corrected or replaced, buyer can choose to notify the amendment for each e-invoice with errors or for multiple e-invoices with errors using a prescribed form. This form must be submitted to the tax authorities by the last day of the VAT declaration period.

Introduction to Vietnam’s mandatory e-invoicing

In 2020, Vietnam delayed its implementation date of mandatory electronic invoicing until July 1, 2022. So far, we have not heard signals that suggest any further delay.

From July 2022, paper and PDF invoices no longer qualify as valid tax invoices. Under the mandate, the e-invoice must be in XML format, include a digital signature and be securely stored for ten years. In addition, Invoices need to be in Vietnamese language; a second language is allowed. The second language needs to be placed in brackets next to the Vietnamese texts or under the Vietnamese texts using a smaller font.

There will be two types of e-invoices: the e-invoice with tax verification code and e-invoice without tax verification code. The process with the tax verification code is so -called pre-clearance where invoice data must be submitted to the tax office (GDT- General Department of Tax). Upon registration and approval of the invoice data, the tax office returns a specific code that needs to be included in the invoice that is sent to the buyer. The requirement to add a tax verification code to the invoices depends on the taxpayer’s business sector, tax risk, and annual revenue.

To use either type of e-invoice in Vietnam, companies must register and receive approval from the Vietnamese tax authorities via the website of the General Taxation Department.