Are imported goods subject to excise tax in Vietnam?

What are the 10 goods subject to excise tax in Vietnam according to current regulations?

Under Article 2 of the Excise Tax Law 2008, amended by Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to Excise Tax Law 2014, the following goods are subject to excise tax according to current regulations:

- Cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco preparations used for smoking, inhaling, chewing, sniffing or keeping in mouth;

- Liquor;

- Beer;

- Under-24-seat cars, including cars for both passenger and cargo transportation with two or more rows of seats and fixed partitions between passenger holds and cargo holds;

- Two- and three-wheeled motorcycles of a cylinder capacity of over 125 cm3;

- Aircraft and yachts;

- Gasoline;

- Air-conditioners of 90,000 BTU or less;

- Playing cards;

- Votive gilt papers and votive objects.

Are imported goods subject to excise tax in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Are imported goods subject to excise tax in Vietnam?

According to Article 3 of the Excise Tax Law 2008, imported goods subject to excise tax are exempt from excise tax in the following cases:

- Goods as humanitarian aid or non-refundable aid; gifts for state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-profcssional organizations or people’s armed forces units; and donations or gifts for individuals in Vietnam within the quotas prescribed by the Government;

- Goods transited or transported via Vietnamese border gates or borders, and goods transported to and from border gates under the Government’s regulations;

- Goods temporarily imported for re-export and temporarily exported for re-import which are not subject to import duty or export duty within the time limit specified in the law on import duty and export duty;

- Personal effects of foreign organizations and individuals within diplomatic immunity quotas; personal belongings within duty-free luggage quotas; and goods imported for duty-free sale under law;

Other goods excluded in the above-listed cases are still subject to excise tax.

What are the regulations on determining excise taxable prices in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 6 of the Excise Tax Law 2008, with some amendments from Clause 3, Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to excise tax Law 2014 and Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Amendments to Law on Value Added Tax, Excise Tax Law, and Law onTax Administration 2016, taxable prices of goods/services are selling prices of goods services exclusive of special excise tax, environmental protection tax, and VAT, and are prescribed as follows:

- Taxable prices of goods domestically produced and imports are selling prices imposed by manufacturers or importers.

Where goods subject to special excise tax are sold to a trading establishment which has a parent company-subsidiary company relationship or subsidiaries in the same parent company as the manufacturer or importer, or a trading establishment has an association therewith, the taxable price must not fall below the percentage (%) of average price paid by the trading establishments directly buying from the manufacturers or importers prescribed by the Government;

- Taxable prices of imports at importation are the prices subject to import duty plus (+) import duty. If imports are eligible for exemption or reduction of import duty, taxable price shall not include the reduction or exemption. Special excise tax on goods that was paid at importation may be deducted when determining the special excise tax on goods when they are sold;

- For processed goods, it is the taxed price of the goods sold by processing-ordering establishment or the selling price of the product of the same or similar kind at the same time with the time of goods sale;

- For goods sold on installment or deferred payment, it is the one-off selling price of such goods, exclusive of the installment or deferred payment interest;

- For services, it is the service charge set by the service provider. The service provision in a number of cases is specified as follows:

+ For golf business, it is the selling price of the membership card or golf-playing ticket, inclusive of the golf playing charge and deposit (if any);

+ For casino, prize-winning video game and betting business, it is the turnover from such business minus the prize already paid to customers;

+ For dance hall, massage parlor and karaoke bar business, it is the turnover from such business.

- For goods and services used for barter, internal consumption or donation, it is the excise taxed price of the goods or service of the same or similar kind at the time of barter, internal consumption or donation.

Excise taxed prices of goods and services specified in this Article are inclusive of additional charges and revenues (if any) enjoyed by business establishments.

Taxed prices are calculated in Vietnam dong. In case taxpayers have foreign-currency turnover, foreign-currency amounts must be converted into Vietnam (long at the average exchange rate on the inter-bank foreign currency market, announced by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of turnover generation, for determination of taxed prices.