As of July 1, 2025, are invoices under 20 million VND required to be paid via bank transfer in Vietnam?

As of July 1, 2025, are invoices under 20 million VND required to be paid via bank transfer in Vietnam?

Based on Point b, Clause 2, Article 12 of the Value Added Tax Law 2008 (amended by Clause 6, Article 1 of the Amended Value Added Tax Law 2013) governing input value-added tax deductions as follows:

Input Value-Added Tax Deductions

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2. Conditions for deducting input value-added tax are stipulated as follows:

a) There must be a value-added tax invoice for purchase of goods, services, or a document proving payment of value-added tax at the import stage;

b) There must be non-cash payment documents for purchased goods and services, except for goods and services purchased occasionally worth less than twenty million VND;

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Additionally, based on Point b, Clause 2, Article 14 of the Value Added Tax Law 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025) stipulating conditions for deducting input value-added tax as follows:

Input Value-Added Tax Deductions

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2. Conditions for deducting input value-added tax are stipulated as follows:

a) There must be a value-added tax invoice for purchase of goods, services, or a document proving payment of value-added tax at the import stage or a document for paying value-added tax on behalf of a foreign party as stipulated in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 4 of this Law. The Minister of Finance shall regulate the documents for paying value-added tax on behalf of foreign parties;

b) There must be non-cash payment documents for purchased goods and services, except for certain special cases as specified by the Government of Vietnam;

c) For exported goods and services, besides the conditions specified in Point a and Point b of this Clause, there must be: a contract signed with a foreign party for selling, processing goods, or providing services; a sales invoice for goods and services; non-cash payment documents; a customs declaration form for exported goods; packing slips, bill of lading, insurance documents for goods (if any). The Government of Vietnam regulates the conditions for deductions for cases of exporting goods through foreign e-commerce platforms and some other special cases.

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Thus, under current regulations, invoices worth less than 20 million VND do not need to be paid via bank transfer (have non-cash payment documents) to be eligible for input value-added tax deductions.

However, from July 1, 2025, according to the 2024 Value Added Tax Law, all purchased goods and services must be paid via bank transfer (have non-cash payment documents), except for certain special cases as specified by the Government of Vietnam.

This means that from July 1, 2024, all invoices, including those under 20 million VND, must be paid via bank transfer to be eligible for input value-added tax deductions.

As of July 1, 2025, are invoices under 20 million VND required to be paid via bank transfer in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Which goods and services are subject to a 0% tax rate in Vietnam starting July 1, 2025?

Based on Clause 1, Article 9 of the Value Added Tax Law 2024, the goods and services subject to a 0% tax rate starting July 1, 2025 are stipulated as follows:

- Export goods include: goods from Vietnam sold to organizations, individuals abroad and consumed outside Vietnam; goods from domestic Vietnam sold to organizations in the non-tariff zone and consumed within the non-tariff zone directly serving export production activities; goods sold in isolation areas to individuals (foreigners or Vietnamese) who have completed exit procedures; goods sold at duty-free shops;

- Export services include: services directly provided to organizations, individuals abroad and consumed outside Vietnam; services directly provided to organizations in the non-tariff zone and consumed within the non-tariff zone directly serving export production activities;

- Other exported goods and services include: international transportation; vehicle leasing services used outside the territory of Vietnam; services of the aviation and maritime industry provided directly or through agents for international transport; construction and installation activities abroad or in the non-tariff zone; digital content products provided to foreign parties and have records, documents proving consumption outside Vietnam as regulated by the Government of Vietnam; spare parts, materials for repair and maintenance of vehicles, machinery, equipment for foreign parties and consumed outside Vietnam; processed goods for export according to legal regulations; goods and services non-taxable under the value-added tax when exported, except for cases not applying the 0% tax rate stipulated at Point d, Clause 1, Article 9 of the Value Added Tax Law 2024;

Which are prohibited acts in tax deduction and refund in Vietnam as of July 1, 2025?

According to the provisions of Article 13 of the Value Added Tax Law 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), prohibited acts in tax deduction and refund include:

- Buying, selling, advertising, organizing brokerage for the purchase, sale of invoices.

- Creating transactions of buying, selling goods, providing services that do not actually exist or transactions not conformable to the law.

- Issuing invoices for goods and services during periods of suspended business operations, except in cases where invoices are issued to customers to fulfill contracts signed before the notification of business suspension.

- Using illegal invoices, documents; illegal use of invoices, documents as stipulated by the Government of Vietnam.

- Failing to transmit electronic invoice data to tax authorities as required.

- Altering, misusing, unauthorized accessing, destroying the information systems related to invoices, documents.

- Offering, receiving, brokering bribes or committing other acts related to invoices, documents to claim tax deduction, tax refund, tax appropriation, or tax evasion of value-added tax.

- Colluding, covering up; conspiring between tax management officials, tax management agencies and businesses, importers; between businesses, importers in using illegal invoices, documents; illegal use of invoices, documents to claim tax deduction, tax refund, tax appropriation, or tax evasion of value-added tax.