Can players play games without verifying their accounts in Vietnam? Do players receiving prizes from competitions have to pay personal income tax?
Can players play games without verifying their accounts in Vietnam?
A player, understood as someone who plays video games, uses electronic devices to interact with other players.
Pursuant to Article 37 of Decree 147/2024/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:
Principles for managing online video games
1. online video games are classified as follows:
a) video games with interaction between multiple players simultaneously through the enterprise's game server system (referred to as G1 games);
b) video games with interaction only between the player and the enterprise's game server system (referred to as G2 games);
c) video games with interaction between multiple players but no interaction with the enterprise's game server system (referred to as G3 games);
d) video games downloaded over the network with no interaction between players or with the enterprise's game server system (referred to as G4 games);
e) For new forms of online video games not covered in points a, b, c, d of this clause, the Ministry of Information and Communications advises and proposes management measures for submission to the Prime Minister of Vietnam for consideration and decision.
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And pursuant to point e, clause 1, Article 39 of Decree 147/2024/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:
Issuance of G1 network video game service license
1. Enterprises are granted a license to provide G1 network video game services when fulfilling the following conditions:
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e) Having a technical equipment system ensuring full storage and updating of players' information in Vietnam, including: Full name; date of birth; mobile phone number in Vietnam. Account verification implementation using mobile phone numbers in Vietnam ensures that only verified accounts can participate in gaming; in cases where the player is under 16, the parent or legal guardian must register the account using the parent's or guardian's information according to civil law and is responsible for supervising and managing the gaming time and content accessed by players under 16; player information should be erased after the storage period expires as prescribed;
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And the regulation at point e, clause 1, Article 48 of Decree 147/2024/ND-CP pertains to G2, G3, G4 games as follows:
Issuance of certificate for G2, G3, G4 network video game service
1. Enterprises are granted a certificate to provide G2, G3, G4 games on the network when meeting the following conditions:
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e) Having a technical equipment system ensuring full storage and updating of players' information in Vietnam, including: Full name; date of birth; mobile phone number in Vietnam. Account verification implementation using mobile phone numbers in Vietnam ensures that only verified accounts can participate in gaming*; if the player is under 16, the parent or legal guardian must register the account using the parent's or guardian's information according to civil law and is responsible for supervising and managing the gaming time and content accessed by players under 16; player information should be erased after the storage period expires as prescribed;*
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Therefore, based on the aforementioned regulations, if account verification is not applied, players will not be allowed to participate in video games.
Can players play games without verifying their accounts in Vietnam? Do players receiving prizes from competitions have to pay personal income tax? (Image from the Internet)
Do players receiving prizes from competitions have to pay personal income tax in Vietnam?
Pursuant to clause 6, Article 3 of the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007, amended by clause 2, Article 2 of the Law Amending Tax Laws 2014, the taxable income is specified as follows:
Taxable Income
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6. Income from winning prizes, including:
a) Lottery winnings;
b) Prizes from promotional activities;
c) Prizes from betting activities;
d) Prizes from games*, competitions with prizes, and other forms of winning.*
e) Other benefits that the taxpayer receives either in cash or non-cash;
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Moreover, according to clause 1, Article 15 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, amended by Article 18 of Circular 92/2015/TT-BTC, guidelines on the tax basis for income from winning prizes are as follows:
Tax Basis for Income from Winning Prizes
The basis for tax calculation on income from winning prizes is taxable income and tax rate.
- Taxable income
Taxable income from winning prizes is the value of the prize exceeding 10 million VND that the taxpayer receives per occurrence of winning, regardless of the number of times they receive the prize.
In cases where a prize is won by multiple individuals, the taxable income is allocated to each prize recipient. The winner must present legal evidence. If there is no legal proof, the prize-winning income is attributed to one individual. If an individual wins multiple prizes in a single competition, the taxable income is based on the total value of the prizes.
Taxable income for certain prize-winning games. Specifically:
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c) For winnings in betting, the entire prize value exceeding 10 million VND that the participant receives before any deductions for expenses is taxable.
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Additionally, pursuant to clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007, the subjects liable for personal income tax are resident individuals with taxable income specified in Article 3 of the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007 arising inside and outside the territory of Vietnam, and non-resident individuals with taxable income specified in Article 3 of the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007 arising within the territory of Vietnam.
From the above provisions, it can be seen that players who receive prizes from competitions must fulfill their obligation to pay personal income tax as the income arising from competition prizes is income from winnings subject to personal income tax.
Note: players are required to pay personal income tax only when the value of the prize exceeds 10 million VND per occurrence of winning, regardless of the number of times they receive the prize.
What types of income are exempt from personal income tax in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 4 of the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007, supplemented by clause 3, Article 2 of the Law Amending Tax Laws 2014, and amended by clause 2, Article 1 of the Law on Personal Income Tax Amendment 2012, the following types of individual income are exempt from personal income tax:
- Income from real estate transfers between spouses; biological parents and children; adoptive parents and adopted children; in-laws to daughter-in-laws; father-in-law, mother-in-law with son-in-law; paternal grandparents and grandchildren; maternal grandparents and grandchildren; siblings.
- Income from the transfer of houses, residential land use rights, and assets attached to residential land of an individual in cases where the individual owns only one house, residential land.
- Income from the value of land use rights allocated by the State.
- Income from inheritances, gifts of real estate between spouses; biological parents and children; adoptive parents and adopted children; in-laws to daughter-in-laws; father-in-law, mother-in-law with son-in-law; paternal grandparents and grandchildren; maternal grandparents and grandchildren; siblings.
- Income of households, individuals directly engaged in agricultural production, forestry, salt-making, aquaculture not processed into other products or only undergo normal preliminary processing.
- Income from the exchange of agricultural land for households, individuals granted by the State for production.
- Income from interest on deposits at credit institutions, interest from life insurance contracts.
- Income from remittances.
- The portion of night shift wage, overtime wage paid higher than the day shift wage and regular working hours as prescribed by law.
- Pensions paid by the Social Insurance Fund; pensions paid monthly by voluntary pension funds.
- Income from scholarships, including:
+ Scholarships awarded from the state budget;
+ Scholarships awarded by domestic and foreign organizations under the scholarship support program of those organizations.
- Income from insurance compensation contracts, non-life insurance, occupational accident compensation, state compensation, and other compensations as prescribed by law.
- Income received from charitable funds permitted or recognized by competent state agencies for establishment or recognition, operating for non-profit, humanitarian, and charitable purposes.
- Income received from foreign aid for charitable and humanitarian purposes in the form of government and non-governmental aid approved by competent state agencies.
- Income from wages and remunerations of Vietnamese sailors working for foreign shipping lines or Vietnamese shipping companies engaged in international transport.
- Income of individuals who are ship owners, individuals who have the right to use ships, and individuals working on ships from activities supplying goods, services directly serving offshore fishery exploitation and catching.
