Do businesses importing 7-seat vehicles into non-tariff areas in Vietnam have to pay excise tax?
Do businesses importing 7-seat vehicles into non-tariff areas in Vietnam have to pay excise tax?
According to Article 2 of the Law on excise tax 2008 (amended by Clause 1 Article 1 of the Law amending Law on excise tax 2014), the objects subject to excise tax are specified as follows:
Objects subject to tax
1. Goods:
a) Cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products for smoking, sniffing, chewing, inhaling;
b) Alcohol;
c) Beer;
d) Automobiles of less than 24 seats, including automobiles designed for both passenger and cargo transport with two or more rows of seats and a fixed partition between the passenger and cargo compartments;
đ) Motorcycles with a cylinder capacity of over 125cm3;
e) Aircraft, yachts;
g) Various types of gasoline;
h) Air conditioners of 90,000 BTU or less;
i) Playing cards;
k) Votive papers, related goods.
2. Services:
a) Discotheque business;
b) Massage and karaoke business;
c) Casino business; electronic gaming with prizes including jackpot machines, slot machines, and similar machines;
d) Betting business;
đ) Golf business including golf membership sales and playing fee;
e) Lottery business.
And according to Clause 5 Article 3 of the Law on excise tax 2008 on non-taxable objects, it is specified as follows:
Non-taxable objects
Goods specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Law are not subject to excise tax in the following cases:
.....
5. Goods imported from abroad into non-tariff areas, goods sold domestically into non-tariff areas and solely used within non-tariff areas, goods traded among non-tariff areas, except for passenger vehicles of less than 24 seats.
Thus, based on the aforementioned regulations, businesses importing 7-seat vehicles into a non-tariff area are subject to excise tax.
Do businesses importing 7-seat vehicles into non-tariff areas in Vietnam have to pay excise tax? (Image from Internet)
What goods can businesses in the non-tariff area import and export in Vietnam?
According to Article 9 of the Operating Regulations of non-tariff areas within economic zones, border economic zones issued with Decision 100/2009/QD-TTg, regulations on imports and exports in non-tariff areas are as follows:
Exports and imports in non-tariff areas
1. Entities operating within non-tariff areas are permitted to export and import various types of goods, except those on the list of goods prohibited from export, import, temporarily suspended from export, and import as stipulated by Vietnamese law.
2. Export and import of goods on the list of goods for licensed export, import, conditionally exported, imported goods, goods subject to business restrictions, are implemented according to Vietnamese law.
Thus, entities operating in non-tariff areas are allowed to export and import various goods, excluding those on the list of goods prohibited from export, import, or temporarily suspended from export and import as prescribed by Vietnamese law.
Meanwhile, the export and import of goods that fall under the list of licensed import and export, conditionally imported and exported goods, and goods with business restrictions are conducted in accordance with Vietnamese law.
The list of goods prohibited from export and import is specified in Appendix I issued with Decree 69/2018/ND-CP as follows:
I. LIST OF GOODS PROHIBITED FROM EXPORT
| No. | Description of Goods | Ministry/Authority in Charge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weapons, ammunition, explosives (excluding industrial explosives), military technical equipment. | Ministry of National Defense |
| 2 | Cryptographic products used to protect state secret information. | Ministry of National Defense |
| 3 | a) Relics, antiques, national treasures according to the law on cultural heritage. b) Cultural products prohibited from dissemination, circulation, or subject to suspension, withdrawal, confiscation, destruction in Vietnam. |
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism |
| 4 | a) Publications prohibited from dissemination and circulation in Vietnam. b) Postal stamps prohibited from trading, exchange, exhibition, dissemination according to Postal Law. |
Ministry of Information and Communications |
| 5 | Timber in logs or sawn from natural domestic forests. | Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development |
| 6 | a) Specimens of endangered, rare, and precious wildlife species in Appendix I CITES originating from nature, or; specimen of endangered, rare, precious forest plants, and forest animals Group IA, IB according to Decree 32/2006/ND-CP exported for commercial purposes. b) Specimens and products crafted from species: white rhino (Ceratotherium simum), black rhino (Diceros bicomis), African elephant (Loxodonta africana). c) Endangered, rare, precious species Group I. d) Aquatic species in the list of prohibited aquatic exports. đ) Breeds of livestock and plant varieties in the list of rare and precious livestock and plant varieties prohibited from export issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development according to the Ordinance on Livestock Varieties 2004 and Plant Varieties 2004. |
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development |
| 7 | a) Chemicals in List 1 specified in the Convention on the Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling, Use and Destruction of Chemical Weapons and the Appendix issued together with Decree 38/2014/ND-CP dated May 6, 2014, of the Government of Vietnam on management of controlled chemicals according to the Convention on Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling, Use and Destruction of Chemical Weapons. b) Chemicals on the list of prohibited chemicals specified in Appendix III issued together with Decree 113/2017/ND-CP dated October 9, 2017, of the Government of Vietnam on detailed regulations and guidelines for the implementation of some articles of the Law on Chemicals. |
Ministry of Industry and Trade |
Who is allowed to operate within the non-tariff area in Vietnam?
Article 5 of the Operating Regulations of non-tariff areas within economic zones, border economic zones issued with Decision 100/2009/QD-TTg specifies as follows:
Entities permitted to operate within the non-tariff area
Entities operating within the non-tariff area (hereinafter collectively referred to as non-tariff area enterprises) include:
- Vietnamese traders;
- Branches, representative offices of Vietnamese traders;
- Branches, representative offices of foreign traders in Vietnam;
- Investors in accordance with the provisions of investment law.
The following entities are permitted to operate within the non-tariff area:
- Vietnamese traders.
- Branches, representative offices of Vietnamese traders.
- Branches, representative offices of foreign traders in Vietnam.
- Investors in accordance with investment law provisions.
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