From July 1, 2025, is foreign currency trading subject to VAT in Vietnam?

From July 1, 2025, is foreign currency trading subject to value-added tax in Vietnam?

According to point e, clause 9, Article 5 of the Law on Value-Added Tax 2024, specific provisions regarding subjects not subject to tax are as follows:

Non-taxable Subjects

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9. The following financial services, banking, securities trading, and commerce:

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d) Capital transfer includes partial or entire transfer of invested capital into other economic organizations (regardless of whether a new legal entity is established or not), transfer of securities, transfer of capital contribution rights, and other forms of capital transfer as stipulated by law, including the sale of an enterprise to another enterprise for production, business, and the enterprise that buys inherits all rights and obligations of the selling enterprise according to the law. Capital transfer specified at this point does not include project transfer, sale of assets;

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e) Foreign currency trading;

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According to Article 18 of the Law on Value-Added Tax 2024, specific provisions on the effective date of enactment are as follows:

Effective Date of Enactment

1. This Law takes effect from July 1, 2025, except for the cases specified in clause 2 of this Article.

2. Regulations on the revenue level of households, individual business activities that are non-taxable subjects as specified in clause 25, Article 5 of this Law and Article 17 of this Law take effect from January 1, 2026.

3. The Law on Value-Added Tax No. 13/2008/QH12, which was amended and supplemented by Law No. 31/2013/QH13, Law No. 71/2014/QH13, and Law No. 106/2016/QH13, is null and void from the effective date of this Law.

Therefore, according to the above regulations, foreign currency trading is not subject to VAT.

From July 1, 2025, is foreign currency trading subject to VAT in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Which entities will be the taxpayer for value-added tax in Vietnam from July 1, 2025?

According to Article 4 of the Law on Value-Added Tax 2024, specific provisions regarding VAT taxpayers are as follows:

- Organizations, households, and individuals producing, trading goods, and services subject to VAT (referred to as businesses).

- Organizations and individuals importing goods subject to VAT (referred to as importers).

- Organizations and individuals producing or conducting business in Vietnam purchasing services (including cases of purchasing services attached to goods) from foreign organizations without a permanent establishment in Vietnam, individuals abroad who are non-residents of Vietnam, except for cases prescribed in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 4 Law on Value-Added Tax 2024; organizations producing or doing business in Vietnam that purchase goods and services to conduct oil and gas exploration, development, and exploitation activities of foreign organizations without a permanent establishment in Vietnam, individuals abroad who are non-residents of Vietnam.

- Foreign suppliers without a permanent establishment in Vietnam conducting e-commerce business, digital platform-based transactions with organizations and individuals in Vietnam (referred to as foreign suppliers); organizations acting as digital platform managers abroad performing tax deduction and payment obligations on behalf of foreign suppliers; organizations conducting business in Vietnam applying the deduction method for VAT on services purchased from foreign suppliers without a permanent establishment in Vietnam through e-commerce channels or digital platforms performing tax deduction and payment obligations on behalf of foreign suppliers.

- Organizations managing e-commerce exchange platforms, digital platform managers with payment functions performing tax deduction, substitution payment, and tax declaration for business households, individuals conducting business on e-commerce platforms, and digital platforms.

When is the time to determine VAT in Vietnam according to the Law on Value-Added Tax 2025

According to Article 8 of the Law on Value-Added Tax 2024, specific provisions regarding the time to determine VAT are as follows:

[1] The time for determining VAT is stipulated as follows:

- For goods, it is the time of transfer of ownership rights or right to use the goods to the buyer or the time of invoice issuance, regardless of whether or not payment has been received.

- For services, it is the time of service provision completion or the time of service invoice issuance, regardless of whether or not payment has been received.

[2] The time for determining VAT for the following goods and services is prescribed by the Government of Vietnam:

- Exported goods, imported goods;

- Telecommunication services;

- Insurance business services;

- Electricity supply activities, electricity and clean water production activities;

- Real estate business activities;

- Construction, installation activities, and oil and gas activities.