From July 1, 2025, what are cases of issuance of invoices for sale of goods and services during business suspension in Vietnam?

From July 1, 2025, what are cases of Issuance of invoices for sale of goods and services during business suspension in Vietnam?

In Article 13 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), provisions are outlined regarding prohibited acts in tax deduction and refund as follows:

Prohibited acts in tax deduction and refund

1. Buying, giving, selling, organizing advertising, and brokering the buying and selling of invoices.

2. Creating transactions for buying and selling goods, providing services that do not exist or transactions that are not conformable with the law.

3. Issuing invoices for the sale of goods or provision of services during the temporary suspension of business operations, except in cases of issuing invoices to customers to perform contracts signed before the notice of business suspension.

4. Using illegal invoices, certificates, using invoices, certificates illegally as per the regulations of the Government of Vietnam.

5. Failing to transfer electronic invoice data to the tax authorities as prescribed.

6. Altering, misusing, unauthorized access, or destroying information systems regarding invoices and certificates.

7. Giving, receiving, brokering bribes, or engaging in other related acts concerning invoices and vouchers to be eligible for tax deduction, tax refund, tax money appropriation, or VAT evasion.

8. Collusion, covering; conniving between tax management officials, tax authorities, business establishments, importers, and between business establishments, importers in the use of illegal invoices, certificates, or unlawfully using invoices, certificates to obtain tax deduction, tax refund, tax money appropriation, or VAT evasion.

Thus, from July 1, 2025, when the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 comes into effect, businesses may issue invoices for the sale of goods during the temporary suspension of business operations in cases where invoices are issued to customers to perform contracts signed before the notice of business suspension.

From July 1, 2025, what are cases of Issuance of invoices for sale of goods and services during business suspension in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

When is the VAT determination time for goods in Vietnam according to the Law on Value Added Tax 2024?

According to the provisions at point a, clause 1, Article 8 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), the regulation concerning the time of determining VAT on goods is as follows:

Time of determining value-added tax

1. The time of determining value-added tax is regulated as follows:

a) For goods, it is the time of transfer of ownership or right to use goods to the buyer or the time of invoice issuance, regardless of whether money has been collected or not;

b) For services, it is the time of completion of service provision or the time of service invoice issuance, regardless of whether money has been collected or not.

2. The time of determining value-added tax for the following goods and services is specified by the Government of Vietnam:

a) Exported goods, imported goods;

b) Telecommunication services;

c) Insurance business services;

d) Electricity supply, electricity production, clean water activities;

đ) Real estate business activities;

e) Construction, installation activities, and oil and gas operations.

Thus, the time of determining value-added tax for goods is the time of transferring ownership or right to use goods to the buyer or the time of invoice issuance, regardless of whether money has been collected or not.

Which entities are the VAT taxpayers in Vietnam from July 1, 2025?

According to Article 4 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024, VAT taxpayers from July 1, 2025, include:

- Organizations, households, individuals producing or trading goods and services subject to VAT (hereinafter referred to as business establishments).

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

- Organizations, individuals producing or doing business in Vietnam purchasing services (including cases of purchasing services associated with goods) from foreign organizations without permanent establishments in Vietnam, and individuals overseas who are non-residents in Vietnam, except for the cases stipulated in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 4 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024;

Organizations producing or doing business in Vietnam purchasing goods and services to conduct exploration and extraction of oil and gas from foreign organizations without permanent establishments in Vietnam, individuals overseas who are non-residents in Vietnam.

- Foreign suppliers without a permanent establishment in Vietnam who are engaged in e-commerce business, business based on digital platforms with organizations, individuals in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as foreign suppliers);

Digital platform managers abroad carrying out deductions, paying tax obligations on behalf of foreign suppliers;

- Business organizations in Vietnam applying the VAT calculation method using the deduction method, buying services from foreign suppliers without permanent establishments in Vietnam through e-commerce channels or digital platforms, perform deductions, pay tax obligations on behalf of foreign suppliers.

- Organizations managing e-commerce platforms, digital platforms with payment functions, carrying out tax deductions and payment, declare the deducted tax amount for business households, individuals on e-commerce platforms, digital platforms.

Note: The Law on Value Added Tax 2024 is effective from July 1, 2025 (except for clause 2, Article 18 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 which takes effect from January 1, 2026).