Vietnam: Are goods and services subject to excise tax eligible for a reduction of value-added tax to 8%?

Vietnam: Are goods and services subject to excise tax eligible for a reduction of value-added tax to 8%?

Pursuant to point b, clause 1, Article 1 of Decree 72/2024/ND-CP, regulation on reduction of value-added tax is as follows:

Reduction of Value-Added Tax

1. Reduction of value-added tax for groups of goods and services currently applying the 10% tax rate, except for the following groups of goods and services:

a) Telecommunications, financial activities, banking, securities, insurance, real estate business, metals and manufactured metal products, mining products (excluding coal mining), coke, refined petroleum, chemical products. Details are provided in Appendix I promulgated alongside this Decree.

b) Products of goods and services subject to excise tax. Details are provided in Appendix II promulgated alongside this Decree.

c) Information technology as per information technology laws. Details are provided in Appendix III promulgated alongside this Decree.

d) The reduction of value-added tax for each type of goods and services stipulated in clause 1 of this Article is uniformly applied at the stages of import, production, processing, and commercial trading. For coal mining products sold (including cases where coal is mined and then sieved, classified through a closed process before being sold) which are subject to value-added tax reduction. Coal products specified in Appendix I promulgated alongside this Decree, at stages other than the mining sales stage, are not eligible for value-added tax reduction.

Corporate groups and economic groups implementing a closed process before selling are also eligible for value-added tax reduction for coal mining products sold.

In cases where goods and services specified in Appendices I, II, and III promulgated alongside this Decree are non-taxable for value-added tax or subject to a 5% value-added tax rate according to the Law on Value-Added Tax, the regulations of the Law on Value-Added Tax shall be followed and no value-added tax reduction shall be applied.

Therefore, goods and services subject to excise tax are not eligible for an 8% value-added tax reduction.

Goods and services subject to excise tax eligible for an 8% value-added tax reduction in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

Which goods and services are subject to excise tax in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Law on excise tax 2008, amended by clause 1, Article 1, Amendment Law on excise tax 2014, the objects subject to excise tax include the following goods and services:

- Goods:

+ Cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products for smoking, inhaling, chewing, sniffing, or sucking;

+ Alcohol;

+ Beer;

+ Automobiles with less than 24 seats, including those with both passenger and cargo compartments with two or more rows of seats and a fixed partition between the passenger and cargo areas;

+ Motorcycles with two or three wheels with engine displacement over 125cm3;

+ Aircraft, yachts;

+ Various types of gasoline;

+ Air conditioners with a capacity of 90,000 BTU or less;

+ Playing cards;

+ Votive papers and votive objects.

- Services:

+ Nightclub business;

+ Massage, karaoke business;

+ Casino business, prize-winning electronic games including jackpot machines, slot machines, and other similar machines;

+ Betting business;

+ Golf business including selling memberships, golf tickets;

+ Lottery business.

What objects are exempt from excise tax in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 3 of the Law on excise tax 2008, amended by clause 2, Article 1, Amendment Law on excise tax 2014, goods subject to excise tax are exempt from it in the following cases:

- Goods produced or processed directly for export or sold, entrusted to other enterprises for export;

- Imported goods including:

+ Humanitarian aid goods, non-refundable aid; gifts to state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, social-professional organizations, people's armed forces units, personal gifts to individuals in Vietnam according to regulations of the Government of Vietnam;

+ Goods transited or transshipped through Vietnamese customs borders, goods in transit under the regulations of the Government of Vietnam;

+ Temporary-import, re-export, temporary-export, re-import goods exempt from import and export duties within the time frame regulated by the laws on import and export duties;

+ Items belonging to foreign organizations and individuals exempt from diplomatic immunity; items within duty-free luggage allowances; items imported to be sold in duty-free shops as regulated by the law;

- Aircraft, yachts used for business in cargo, passenger, and tourist transport and aircraft used for security and defense purposes;

- Ambulance cars; cars used for transporting prisoners; funeral cars; cars designed with seating and standing areas for 24 persons or more; cars operating within amusement and entertainment parks that are not registered for circulation and do not participate in traffic;

- Goods imported from abroad into bonded areas, goods sold from within bonded areas and used within bonded areas only, goods traded between bonded areas, excluding passenger cars with less than 24 seats.