Vietnam: How many tax identification number statuses are there according to Circular 86?

Vietnam: How many tax identification number statuses are there according to Circular 86?

Based on Appendix I issued with Circular No. 86/2024/TT-BTC (document effective from February 6, 2025) stipulating the list of tax identification statuses as follows:

- Code 00: Taxpayer has been issued a TIN;

- Code 01: Taxpayer ceased operations and completed the TIN cancellation procedures;

- Code 02: Taxpayer has transferred tax authority jurisdiction (awaiting acceptance by the new tax authority);

- Code 03: Taxpayer ceased operations but has not completed TIN cancellation procedures;

- Code 04: Taxpayer is active (applies to business households, individual businesses lacking complete taxpayer registration information);

- Code 05: Taxpayer temporarily ceased operations or business;

- Code 06: Taxpayer is not operating at the registered address;

- Code 07: Taxpayer is awaiting bankruptcy procedures;

- Code 09: Taxpayer is pending verification of operational status at the registered address;

- Code 10: TIN awaiting personal identification number updates.

Thus, there are a total of 10 tax identification statuses: codes 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, and 10.

Vietnam: How many tax identification statuses are there according to Circular 86? (Image from the Internet)

What is the classification of tax identification number structure by the tax authority in Vietnam from February 6, 2025?

Based on Clause 4, Article 5 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC (document effective from February 6, 2025), stipulating the classification of the tax identification number structure issued by the tax authority as follows:

(1) A 10-digit TIN is used for enterprises, cooperatives, organizations with legal personality, or organizations without legal personality but directly emerging tax obligations (hereinafter referred to as independent units); individuals with foreign nationality or Vietnamese nationality living abroad without a personal identification number established from the National Population Database.

(2) A 13-digit TIN with a hyphen (-) to separate the first 10 numbers and the last 3 numbers is used for dependent units and other subjects specified in points c, e, g, Clause 4, Article 5 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC.

(3) Taxpayers who are economic organizations, other organizations as specified in points a, b, c, d, n, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, with or without legal personality, but directly emerging tax obligations and take full responsibility for all tax obligations before the law, are issued a 10-digit TIN. Dependent units established according to the law of these taxpayers, if tax obligations arise and they directly declare and pay taxes, are issued a 13-digit TIN.

(4) Foreign contractors, foreign subcontractors as specified in point đ, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, registering to pay contractor tax directly with the tax authority, are issued a 10-digit TIN per contract. In cases where multiple foreign contractors fall under the category of directly paying tax to the tax authority under a single contractor agreement signed with the Vietnamese party and the contractors wish to declare and pay taxes separately, each foreign contractor is issued a separate 10-digit TIN.

If foreign contractors form a consortium with Vietnamese economic organizations to conduct business in Vietnam based on the contract and the parties in the consortium establish a Joint Operations Board, the Joint Operations Board carries out accounting, maintains a bank account, and is responsible for issuing invoices; or if a Vietnamese economic organization in the consortium is responsible for joint accounting and distributing profits to consortium members, it is issued a 10-digit TIN to declare and pay taxes for the contract.

If a foreign contractor, subcontractor has an office in Vietnam and has been declared, their contractor tax deducted and paid by the Vietnamese party, the foreign contractor, subcontractor is issued a 10-digit TIN to declare all other tax obligations (excluding contractor tax) in Vietnam and provides the TIN to the Vietnamese party.

(5) Foreign suppliers as specified in point c, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC who do not yet have a TIN in Vietnam when directly registering with the tax authority, are issued a 10-digit TIN. The foreign supplier uses the issued TIN to directly declare and pay taxes or provides the TIN for organizations, individuals in Vietnam authorized by the foreign supplier, or provides it to commercial banks, payment intermediary service providers to deduct, pay taxes on their behalf and declare it in the Tax Deduction List for foreign suppliers in Vietnam.

(6) Organizations, individuals, deducting, and paying taxes on behalf of others, as specified in point g, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, are issued a 10-digit TIN (hereinafter referred to as the substitute TIN) to declare and pay taxes on behalf of foreign contractors, foreign subcontractors, foreign suppliers, and individuals with business partnerships or cooperative agreements if they require a separate TIN for the business partnership agreement. Foreign contractors, foreign subcontractors, as specified in point d, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, declared and paid contractor tax on their behalf by the Vietnamese party is issued a 13-digit TIN per their substitute TIN provided by the Vietnamese party to confirm the completion of contractor tax obligations in Vietnam.

When the taxpayer changes taxpayer registration information, temporarily ceases operations, resumes business before the deadline, cancels the TIN, or reinstates the TIN as regulated for taxpayer TINs, the substitute TIN is updated by the tax authority corresponding to the information, status of the taxpayer's TIN. The taxpayer is not required to submit the application as stipulated in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC regarding substitute TINs.

(7) Operators, joint operations companies, joint venture enterprises, and organizations assigned by the Government of Vietnam to handle Vietnam's portion of profit-sharing in oil and gas fields in overlapping areas as specified in point h, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC are issued a 10-digit TIN per oil and gas agreement or equivalent document.

Contractors, investors participating in oil and gas contracts are issued a 13-digit TIN based on the 10-digit TIN of each oil and gas contract to fulfill separate tax obligations under the oil and gas contract (including corporate income tax related to the transfer of participation interests in the oil and gas contract).

The parent company - Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, representing the host country in receiving the portion of profits shared from oil and gas contracts, is issued a 13-digit TIN based on the 10-digit TIN of each oil and gas contract to declare and pay taxes on the profits shared per oil and gas contract.

(8) Organizations, individuals as specified in point m, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, having one or more authorized tax collection contracts with a tax authority, are issued a substitute TIN to remit the collected taxpayer funds to the state budget.

What are regulations on the use of tax identification numbers in Vietnam?

According to Article 35 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019 regarding the use of tax identification numbers as follows:

- Taxpayers must include their assigned TIN on invoices, documents, materials during business transactions; when opening deposit accounts at commercial banks, other credit institutions; when declaring, paying, exempting, reducing, and refunding taxes, and registering customs declarations as well as executing other tax-related transactions for all obligations to the state budget, even if the taxpayer conducts production and business activities in multiple locations.

- Taxpayers must provide their TIN to relevant agencies, organizations, or record the TIN on documents during administrative procedure processes under the single-window mechanism with tax management agencies.

- Tax management agencies, the State Treasury, commercial banks, organizations assigned tax collection responsibilities by tax authorities utilize taxpayers' TINs in tax management and revenue collection for the state budget.

- Commercial banks, other credit institutions must record TINs in the account opening records and transaction documents through the taxpayer's account.

- Other organizations, individuals involved in tax management must use taxpayers' issued TINs when providing information related to tax liability determination.

- When the Vietnamese party pays organizations, individuals conducting cross-border business activities based on digital platforms without a presence in Vietnam, they must use the issued TIN for these organizations, individuals to deduct and pay taxes on their behalf.