Vietnam: What are the objects subject to excise tax in 2024?

What are the objects subject to excise tax in 2024 in Vietnam?

Under Article 2 of the Law on excise tax 2008 and Article 2 of Decree 108/2015/ND-CP, the objects subject to excise tax include:

(1) Goods subject to excise tax:

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

- Alcohol;

- Beer;

- Passenger cars with fewer than 24 seats, including those designed for both passenger and cargo transport with two or more rows of seats, with a fixed partition between the passenger and cargo compartments;

- Motorbikes with engine capacity above 125cm³, including two-wheeled and three-wheeled bikes;

- Aircraft and yachts (used for civil purposes);

- Various types of gasoline;

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

- Playing cards;

- Joss paper and votive objects (excluding children’s toys and educational equipment).

Note: Goods subject to excise tax must be complete products and not include components for assembling such goods.

(2) Services subject to excise tax:

- Nightclub businesses;

- Massage, karaoke businesses;

- Casino businesses; prize-winning electronic games, including jackpot machines, slot machines, and similar types of machines;

- Betting businesses (including sports betting, entertainment betting, and other forms of betting as prescribed by law);

- Golf businesses, including selling membership cards and golf playing tickets;

- Lottery businesses.

What are the objects subject to excise tax in 2024 in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

What are the objects exempt from excise tax in Vietnam

Under Article 3 of the Law on excise tax 2008 and Article 3 of Decree 108/2015/ND-CP, the goods specified above are not subject to excise tax in the following cases:

(1) Goods directly produced or processed for export by production facilities or sold or entrusted to other business objects for export;

(2) Imported goods including:

- Humanitarian aid, non-refundable aid; gifts to state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, armed forces units, gifts to individuals in Vietnam as per the stipulation of the Government of Vietnam, including:

+ Humanitarian aid, non-refundable aid, including goods imported with non-refundable aid funds approved by competent authorities, humanitarian assistance, emergency relief to mitigate the consequences of wars, natural disasters, diseases;

+ Gifts from foreign organizations or individuals to state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, armed forces units;

+ Gifts to individuals in Vietnam within the limits set by law.

- Goods in transit or borrowed through Vietnamese customs gates or borders, goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import without paying import or export tax within the time set by the law on import and export tax;

- Goods for foreign organizations or individuals entitled to diplomatic immunity standards; goods carried by individuals within duty-free luggage limits; goods imported for duty-free sales as stipulated by law;

(3) Aircraft and yachts used for the business of transporting goods, passengers, and tourists;

(4) Ambulances; prisoner transport vehicles; funeral vehicles; passenger vehicles designed with standing places and seats accommodating 24 or more people; vehicles operating in amusement parks, sports grounds that are not registered for road use and do not participate in traffic;

(5) Goods imported from abroad into duty-free zones, goods sold from domestic markets into duty-free zones, and used only within duty-free zones, and goods traded between duty-free zones, excluding passenger cars with fewer than 24 seats.

Who is responsible for paying excise tax in Vietnam?

According to Article 4 of the Law on excise tax 2008, those responsible for paying excise tax are stipulated as follows:

- Excise taxpayers include producers and importers of goods and providers of services which are subject to excise tax.

- Exporters that purchase excise tax-liable goods from producers for export and do not export but sell them domestically shall pay excise tax.