What are accounting rules for licensing fees in Vietnam according to regulations in 2025?

What are accounting rules for licensing fees in Vietnam according to regulations in 2025?

Based on Point 1.3 Clause 1 Article 64 of Circular 133/2016/TT-BTC which regulates Account 642 - Business administration expenses as follows:

Account 642 - Business Administration Expenses

1. Accounting rules

1.1. This account is used to reflect the business administration expenses including selling expenses and corporate administration expenses:

....

1.3. Account 642 is detailed according to each expense content as prescribed. Depending on the management requirements of each industry, each enterprise, account 642 can be detailed according to each type of expense such as: selling expenses, corporate administration expenses. Each type of expense is monitored in detail according to each content of the expense such as:

....

b) For enterprise management expenses:

....

- Taxes, fees, and charges: Reflect expenses for taxes, fees, and charges such as: business license tax, land rent, etc., and other fees and charges.

......

Furthermore, based on Article 92 of Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC (amended by Article 31 of Circular 177/2015/TT-BTC) regarding Account 642 - Enterprise management expenses as follows:

Account 642 - Enterprise Management Expenses

1. Accounting rules

a) This account is used to reflect the general management expenses of the unit which include:

....

- Various types of taxes, fees, charges, such as: court fees, enforcement fees, land rent;

- Provision for doubtful debts, payable provision;

...

2. Structure and content reflected in account 642 - Enterprise management expenses

....

Account 642 - Enterprise management expenses, contains 8 level 2 accounts:

.....

- Account 6425 - Taxes, fees, and charges: Reflect expenses for taxes, fees, and charges such as: court fees, enforcement fees, land rent, etc., and other fees and charges.

....

Thus, the method of accounting for licensing fees according to regulations in 2025 is guided as follows:

(1) For enterprises applying according to Circular 133/2016/TT-BTC, account for licensing fees as follows:

- Debit 6422 - Enterprise Management Expenses: Reflects the overall management expenses of the enterprise incurred during the period and the situation of transferring management expenses to Account 911 - Determination of business results.

- Credit Account 3338 (Account 33382) - Other taxes: Reflects the required, paid, and outstanding various taxes. Enterprises are allowed to actively open detailed Level 4 accounts for each type of tax in line with management requirements.

(2) For enterprises applying according to Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC, account for licensing fees as follows:

- Debit 6425 - Taxes, fees, and charges: Reflects expenses for taxes, fees, and charges such as: court fees, enforcement fees, land rent, etc., and other fees and charges.

- Credit Account 3339 - Fees, Charges, and Other Payables: Reflects the required, paid, and outstanding fees, charges, and other state payables outside those recorded in accounts from 3331 to 3338. This account also reflects state subsidies for enterprises (if any), such as grants, price supports.

Note: Regarding the account used to record licensing fees:

+ Before January 1, 2017: The licensing fee was named business license tax.

+ From January 1, 2017, onward: since Decree 139/2016/ND-CP took effect, business license tax was renamed as "licensing fee."

If previously referred to as the business license tax, it was one of the main revenue sources for the state budget under tax laws.

Currently, referred to as the licensing fee, it is one of the other revenue categories for the state budget collected by the tax management agency.

Therefore: For the licensing fee, it can be recorded in Account 33382 (as guided in accounting policies) or Account 3339 (according to the renamed fee) is acceptable.

What are accounting rules for licensing fees in Vietnam according to regulations in 2025? (Image from the Internet)

Which cases are exempt from licensing fees in Vietnam in 2025?

Based on Article 3 of Decree 139/2016/ND-CP (supplemented by Clause 1 Article 1 of Decree 22/2020/ND-CP) which prescribes cases exempt from licensing fees in 2025, including:

- Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in production, business activities with annual revenue of up to 100 million VND.

- Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in irregular production, business activities; not having a fixed location as guided by the Ministry of Finance.

- Individuals, groups of individuals, households in salt production.

- Organizations, individuals, groups of individuals, households involved in aquaculture, fishing, and related logistics services.

- Communal cultural post offices; press agencies (print, radio, television, electronic).

- Cooperatives, cooperative alliances (including branches, representative offices, business locations) operating in agriculture as per the law on agricultural cooperatives.

- People’s credit funds; branches, representative offices, business locations of cooperatives, cooperative alliances, and private enterprises operating in mountainous areas. Mountainous areas are defined according to regulations by the Committee for Ethnic Affairs.

- Exempt from licensing fees during the first year of establishment or when commencing production, business activities (from January 1 to December 31) for:

+ Newly established organizations (granted a new tax code, new enterprise code).

+ Households, individuals, groups of individuals commencing production, business activities for the first time.

+ During the exemption period, organizations, households, individuals, groups of individuals establishing branches, representative offices, business locations will also be exempted from licensing fees during the period the organization, household, individual, group of individuals is exempt.

- Small and medium-sized enterprises converted from business households are exempt from licensing fees for a period of 3 years from the date of the first business registration certificate issuance.

+ During the exemption period, when small and medium-sized enterprises establish branches, representative offices, business locations, those entities will also be exempt from licensing fees during the exemption period of the small and medium-sized enterprise.

+ Branches, representative offices, business locations of small and medium-sized enterprises (exempt from licensing fees as per Article 16 of Law on Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 2017) established before the Decree's effective date, will have their exemption period calculated from the Decree's effective date until the end of the exemption period for small and medium-sized enterprises.

+ Small and medium-sized enterprises converted from business households before the Decree's effective date will continue to be exempt from licensing fees according to Article 16 and Article 35 of Law on Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 2017.

- Public primary education institutions and public preschool education institutions.

When is the deadline for submitting licensing fees in Vietnam for 2025?

According to Clause 9 Article 18 of Decree 126/2020/ND-CP which prescribes the deadline for submitting licensing fees for 2025 as follows:

The deadline for tax payment regarding state budget revenues from land, water resource exploitation rights, mineral resources, sea usage fees, registration fees, licensing fees

...

9. licensing fees:

a) The deadline for licensing fee submission is no later than January 30 annually.

b) For small and medium-sized enterprises converted from business households (including dependent units, business locations of enterprises) after the exemption period ends (the fourth year from the year of establishment), the deadline for licensing fee submission is as follows:

...

Additionally, based on Article 86 of Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC which prescribes the deadline for tax declaration dossier submission and tax submission as follows:

The deadline for tax declaration dossier submission and tax payment

The deadline for tax declaration dossier submission is implemented according to regulations in clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of Article 44 of the Law on Tax Administration and Article 10 of Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP. The tax submission deadline is implemented according to the regulations in clauses 1, 2, 3 of Article 55 of the Law on Tax Administration and Article 18 of Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP. If the deadline for tax declaration dossier submission or tax payment falls on a public holiday according to regulations, the deadline is extended to the next working day following that holiday as per the provisions in the Civil Code.

Therefore, the deadline for submitting the licensing fee for 2025 falls on January 30, 2025. However, January 30, 2025, coincides with the Lunar New Year holiday 2025 (2nd Day of the Year of the Snake), so the deadline for submitting licensing fees for 2025 will be moved to the next working day, which is February 3, 2025.

Note:

- For small and medium-sized enterprises converted from business households (including dependent units, business locations of the enterprise) once the licensing fee exemption period ends (the fourth year from the year of establishment), the deadline for submission of licensing fees is as follows:

+ If the exemption period ends within the first 6 months of the year, the latest submission deadline is July 30 of the year when the exemption ends.

+ If the exemption period ends in the last 6 months of the year, the latest submission deadline is January 30 of the following year.

- For business households and individuals who have terminated production, business activities and then resume, the deadline for submitting licensing fees is as follows:

+ If resumed in the first 6 months of the year: Latest by July 30 of the year activities are resumed.

+ If resumed in the last 6 months of the year: Latest by January 30 of the following year.