What are cases where tax is declared and paid in convertible currencies in Vietnam?

Is it permissible to pay taxes in convertible currencies in Vietnam?

The currency for tax declaration and payment according to Article 7 of the Law on Tax administration 2019 is as follows:

- The currency for tax declaration and payment is Vietnamese Dong, except in cases where it is permitted to declare and pay taxes in convertible currencies.

- Taxpayers who conduct their accounting in foreign currency under the Accounting Law must convert it to Vietnamese Dong using the actual transaction exchange rate at the time the transaction occurs.

- For exported and imported goods, the currency for tax payment is Vietnamese Dong, except in cases where it is permitted to declare and pay taxes in convertible currencies. The exchange rate for tax calculation is in accordance with customs law.

- The Minister of Finance regulates the currency for tax declaration and payment in convertible currencies as stipulated in clauses 1 and 3, and the actual transaction exchange rate as stipulated in clause 2 of Article 7 of the Law on Tax administration 2019.

What are cases where tax is declared and paid in convertible currencies in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are cases of declaring and paying taxes in convertible currencies in Vietnam?

Based on clause 1 Article 4 of Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC, the cases of declaring and paying taxes in convertible currencies include:

[1] Activities related to searching, exploring, and exploiting petroleum (excluding crude oil, condensate, natural gas sold in the Vietnamese market, or where the Government of Vietnam has other regulations) include: resource tax, corporate income tax; surtax on the share of profit oil when crude oil prices fluctuate increasing; profit oil, host nation's share of gas; signature bonus; commercial discovery bonus of oil, gas; production bonus; fees for reading and utilizing oil, gas documents; compensation for not fulfilling minimum commitments; corporate income tax on income from transferring interest in petroleum contracts; special tax, surtax, and corporate income tax from remaining oil surplus activities of the Vietsovpetro Joint Venture at Lot 09.1, declared, and paid into the state budget in convertible currencies used in payment transactions.

[2] Fees, charges, and other collections by representative agencies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad:

Declared and paid into the state budget in convertible currencies as specified in the document stipulating the fee, charge, and other collections.

[3] Fees and charges collected by agencies and organizations in Vietnam permitted to collect in foreign currency:

Declared and paid into the state budget in convertible currencies as specified in the document stipulating the level of fees and charges.

[4] E-commerce business activities, business based on digital platforms, and other services from foreign suppliers without permanent establishments in Vietnam:

Declared and paid into the state budget in convertible currencies.

What are the principles of tax declaration and calculation in Vietnam?

The principles for tax declaration and calculation according to Article 42 of the Law on Tax administration 2019 are as follows:

- Taxpayers must accurately, truthfully, and fully declare all content in the tax declaration form as per the form stipulated by the Minister of Finance and submit all prescribed documents in the tax declaration dossier to the Tax administration agency.

- Taxpayers self-calculate the tax amount payable, except where tax is calculated by the Tax administration agency as per the Government of Vietnam's regulations.

- Tax declaration and calculation are carried out at the local tax office where the taxpayer’s headquarters is located.

If the taxpayer is centrally accounted at the main office and has branches in different provincial administrative units than the main office, the taxpayer declares tax at the main office and calculates, allocates the tax obligation due for each locality that benefits from the state budget revenue.

- For e-commerce business activities, business based on digital platforms, and other services conducted by foreign suppliers without permanent establishments in Vietnam, the foreign supplier is obliged to directly or authorize to carry out taxpayer registration, tax declaration, and tax payment in Vietnam as stipulated by the Minister of Finance.

- The principles of declaring, determining assessed value for tax regarding associated transactions are stipulated as follows:

+ Declare and determine associated transaction prices by analyzing and comparing them with independent transactions and the essence of the activities, determining tax obligations based on transactions between independent parties;

+ Adjust associated transaction prices according to independent transactions to declare and determine payable tax amounts without reducing taxable income;

+ Small-scale taxpayers with low tax risk are exempt from implementing provisions at point a, point b clause 5 Article 42 of the Law on Tax administration 2019 and may apply simplified mechanisms for declaring, determining associated transaction prices.

- The principles of tax declaration regarding the advance pricing agreement (APA) mechanism are stipulated as follows:

+ Applying the APA mechanism on determining assessed value for tax is based on the taxpayer’s proposal and agreement between the tax authority and the taxpayer through unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral agreements involving the tax authority, taxpayer, and foreign tax authority, or relevant territorial region;

+ Applying the APA mechanism must be based on the taxpayer’s information, commercial databases that have been verified ensuring legality;

+ Applying the APA mechanism must be approved by the Minister of Finance before implementation; for bilateral, multilateral agreements with the participation of foreign tax authorities, implementation is in accordance with the law on international treaties, international agreements.