What is the VAT rate for books in Vietnam from July 1, 2025?

What is the VAT rate for books in Vietnam from July 1, 2025?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), the regulation is as follows:

Tax Rate

...

2. 5% Tax Rate applies to the following goods and services:

a) Clean water used for production and daily life excluding bottled, canned, and other types of beverages;

b) Fertilizers, ores for fertilizer production, pesticides, and animal growth stimulants as prescribed by law;

c) Services of excavation, dredging of canals, ditches, ponds for agricultural production; pest control, cultivation, protection for plants; preliminary processing, preservation of agricultural products;

d) Cultivated plants, forest products (excluding timber, bamboo shoots), livestock, aquaculture from farming or catching, not yet processed into other products or only through normal processing, except for products stipulated at Clause 1, Article 5 of this Law;

đ) Latex in crumb, sheet, latex threads, and rubber bands; nets, fishing ropes, and strings;

e) Products made from jute, rush, bamboo, rattan, straw, coconut shells, peat, and other handicraft products made from agricultural by-products; carded, combed cotton wool; newspaper printing paper;

g) Fishing vessels at sea; machinery and specialized equipment serving for agricultural production as stipulated by the Government of Vietnam;

h) Medical equipment as prescribed by law on medical equipment management; preventive and treatment medicines; substances, medicinal materials as raw materials for the production of curative medicines, preventive medicines;

i) Equipment used for teaching and studying includes: models, illustrations, blackboards, chalks, rulers, compasses;

k) Traditional and folk performing arts activities;

l) Toys for children; all types of books, except for books stipulated in Clause 15, Article 5 of this Law;

m) Science and technology services as prescribed by the Law on Science and Technology;

n) Sale, lease, lease-purchase of social housing as prescribed by the Housing Law.

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And pursuant to Clause 15, Article 5 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024, the regulation is as follows:

Non-taxable Objects

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15. Publication, importation, distribution of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, special issues, political books, textbooks, curricula, legal books, scientific and technical books, books serving external information, books printed in ethnic minority scripts, advocacy propaganda paintings, posters, including those in the form of recorded sound, images, electronic data; money, money printing.

16. Public passenger transport by bus, electric train, inland waterway means.

17. Machinery, equipment, spare parts, materials that are of a type not produced domestically and need to be imported for direct use in scientific research activities, technology development; machinery, equipment, replacement parts, specialized transport means, and materials of a type not produced domestically need to be imported to conduct oil and gas exploration, development; aircraft, helicopters, gliders, drilling rigs, ships, of a type not produced domestically need to be imported to create fixed assets of enterprises or leased from abroad for use in production, business, leasing.

...

Thus, according to the regulations, all types of books are subject to a 5% VAT rate, except for the following types of books: Publication, importation, distribution of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, special issues, political books, textbooks, curricula, legal books, scientific and technical books, books serving external information, books printed in ethnic minority scripts, advocacy propaganda paintings, posters, including those in the form of recorded sound, images, electronic data; money, money printing.

What is the VAT rate for books in Vietnam from July 1, 2025? (Image from the Internet)

What are regulations on the VAT determination time in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 8 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), the time to determine VAT is regulated as follows:

(1) The time to determine value-added tax is specified as follows:

- For goods, it is the time of transfer of ownership or rights to use the goods to the buyer or the time of issuing the invoice, irrespective of whether payment has been received or not;

- For services, it is the time of completion of service provision or the time of issuing the service provision invoice, irrespective of whether payment has been received or not.

(2) The time to determine value-added tax for the following goods and services is prescribed by the Government of Vietnam:

- Exported goods, imported goods;

- Telecommunication services;

- Insurance business services;

- Electricity supply activities, electricity production, clean water activities;

- Real estate business activities;

- Construction, installation activities and oil and gas activities.

Which entities are VAT payers in Vietnam from July 1, 2025?

Pursuant to Article 4 of the Law on Value Added Tax 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), the regulation is as follows:

- Organizations, households, individuals producing, trading in goods, services subject to value-added tax (hereinafter referred to as business establishments).

- Organizations, individuals importing goods subject to value-added tax (hereinafter referred to as importers).

- Organizations, individuals producing, conducting business in Vietnam purchasing services (including cases where services are purchased attached to goods) from a foreign organization not having a permanent establishment in Vietnam, individuals in foreign countries who are non-residents in Vietnam, except as provided in clauses 4 and 5 of this Article; organizations producing, conducting business in Vietnam purchasing goods, services to conduct activities of exploration, development of oil and gas fields from a foreign organization not having a permanent establishment in Vietnam, individuals in foreign countries who are non-residents in Vietnam.

- Foreign suppliers not having a permanent establishment in Vietnam conducting e-commerce, business based on digital platforms with organizations, individuals in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as foreign suppliers); organizations being foreign digital platform managers implementing tax withholding, tax payment obligations of foreign suppliers on their behalf; business organizations in Vietnam applying the tax calculation method of value-added tax is the deduction method purchasing services from foreign suppliers not having a permanent establishment in Vietnam through e-commerce channels or digital platforms implementing tax withholding, tax payment obligations of foreign suppliers on their behalf.

- Organizations being e-commerce exchanges, digital platform managers having payment functions implementing tax withholding, tax payment, tax declaration for household businesses, individual businesses on e-commerce platforms, digital platforms.

- the Government of Vietnam stipulates details for clauses 1, 4, and 5 of this Article; regulations on taxpayers in the case of foreign suppliers providing services to business organizations in Vietnam applying the tax deduction method stipulated in clause 4 of this Article.