What are differences between 10-digit and 13-digit tax identification numbers in Vietnam? Which entities are eligible for those tax identification numbers in Vietnam?

What are differences between 10-digit and 13-digit tax identification numbers in Vietnam? Which entities are eligible for those tax identification numbers?

Based on Article 30 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019 on taxpayer registration and the issuance of tax identification numbers:

Article 30. Entities subject to taxpayer registration and issuance of tax identification numbers

1. Taxpayers must carry out taxpayer registration and are issued tax identification numbers by the tax authority before commencing production, business activities, or incurring obligations to the state budget. The entities subject to taxpayer registration include:

a) Enterprises, organizations, and individuals carrying out taxpayer registration through a single-window mechanism simultaneously with business registration, cooperative registration, or business registration under the provisions of the Law on Enterprises and other relevant legal provisions;

b) Organizations and individuals not falling under the case prescribed in point a of this clause shall carry out taxpayer registration directly with the tax authority as prescribed by the Minister of Finance.

2. The structure of the tax identification number is prescribed as follows:

a) The 10-digit tax identification number is used for enterprises and organizations with legal status; representatives of households, business households, and other individuals;

b) The 13-digit tax identification number and other characters are used for dependent units and other entities;

c) The Minister of Finance shall detail this clause.

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According to the above provisions, a tax identification number is a sequence of numbers consisting of either 10 digits or 13 digits and other characters issued by the tax authority to taxpayers for tax management purposes. The 10-digit and 13-digit tax identification numbers are issued to the following entities:

- The 10-digit tax identification number is used for enterprises, organizations with legal status; representatives of households, business households, and other individuals.

- The 13-digit tax identification number and other characters are used for dependent units and other entities.

What are differences between 10-digit and 13-digit tax identification numbers in Vietnam? Which entities are eligible for those tax identification numbers? (Image from the Internet)

When does a tax identification number in Vietnam cease to be effective?

Based on Article 39 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019 on the cases in which a tax identification number becomes invalid:

[1] Taxpayers registered simultaneously with business registration, cooperative registration, or business registration shall terminate the validity of a tax identification number in the following cases:

- Termination of business activities or dissolution, bankruptcy;

- Revocation of the business registration certificate, the cooperative registration certificate, the business registration certificate;

- Division, merger, consolidation.

[2] Taxpayers registered directly with the tax authority shall terminate the validity of a tax identification number in the following cases:

- Termination of business activities, no longer incurring tax obligations for non-business organizations;

- Revocation of the business registration certificate or equivalent permit;

- Division, merger, consolidation;

- Notification by the tax authority that the taxpayer is no longer operating at the registered address;

- Individual death, disappearance, loss of civil act capacity according to legal provisions;

- Foreign contractors upon termination of the contract;

- Contractors, investors participating in oil and gas contracts upon termination of the contract or transfer of all rights to participate in oil and gas contracts.

How many tax identification numbers can a taxpayer in Vietnam be issued?

Based on clause 3, Article 30 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019 on taxpayer registration and issuance of tax identification numbers:

Article 30. Entities subject to taxpayer registration and issuance of tax identification numbers

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3. The issuance of tax identification numbers is prescribed as follows:

a) Enterprises, economic organizations, and other organizations are issued a single tax identification number to be used throughout the entire duration of their operation from taxpayer registration until the termination of tax identification number validity. Taxpayers with branches, representative offices, and dependent units directly fulfilling tax obligations are issued dependent tax identification numbers. In the case of enterprises, organizations, branches, representative offices, or dependent units conducting taxpayer registration through the single-window mechanism simultaneously with business registration, cooperative registration, or business registration, the code on the business registration certificate, cooperative registration certificate, or business registration certificate is also the tax identification number;

b) Individuals are issued a single tax identification number to be used throughout their lifetime. Dependents of individuals are issued tax identification numbers to enable deductions for family circumstances in personal income tax liability. The tax identification number issued to dependents is also the individual's tax identification number when dependents incur obligations to the state budget;

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Each entity subject to taxpayer registration is issued a single tax identification number. Specifically:

- Enterprises, economic organizations, and other organizations are issued a single tax identification number to use throughout their operation from taxpayer registration until the tax identification number's validity termination.

- Individuals are issued a single tax identification number to use throughout their lifetime.

- Dependents of individuals are issued tax identification numbers for deducting family circumstances for individual income taxpayers.

- The tax identification number issued to dependents is also the individual's tax identification number when dependents incur obligations to the state budget;