Determining payers of VAT in Vietnam

According to Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, payers of VAT are the organizations and individuals that manufacture, trade in taxable goods and services in Vietnam regardless of their lines and forms of business (hereinafter referred to as business establishments), the organizations and individuals that import goods or purchase  services from abroad (hereinafter referred to as importers), including:

- The business organizations established and registered under the Law on Enterprises, the Law on State enterprises (now the Law on Enterprises), the Law on Cooperatives, and other business laws.

- Business organizations of political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, the army, public service organizations, and other organizations;

- Foreign-invested companies and the foreign participants under the Law on Foreign investment in Vietnam (now the Law on Investment); the foreign organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred to as foreign entities) that do business in Vietnam without establishing a legal entity in Vietnam;

- Individuals, households, independent groups of businesspeople, and other entities that engage in manufacturing, trading, or importation;

- Any business organization or businessperson in Vietnam that purchases services (including services attached to goods) from a foreign organization that does not have a permanent establishment in Vietnam, or from a foreigner that is not a resident in Vietnam, the business organization or business person that purchase services is the taxpayer, except for the cases in which VAT is exempt in Clause 2 Article 5 of Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC.

Regulations on permanent establishments and residents are introduced in the laws on corporate income tax and personal income tax.

- Branches of the export processing companies that are established to trade goods and do the tasks related to goods trading in Vietnam in accordance with the laws on industrial parks, export-processing zones, and economic zones.

View details at Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, effective from January 01, 2014.

Thu Ba

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