Subjects required to pay licensing fee in Vietnam in 2025

Subjects required to pay licensing fee in Vietnam in 2025​ (Image from the internet)

1. Subjects required to pay licensing fee in Vietnam in 2025​

According to Article 2 of Decree 139/2016/ND-CP, the subjects liable to pay licensing tax are organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities of goods and services, excluding cases specified in section 2:

- Enterprises established under the law.

- Organizations established under the Cooperative Law.

- Public service units established under the law.

- Economic organizations of political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-occupational organizations, and people's armed forces units.

- Other organizations engaged in production and business activities.

- Branches, representative offices, and business locations of the above-mentioned organizations (if any).

- Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in production and business activities.

2. Cases exempted from licensing tax in 2025 in Vietnam

According to Article 3 of Decree 139/2016/ND-CP (amended by Decree 22/2020/ND-CP), the cases exempted from licensing tax include:

(1) Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in production and business activities with an annual revenue of 100 million VND or less.

(2) Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in irregular production and business activities; do not have a fixed location as guided by the Ministry of Finance.

(3) Individuals, groups of individuals, households producing salt.

(4) Organizations, individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in breeding, fishing, and fishery logistics services.

(5) Commune cultural post offices; press agencies (print, radio, television, electronic).

(6) Cooperatives, cooperative unions (including branches, representative offices, business locations) operating in the field of agriculture according to the law on agricultural cooperatives.

(7) People's credit funds; branches, representative offices, business locations of cooperatives, cooperative unions, and private enterprises operating in mountainous areas. The mountainous areas are determined according to the regulations of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.

(8) Exemption from licensing tax in the first year of establishment or production and business operations (from January 1 to December 31) for:

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

+ Households, individuals, groups of individuals entering into production and business activities for the first time.

+ During the tax exemption period, if organizations, households, individuals, and groups of individuals establish branches, representative offices, or business locations, these are also exempt from licensing tax during the period the main entities are exempted.

(9) Small and medium enterprises transitioning from household businesses (according to the provisions of Article 16 of the Small and Medium Enterprise Support Law 2017) are exempted from licensing tax for a period of 3 years from the date of first issuance of the business registration certificate.

- During the period of tax exemption, if small and medium enterprises establish branches, representative offices, or business locations, these are also exempt from licensing tax during the exemption period of the small and medium enterprises.

- Branches, representative offices, and business locations of small and medium enterprises (eligible for tax exemption according to Article 16 of the Small and Medium Enterprise Support Law 2017) established before February 25, 2020, have the exemption period from February 25, 2020, until the end of the small and medium enterprises’ exemption period.

- Small and medium enterprises converted from household businesses before February 25, 2020, shall carry out tax exemption according to Article 16 and Article 35 of the Small and Medium Enterprise Support Law 2017.

(10) Public general education institutions and public preschool education institutions.

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