Consolidated Document No. 111/VBHN-VPQH: Law on Special Consumption Tax (consolidated to April 2026)
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Consolidated Document No. 111/VBHN-VPQH (National Assembly Office, 20 May 2026) compiles the full text of Special Consumption Tax Law No. 66/2025/QH15 together with amendments under Law No. 09/2026/QH16, fully replacing the older SCT Law No. 27/2008/QH12. It is now the single authoritative reference for excise tax obligations, and any business that manufactures, imports, or sells excisable goods or services needs to work from it. The law expands and revises tax rates across many categories: tobacco, alcohol, and beer face rates rising on a schedule through 2031; cars are taxed by engine displacement, with strong incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles; and, for the first time, sugary soft drinks (over 5g sugar/100ml) become subject to SCT at 8% from 2027, rising to 10% from 2028. The law also adds an anti-transfer-pricing rule for sales made through related trading companies within the same corporate group. Businesses in beverages, tobacco, automotive, gasoline, and licensed entertainment services (dance halls, karaoke, casinos, golf, lottery) should review the new rate schedule immediately to update pricing and financial planning - soft drink manufacturers in particular need to prepare for this newly created tax obligation starting in early 2027.
Introduction
Consolidated Document No. 111/VBHN-VPQH, issued by the National Assembly Office on 20 May 2026, merges the Law on Special Consumption Tax No. 66/2025/QH15 (passed 14 June 2025, effective 1 January 2026) with the amendments introduced by Law No. 09/2026/QH16 (effective 24 April 2026). This is the fullest and most current legal basis for special consumption tax (SCT, or excise tax) that businesses should reference, and it fully replaces the earlier SCT Law No. 27/2008/QH12.
Taxable subjects
The law covers two groups subject to SCT:
Goods: tobacco, alcohol, beer, motor vehicles with fewer than 24 seats (including cars, motorized four-wheelers, pick-up trucks for passengers, and double-cab cargo pick-ups), motorcycles above 125cc, aircraft, helicopters, gliders, yachts, gasoline of all types, air conditioners rated above 24,000-90,000 BTU, playing cards, votive paper and joss goods, and soft drinks with sugar content above 5g/100ml under the national standard (TCVN).
Services: dance halls, massage and karaoke, casinos and prize-winning electronic games (jackpot, slot machines), betting, golf, and lottery.
Goods and services not subject to tax
Directly exported goods or goods exported through an intermediary; humanitarian aid, gifts within duty-free import limits; goods in transit, transshipment, or temporary import for re-export; diplomatic effects and duty-free goods; aircraft and yachts used for commercial passenger or cargo transport or for security, defense, and rescue purposes; ambulances, hearses, prisoner-transport vehicles, and unregistered vehicles used only within a fixed premises.
Taxpayers
Organizations and individuals that manufacture, process, or import taxable goods, or that provide taxable services. A trading company that buys goods intended for export but instead sells them domestically also becomes liable for SCT.
Tax basis and calculation method
SCT is calculated as a percentage of the taxable price, as a fixed absolute amount per unit, or as a combination of both (applied to cigarettes and cigars from 2027 onward). The taxable price is the selling or service price excluding SCT, environmental protection tax, and VAT. The law adds a new anti-transfer-pricing rule: when goods are sold through a related trading subsidiary within the same corporate group, the taxable price cannot be lower than a government-set percentage of the average price charged by independent trading companies buying directly from the manufacturer or importer.
Key rate changes businesses should note
- Cigarettes, cigars, shredded tobacco: a 75% rate plus a rising fixed amount each year from 1 January 2027 through 1 January 2031.
- Alcohol and beer: rates rise from 65% (2026) to 90% (2031) for spirits of 20 degrees or higher and for beer; spirits below 20 degrees rise from 35% to 60%.
- Cars: rates scale with engine displacement, from 35% (under 1,500cc) to 150% (over 6,000cc); hybrid and biofuel vehicles get reduced rates (70% and 50% of the comparable vehicle's rate); battery electric vehicles get preferential rates of 1-3% in 2026 rising to 4-11% by 2031, while other electric vehicles are taxed at 5-15%.
- Gasoline: regular gasoline 10%, E5 8%, E10 7%.
- Sugary drinks (over 5g sugar/100ml): a newly added category, taxed at 8% from 1 January 2027, rising to 10% from 1 January 2028.
- Air conditioners (24,000-90,000 BTU): 10%.
- Services: dance halls 40%, massage/karaoke 30%, casinos/prize games 35%, betting 30%, golf 20%, lottery 15%.
Refunds, deductions, and reductions
Businesses can obtain SCT refunds on tax already paid for imported raw materials used to manufacture or process exported goods (limited to the quantity actually exported), on unused deductible tax balances upon dissolution or bankruptcy settlement, or under applicable international treaties. Tax paid on inputs or on imported goods can be deducted against tax due at the point of sale. Taxpayers hit by natural disasters or accidents can receive up to a 30% reduction of the tax due for the affected year.
Effective date
Law No. 66/2025/QH15 took effect on 1 January 2026, replacing SCT Law No. 27/2008/QH12 (amended four times previously). The amendments in Law No. 09/2026/QH16 (mainly revising the electric-vehicle rate schedule under item 4(g)) took effect on 24 April 2026. Consolidated Document No. 111/VBHN-VPQH, certified by the National Assembly Office on 20 May 2026, is issued for reference convenience and does not create new legal rules.