Knowledge base

The Tax Department provided guidance on VAT policy for businesses producing and trading in minimally-processed plant products (wood chips, ground bark, firewood, etc.) sold to other businesses, under VAT Law No. 48/2024/QH15 and Decree 181/2025/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 359/2025/ND-CP). Under newly inserted Clause 1b of Article 4 of Decree 181/2025: enterprises and cooperatives that purchase minimally-processed agricultural/forestry products and sell them to other enterprises/cooperatives are **not required to declare or pay VAT** but **may still claim input VAT credits**. If sold to individuals, household businesses, or other non-enterprise entities, the 5% VAT rate applies. Regarding VAT refunds: refunds are available only if conditions in Article 15 of the VAT Law are met (primarily exports, new investment projects, or businesses exclusively supplying 5%-rate goods with uncredited input VAT of VND 300 million or more after 12 months/4 quarters). If refund conditions are not met, uncredited input VAT may be treated as a **deductible expense** for CIT purposes under Article 9(2) of CIT Law No. 67/2025/QH15.

The tax authority (An Giang Province Tax Sub-department 9) confirmed that household businesses (HKDs) that already filed Q1/2026 quarterly tax returns under the old threshold but now have annual revenue under VND 1 billion (qualifying as non-filing businesses under the new rules) do **not need to continue filing quarterly tax returns**. No procedure to cancel the filed return or amend it to show zero revenue is required — the tax authority does not demand this. Instead, HKDs need only submit a **Revenue Notification using Form 01/TKN-CNKD** by no later than 31 January 2027. This is important practical guidance for small household businesses following the government's increase of the tax-exempt revenue threshold to VND 1 billion per year, reducing administrative tax burdens for millions of household businesses.

The Ministry of Finance provided guidance on VAT for companies purchasing wood by-products (ground bark, chipped bark, chipped acacia firewood, wood chips, etc.) from non-business individuals and reselling them to other enterprises for use as boiler fuel. Under VAT Law No. 48/2024/QH15 (amended by Law 149/2025/QH15) and Decree 181/2025/NĐ-CP (amended by Decree 359/2025/NĐ-CP effective January 1, 2026): Plantation/forest products not processed into other products or only minimally processed (including cutting, chopping, grinding, drying) are VAT-exempt when sold by the producing organization or individual. When a company purchases and resells to another enterprise: no VAT declaration or payment required. When sold to individual business households or other organizations/individuals: 5% VAT rate applies. Business households using direct calculation method when selling commercially: 1% rate on revenue.

Fresh sawn timber and kiln-dried sawn timber from planted forests that have undergone only normal pre-processing (sawing, splitting, drying) are VAT-exempt when sold by self-producers or traded between credit-method enterprises/cooperatives. A 5% rate applies when a credit-method enterprise or cooperative sells to household businesses or other non-enterprise buyers; direct-method taxpayers pay 1% of revenue. The 10% rate applies only when the timber has been processed into a different product.

Consolidated Document No. 89/VBHN-VPQH merges State Budget Law No. 89/2025/QH15 (effective from the 2026 budget year) with amendments introduced by National Reserve Law No. 145/2025/QH15 (effective 1 July 2026). It is the framework law governing the entire cycle of preparing, executing, auditing, finalizing, disclosing and overseeing the state budget at both central and local levels (provincial and commune). For businesses and accountants, the most relevant part is Article 36, which sets the revenue-sharing ratios between the central and local budgets: value-added tax (VAT) is split 70% central / 30% local; corporate income tax (CIT, excluding oil and gas and the global minimum top-up tax) and personal income tax fall into the percentage-shared revenue category; import-export duties and the supplementary CIT under Vietnam's global minimum tax (Pillar Two) rules go 100% to the central budget. The Law also sets budget-balance principles, local government borrowing limits, budget reserve levels (2%-5% of spending), and lists 12 categories of prohibited conduct in budget management. Overall, this is a foundational public-finance management law rather than a direct source of business filing or payment obligations - specific tax duties remain governed by the Tax Administration Law, VAT Law, CIT Law and similar statutes. Still, the revenue-allocation rules and public investment priorities are useful context for assessing fiscal policy direction and public investment opportunities relevant to business.

The Ministry of Finance clarifies the VAT classification of roasted and seasoned pine nuts and cashews under the revised VAT regime effective 1 January 2026. Under Decree No. 181/2025/ND-CP, 'minimal processing' is narrowly defined to include only: cleaning, drying, husking, milling, polishing, salting, vacuum sealing, cold storage, and similar standard preservation methods. Roasting and seasoning are not included in this list. Where classification is unclear, businesses should consult the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Products that exceed minimal processing are subject to 10% VAT rather than the 0% exemption or 5% rate applicable to minimally processed agricultural goods.

The Ministry of Finance clarifies the VAT treatment of plant seeds sold by a deduction-method taxpayer to farmers from 1 January 2026. Under Article 5(2) of VAT Law No. 48/2024/QH15, plant propagation materials as defined by plant cultivation law are not subject to VAT. Therefore, if the seeds in question are classified as plant propagation materials under cultivation law, they fall outside the scope of VAT entirely - no VAT applies. Businesses must consult plant cultivation legislation to determine whether their specific seeds qualify as propagation materials, as that classification is the decisive criterion for VAT treatment.

The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department answered a query from an individual who earns salary income from company 52HZ Technology and Communication Co., Ltd. and expects rental income from a residential property in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. The person asked: (1) the effective date of the VND 500 million annual exemption threshold; and (2) the PIT calculation method when multiple income sources exist. The tax authority's guidance: the VND 500 million/year revenue threshold exempting individual businesses from PIT and VAT is effective from the 2026 tax year, per the amended PIT Law passed by the National Assembly and detailed in Circular 109/2025/QH15 dated 10 December 2025. Where two income sources exist (salary and property rental): they are treated as separate income categories and taxed **independently**, not combined — salary is taxed under the progressive rate schedule; rental income is taxed at a flat percentage of revenue (presumptive method) or on actual profit.

The Hai Phong City Tax Department determined that roasted and seasoned pine nuts and pistachio nuts do not qualify as products that have undergone only "minimal processing" under Decree 181/2025/ND-CP and Decree 359/2025/ND-CP. Therefore, a trading company selling these products to other enterprises is not entitled to the VAT exemption from declaration and payment that applies to minimally-processed agricultural products sold between enterprises. Minimal processing is defined as operations such as cleaning, sun-drying, drying, husking, milling, cutting, polishing, salting, and cold storage. Roasting and seasoning constitute processing beyond minimal preparation and transform the agricultural product into a different product. When a trading company using the tax credit method sells roasted/seasoned nuts to individual business households or other non-enterprise entities, it must apply a 5% VAT rate.

Nghe An Tax Department provides guidance on whether on-premise mixed beverages (Fresh Pepsi, Fresh 7Up) are subject to special consumption tax (SCT) under the Law on Special Consumption Tax 2025. Under Clause 4, Article 3 of Decree No. 360/2025/ND-CP dated 31/12/2025, soft drinks subject to SCT must satisfy two conditions: (1) they must be a ready-to-drink product manufactured according to Vietnam national standard TCVN 12828:2019 on soft drinks, and (2) they must have sugar content exceeding 5g/100mL. On-premise beverages mixed to order at the counter (using sugar, milk, canned fruit ingredients, carbonated water, etc.) are NOT subject to SCT if they do not qualify as a ready-to-drink product under TCVN 12828:2019 or do not have sugar content exceeding 5g/100mL. Businesses must assess each specific case to determine their SCT declaration and payment obligations.

A household business that buys buffalo or cattle from farmers, slaughters them, and sells fresh meat to restaurants and markets is trading at the commercial stage and must pay VAT by the direct method at 1% of revenue, plus personal income tax (PIT) at 0.5% of revenue. Fresh slaughtered meat is a "normally pre-processed" livestock product (slaughtering, deboning, skinning, mincing all count as normal pre-processing). When the self-producing farmer sells such products they are not subject to VAT, but when a household business buys and re-sells them at the commercial trading stage it must pay VAT of 1% on revenue. This is set out in Decree 359/2025/NĐ-CP (amending Decree 181/2025/NĐ-CP detailing the VAT Law), effective 1 January 2026, with the household-business presumptive rates of 1% VAT and 0.5% PIT for distribution/supply of goods under Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC. Exemption applies only if the household raises the animals itself and then slaughters and sells the meat: products from a household's own direct farming are exempt from VAT and PIT (income from direct agricultural/livestock production). Buying live animals from others for slaughter and resale does not qualify for this exemption.

The Can Tho City Tax Department confirmed that animal feed is VAT-exempt under Article 5, Clause 3 of the VAT Law No. 48/2024/QH15. Household businesses using the declaration method that distribute animal feed are not subject to VAT. However, household businesses must still file VAT declarations as required. Additionally, those with annual revenue exceeding VND 300 million must file and pay personal income tax in accordance with the law.