Knowledge base

The Ministry of Finance advises that a machinery and industrial equipment trading company may include an 'Energy Surcharge' as a separate line item on its invoice, because this is an additional charge directly linked to the main goods transaction. The VAT rate applicable to the surcharge is the same rate as the main goods. A company not in the energy business may still issue an invoice with 'Energy Surcharge' content, provided the charge is genuine and clearly agreed upon in the contract. It would be inappropriate to label the charge as 'Freight Surcharge' if no actual freight service is provided. The legal basis includes Decree 70/2025/ND-CP and Circular 48/2024/QH15.

The Ministry of Finance clarified the VAT rate for domestically sold frozen seafood that has undergone only basic (simple) processing — cleaning, sorting, cutting, blast-freezing, and cold-storage at below -18°C. Under VAT Law 48/2024/QH15 (amended by Law 149/2025/QH15) and Decree 181/2025/ND-CP (amended by Decree 359/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 January 2026), cold storage and freezing are explicitly listed as basic processing operations. Consequently: self-producing or self-catching entities that sell such products are VAT-exempt (outside the scope of VAT). Enterprises or cooperatives buying and reselling to other enterprises/cooperatives are not required to declare and pay VAT but may claim input VAT credits. Sales to individuals or other parties attract a 5% VAT rate. Business households using the direct method pay 1% of revenue.

The Hanoi Tax Department (Tax Base 22) provided guidance to Thach That General Hospital regarding the accidental filing of a VAT return under a daily period instead of the quarterly period on the e-government portal. The tax amount owed was paid on time and in full, but the declared period was incorrect. According to the Tax Department's guidance: based on Article 13(4)(b) of Decree No. 125/ND-CP dated 19 October 2020, the specific situation must be assessed. If a taxpayer files a tax return more than **74 days** beyond the prescribed deadline, administrative penalty for late filing applies. The fact that the tax amount was fully paid on time may be considered a **mitigating circumstance** in determining the penalty amount. The Tax Department advises the Hospital to review the relevant regulations and contact the tax authority directly for assistance with the correction and supplementary return process.

The Ministry of Finance cited the VAT legal framework applicable to EXW costs (foreign domestic transport, loading/unloading, and warehouse-handling fees at the seller's premises) that a logistics company pays to foreign partners and then recovers from domestic customers. Article 9(3) of VAT Law 48/2024/QH15 sets the 10% rate for goods and services not covered by the 0% or 5% schedules, with an explicit inclusion for services supplied by foreign providers without a permanent establishment in Vietnam to Vietnamese organisations or individuals via e-commerce channels and digital platforms; Article 13 of Decree 181/2025/ND-CP sets the VAT base for foreign contractors or sub-contractors at the total revenue received, including costs borne on their behalf by the Vietnamese party. The Ministry did not rule definitively that 10% applies to this exact EXW-recovery scenario - it cited the framework and instructed the enterprise to study the provisions and self-determine its obligations.

The Ministry of Finance (through Tay Ninh Tax Department) provided guidance on VAT and PIT calculation methods for a household business registered in October 2025 that selected the percentage-of-revenue method from the start. If total 2026 revenue exceeds VND 3 billion by year-end, can the household business continue using this method? Per Decree 141/2026/NĐ-CP dated December 6, 2026 and the VAT and Tax Administration Laws: A household business that selected the percentage-of-revenue method in the previous year continues to apply this method for the entire 2026 tax year, even if revenue exceeds VND 3 billion during that year. Only from the following tax year must it consider switching to another method if conditions are met. The Tay Ninh Tax Department responded for Mr. Nguyen Van Hai's reference and implementation.

The Ministry of Finance provided a general-principle response to an individual who buys live pigs, separates them into cuts (meat, bones, offal) and sells them retail. The activity falls under the category of distribution and supply of goods, so the VAT flat rate is 1% of revenue, per Article 12(2) of the VAT Law and Appendix I of Circular 69/2025/TT-BTC. For personal income tax (PIT), the applicable rate is 0.5% of revenue for distribution and supply of goods, per Article 10 of the PIT Law No. 04/2007/QH12 (as amended by Clause 4, Article 2 of Law No. 71/2014/QH13) and Appendix I of Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC. The Ministry noted that, as no specific dossier was provided, this guidance is based on general principles only; the questioner should verify against actual circumstances and consult the directly managing tax authority for specific guidance.

The Customs Department responds to an enterprise's question about handling a situation where customs authorities notify the enterprise of numerous 2024 and 2025 import declarations with incorrect HS codes, resulting in wrong VAT (reduced from 10% to 8%) and import duties (increased from 3% to 5%). The enterprise has paid the additional import duties but is unsure how to handle the overpaid VAT. The Customs Department guidance: Under Article 60(1) of Tax Administration Law No. 38/2019/QH14, overpaid VAT is handled in three ways: (1) offset against other outstanding tax debts; (2) deducted from the next tax payment; or (3) refunded when the enterprise has no outstanding tax debts. When offsetting against outstanding debts, no late-payment interest is charged for the period from the date of overpayment to the date of offset. Importantly, for VAT to be refunded through customs, the enterprise must first file an adjustment with the domestic tax authority (tax office) regarding previously credited VAT input, before requesting the refund from customs. After issuing a refund decision, customs provides information to the tax authority.

The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department responded to a Group 2 household business (taxed on revenue, fashion retail sector) using MTT e-invoice software. In Q1/2026, staff failed to tick the 'retail sale' flag on the software, meaning daily consolidated invoices for retail transactions were not generated as expected. Based on the cited legal provisions (Article 12.2 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP and Article 2.5 of Decree 70/2025/ND-CP), e-invoices issued from cash register systems (MTT) on a per-transaction basis are valid invoices. Where invoices were issued per transaction but the retail aggregation flag was not selected, the business must review its invoicing process against tax authority guidelines and reconcile declared revenue to make corrections if discrepancies exist. The business is advised to contact the directly managing tax authority for specific support. The response also states the general principle that Group 2 household businesses are obligated to report invoice usage and pay tax based on actual revenue. A technical omission in the software does not exempt the business from its revenue declaration obligations.

The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department provides guidance on non-cash payment requirements for VAT input deductibility and CIT deductible expenses under the current legal framework. Under Article 14 of the Law on VAT 2024 and Article 26 of Decree 181/2025/ND-CP, purchases of goods and services worth VND 5 million or more (including imported goods) must be supported by non-cash payment instruments for input VAT to be deductible. Similarly, under Article 9 of the Law on Corporate Income Tax 2025 and Article 9 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP, expenses on goods and services of VND 5 million or more must be supported by non-cash payment proof to qualify as deductible CIT expenses. Where a logistics company pays customs and transport fees of VND 5 million or more on behalf of the importer, and the importer does not comply with non-cash payment requirements, those expenses risk being disallowed for CIT purposes and the corresponding input VAT may not be deductible. The Tax Department advises businesses to study and comply with Article 14 of the VAT Law, Article 9 of the CIT Law, and their implementing regulations.

The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department responds to a query about the tax obligations of construction contractors on a religious/cultural infrastructure project where the project owner is an international Buddhist organization and funding comes from charitable donations. Since the query concerns tax obligations of organizations/enterprises, the tax authority instructs Company A (main contractor) and Company B (subcontractor) to consult directly with their managing tax authority with actual documentation for specific guidance.