Knowledge base

A real estate company operating since 2003 fully paid its land use fee obligation before July 1, 2014, calculated under the provincial land price table rather than detailed planning indicators such as land use coefficient, building density, or building height. In 2020 the company adjusted the project's detailed construction plan and received approval from the competent authority, but was not required to pay any additional land use fee at that time. The company now wants to transfer part of the project (an apartment block) and asked the Ministry of Finance whether it can rely on point b, clause 3, Article 2 of Circular 76/2014/TT-BTC, which exempts additional land use fee payment when a detailed construction plan changes. The Ministry of Finance did not give a direct yes-or-no answer. Instead it cited the relevant legal framework across different periods: clause 5, Article 14 of Decree 45/2014/ND-CP (amended by Decree 123/2017/ND-CP), clause 3, Article 10 of Circular 76/2014/TT-BTC (supplemented by Circular 10/2018/TT-BTC), the transitional provisions in Article 50 of Decree 103/2024/ND-CP (amended by Decree 291/2025/ND-CP), and the provincial People's Committee's responsibility to determine land financial obligations under Article 44 and clause 6, Article 48 of Decree 103/2024/ND-CP (amended by Decree 50/2026/ND-CP). The Ministry advised the company to work directly with local authorities, based on the specific project file, to have the obligation determined correctly before proceeding with the transfer. The key takeaway for real estate developers is that exemption from an additional land use fee upon a planning adjustment is not automatic - it must be confirmed case by case by local authorities based on each project's documentation, particularly before transferring a project or part of a project.

The National Assembly's Draft Law Portal (Dự thảo Online) lists a draft (amended) Land Law submitted by the Government. According to the information published, the draft is expected to be reviewed and passed by the 16th National Assembly at its 2nd session. The material collected from this source consists only of the title and procedural details (submitting agency and expected passage session) - it does not include the full text or specific provisions of the draft. As a result, it is not yet possible to assess how the changes would affect land-use rights, land rental costs, or the financial obligations of businesses and investors. Once the amended Land Law is passed by the National Assembly and the full text is published, it will be a major law affecting investment and land use by both domestic businesses and foreign investors, and this entry should be revisited and updated with fuller content at that time.

Decree 292/2026/ND-CP, issued on 22 July 2026 and published in Official Gazette No. 456 on 3 August 2026, provides detailed guidance for implementing Vietnam's Law on Foreign Trade Management. It is an overarching framework covering the entire spectrum of international goods trading: export, import, temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import, transshipment, transit, processing of goods involving foreign elements, and agency arrangements for buying and selling goods with foreign parties. For import-export businesses, the Decree clarifies that Vietnamese traders without foreign investment capital may freely conduct export-import business, except for goods on the prohibited or suspended lists, while foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) may only export or import in line with their approved investment project and are barred from the temporary-import-re-export and transshipment trading business (FIEs may only transship goods shipped directly between the exporting and importing country, without passing through a Vietnamese border gate). The Decree sets out detailed dossiers, procedures, and processing timelines, typically 2-5 working days, for licenses covering special-case export or import of prohibited goods, goods under temporary suspension, temporary-import-re-export trading, and transshipment trading, along with the maximum storage period for temporarily imported goods in Vietnam, 60 days, extendable up to twice. The Decree also details the Certificate of Free Sale (CFS) for exported and imported goods, including the issuing authority, required dossier, processing time, and a 5-year validity period for export CFS. In addition, the Decree establishes a coordination mechanism among ministries and agencies for resolving international disputes over the application of foreign trade management measures, for example when a foreign government files a claim against Vietnam before an arbitral tribunal or international court. This is a foundational regulation that every import-export business, especially FDI enterprises and companies engaged in temporary-import-re-export or transshipment trading, needs to understand in order to comply correctly with licensing procedures and avoid violations.

The Ministry of Finance (via Tax Sub-Department 2 of Khanh Hoa Province) answered a household business's question about how to report revenue under 1 billion VND on Form No. 01/TKN-CNKD (issued under Circular 50/2026/TT-BTC), for taxpayers using the declaration method. Asked which column to use for revenue below the taxable threshold, the tax authority did not give a specific answer because the taxpayer did not state its business line, and instructed the reader to contact its managing tax office directly for guidance matching its actual business. On the second question - what cases Column 3, "Revenue not subject to VAT," covers - the Ministry confirmed the line item follows Article 5 of VAT Law No. 48/2024/QH15 (as amended by Law No. 149/2025/QH15 and Law No. 09/2026/QH16): it applies only to unprocessed or only preliminarily processed agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture products sold directly by the producing or catching organization or individual, or such goods at the import stage - not to every household business whose revenue simply falls below the VAT taxable threshold. This is an important clarification for household and individual businesses: revenue below the VAT taxable threshold (currently 1 billion VND) is not automatically the same as "revenue not subject to VAT" under Column 3 - these are two distinct concepts. Businesses should contact their managing tax office directly for guidance on which line item to use based on their specific business line, to avoid a misdeclaration that creates risk later.

Vietnam Social Insurance (BHXH Vietnam) has issued an official response clarifying the social insurance contribution base for civil servants during their probationary period. Under Point a, Clause 1, Article 31 of Social Insurance Law No. 41/2024/QH15, the salary used as the contribution base for employees on state-prescribed pay scales is the monthly salary based on position, title, grade, and step, plus any applicable allowances. BHXH Vietnam confirmed that during the probationary period, civil servants are paid only 85 percent of the Step 1 salary under their grade. As a result, the base for calculating social insurance contributions, both the employer share and the employee's own 8 percent contribution, must be calculated on this 85 percent figure, not on 100 percent of the Step 1 salary. This is a practical point for HR and accounting staff at public administrative agencies, public service units, and any employer using the state salary scale, to correctly calculate social insurance contributions during an employee's trial period and avoid over or under payment.

A company going through dissolution asked the Ministry of Finance (MOF) how far forward it should accrue savings deposit interest when preparing financial statements, given that Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC requires a financial statement once a business is no longer a going concern. MOF's Department of Accounting and Auditing Supervision Management clarified that financial statements must be prepared at the legal 'point of dissolution' under the Law on Enterprises, not at the date the company simply issues its dissolution decision - a distinction many businesses get wrong. For the accrued interest itself, the company should apply the accounting principles for Account 128 (Held-to-Maturity Investments) under Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC together with the specific terms of its deposit contract, recognizing interest consistent with the correctly determined dissolution point rather than any of the three dates it had proposed.

A company that applies an end-of-period trade discount based on sales volume asked the Ministry of Finance how to prepare the listing attached to discount invoices, whether the discount value may be shown as a negative figure, and how to word the invoice's description line. The tax authority answered by citing Decree 254/2026/ND-CP and Circular 91/2026/TT-BTC (both dated June 30, 2026, guiding Tax Administration Law No. 108/2025/QH15 on e-invoices). Under the cited rules, when a business applies a volume- or revenue-based trade discount, the discount amount is adjusted on the invoice for the final purchase or a subsequent period, not exceeding the value of goods on that invoice, or an adjustment invoice may be issued together with a listing specifying the invoice numbers to be adjusted, the adjustment amount, and the adjusted tax; the listing is kept at the business and produced when the tax authority requests it. Notably, the rules confirm that a downward adjustment must be recorded as a negative figure and an upward adjustment as a positive figure, matching the actual adjustment - directly answering the company's question about negative figures. The tax authority did not specify the exact wording for the invoice's description line, instead directing the company to compare the cited regulations against its own actual circumstances, or contact Ho Chi Minh City Tax Sub-Department No. 12 (Business Support and Management Team No. 3) for further help. This guidance is useful for any business with a volume-based trade discount policy when issuing e-invoices under the new rules.

Vietnam Social Insurance (BHXH) has answered a query from an employee about mandatory social insurance obligations after she stopped receiving unemployment benefits mid-month to start a new job. She began working in mid-December and worked continuously through month-end, but her new employer refused to pay social insurance for that month, citing advice that she had already received a full month of unemployment benefits under her prior benefit decision. In its official response, BHXH Vietnam confirmed that under the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, the Law on Employment, and their implementing guidance, an employee who starts working, earns wages, and works continuously through month-end is subject to mandatory social insurance (BHXH), health insurance (BHYT), unemployment insurance (BHTN), and occupational accident/disease insurance (BHTNLD-BNN) starting that same month. The fact that the employee is also entitled to a full final month of unemployment benefits under the benefit-termination rule (Clause 4, Article 19 of Decree 374/2025/ND-CP) does not exempt the mandatory social insurance obligation that arises from the actual employment relationship. BHXH said it will coordinate with the employer to review records and guide retroactive payment of BHXH, BHYT, BHTN, and BHTNLD-BNN contributions for the employee. This has practical significance for employers: a business cannot refuse to register a newly hired employee for mandatory social insurance simply because that employee is still within a prior unemployment-benefit month, and the employee does not need to repay the unemployment benefit before enrolling. Employers should proactively review payroll records and make retroactive contributions to avoid breaching the mandatory contribution obligation under Clause 5, Article 32 of the Law on Social Insurance.

The Ministry of Finance is leading the drafting of a law amending and supplementing several articles of Vietnam's current Law on Natural Resources Tax. This is an early step in the legislative process, with the draft currently under review by the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee before being submitted to the full National Assembly. Under the current schedule, the draft law is expected to be presented and passed at the 2nd session of the 16th National Assembly. At this stage, the specific content of the proposed amendments, such as tax rates, taxable subjects, or calculation methods, has not yet been published on the draft-law portal, so businesses engaged in natural resource extraction (minerals, oil and gas, water, forest products, and similar activities) should monitor developments closely to prepare for eventual changes once the law takes effect. RegHub will provide updates as more detailed content on the specific amendments becomes available.

The Ministry of Finance's Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision issued an official response to a reader's question about accounting treatment between a provincial Local Development Investment Fund (LDIF) and a local Housing Fund, in cases where the LDIF is assigned to manage the Housing Fund under Decree No. 302/2025/ND-CP dated November 19, 2025. According to the guidance, when an LDIF receives entrusted management of the operations and capital of a local Housing Fund, it must separately account for the entrusted capital and any assets formed from that capital, keeping them distinct from the LDIF's own operating capital and assets, per Clause 3, Article 32 and Article 38 of Decree No. 147/2020/ND-CP. Accounting for the entrusted activity follows Circular No. 90/2021/TT-BTC, which allows the fund to open additional detail-level sub-accounts to meet its own management needs. The Ministry also noted that other matters raised - such as final settlement of revenue and expenses, distribution of income-expense differentials, and annual financial planning for the Housing Fund - fall outside the authority of the Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision and will be forwarded to the relevant unit for a separate response. This guidance applies mainly to off-budget state financial funds at the provincial level and does not directly affect the accounting or tax obligations of private enterprises or household businesses.

A taxpayer in Da Nang had their land use fee recalculated by the tax authority under Decree 50/2026/ND-CP and National Assembly Resolution 254/2025/QH15, and the result showed an overpayment that should be refunded. However, the tax official advised the taxpayer to wait, because the public online service portal does not yet have a dedicated procedure for filing a refund request in this specific situation. Responding to the inquiry, Tax Region 9 (Da Nang) cited point d, clause 2, Article 12 of Decree 50/2026/ND-CP: if a household or individual already paid the land use fee in full under the original tax notice, and the recalculated amount is lower, the difference is refunded by offsetting it against other land use fee or land rent obligations; if no such obligation remains, it is refunded in cash under state budget and tax management law. On the concrete procedure, the tax authority cited Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC (as amended by Circular 94/2025/TT-BTC): a taxpayer with an overpayment and no outstanding tax debt should submit a refund request using form 01/DNXLNT (with a power-of-attorney document if not filing in person) directly to the tax authority managing the collection, without waiting for a dedicated online-portal feature. This is practical guidance for households, individuals, and small businesses whose land use fees are being recalculated under the transitional rules of Resolution 254/2025/QH15 - they can proactively pursue a refund rather than waiting for the electronic system to catch up.

Vietnam Social Security (BHXH Vietnam) has issued an official response addressing complaints about the power-of-attorney procedure for claiming one-time social insurance benefits after Decision No. 313/QD-BHXH (issued March 27, 2026) abolished Form No. 13-HSB, the standard power-of-attorney form. BHXH Vietnam clarified that removing this form is only a change to the dossier composition and internal workflow as part of administrative reform, and it does not eliminate or restrict a worker's legal right to authorize someone else to act on their behalf. Under point d, clause 2, Article 10 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance (effective from July 1, 2025), SI beneficiaries retain the right to authorize another person in writing to handle SI procedures; a power-of-attorney for receiving pensions or allowances is valid for a maximum of 12 months and must be properly certified. For workers residing or working abroad, the power-of-attorney must be certified by a Vietnamese diplomatic or consular office abroad, or notarized and certified under local law and consularly legalized (unless exempted), in order to be valid for transactions in Vietnam. BHXH Vietnam also acknowledged reports of some local officials rigidly rejecting power-of-attorney dossiers and asked affected individuals to provide details of the receiving office, timing, and supporting documents for investigation. Employers with staff working overseas, and the workers themselves, should note the correct form of power-of-attorney now required in place of the abolished Form 13-HSB when filing for one-time social insurance benefits.