Knowledge base

The Ministry of Finance clarifies that the "internal audit committee member" referenced in Article 4.45(a) of the Securities Law 2019 corresponds to a member of the Audit Committee attached to the Board of Directors under Article 137.1(b) of the Enterprise Law 2020 - meaning a governance-level body, not operational-level dedicated internal audit staff. Dedicated staff within the internal audit department (operational level) are not "insiders" under the Securities Law and therefore do not have disclosure obligations for insider transactions. Internal audit matters are governed by Decree 05/2019/ND-CP dated 22 January 2019 on internal audit.

The Ministry of Finance provided guidance on three common issues in enterprise personal income tax (PIT) finalization: (1) when an employee has delegated authorization but is later found to be required to self-file (due to additional tax payable); (2) how to complete withholding certificates in this scenario; (3) employees needing to re-file independently when eTax Mobile does not yet support this function. Per Ministry of Finance guidance (based on Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC and Decree 126/2020/NĐ-CP), enterprises must amend their PIT finalization returns when an individual is found to be ineligible for delegation. The withholding certificate records the amount withheld/provisionally paid during the year. Individuals must physically attend the tax authority to re-file if the application does not support this. Enterprises are not subject to late payment penalties if they properly fulfill withholding and declaration obligations based on actual income paid during the period.

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 guidance on CIT incentives for a science and technology (S&T) enterprise that received its certification in 2017 but has not yet applied the incentives, and now seeks to claim the remaining benefits from 2025. Under CIT Law No. 67/2025/QH15, certified S&T enterprises may apply a 10% tax rate for 15 years, with a 4-year tax exemption and a 50% reduction for the following 9 years. Article 68 of Decree 268/2025/NĐ-CP confirms that enterprises already holding S&T enterprise certificates that have not yet claimed incentives may continue to do so for the remaining eligible period. Note that certification conditions have changed under Decree 268/2025/NĐ-CP (authority to issue now rests with provincial People's Committees; additional R&D spending and S&T workforce conditions now apply). Enterprises must review their actual documentation and contact the direct tax authority to determine the remaining incentive period and applicable conditions.

The Ministry of Finance clarifies land use fee exemption policies for resettlement project developers who develop land for state-mandated resettlement purposes (not for commercial housing). Under the 2024 Land Law (Article 118, clause 8), land allocated without land use fees applies to organizations using land to build housing for resettlement **under state projects**. For displaced persons, they pay land use fees from land clearance compensation funds (Article 111 of the 2024 Land Law). Exemption and reduction policies are set in Articles 18 and 19 of Decree 103/2024/ND-CP (amended by Decree 291/2025/ND-CP). The Ministry of Finance directs parties to contact the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for detailed guidance on compensation and resettlement policies.

The Ministry of Finance clarified that the preferential land-use fee calculation under Point c, Clause 2, Article 10 of Resolution 254/2025/QH15 and Article 6 of Decree 50/2026/ND-CP applies once per household or individual who lawfully uses a plot whose origin is garden or pond land within the same residential plot, or garden/pond land attached to residential land. The question raised was whether persons who received land through inheritance (including substituted inheritance in the first line) or as a gift from a first-line heir qualify for this preferential rate. The Ministry directed the questioner to apply the relevant legal provisions to their specific circumstances without giving a direct yes or no answer. This reflects a practical ambiguity under Resolution 254: the policy applies once per chosen plot per household, and eligibility hinges on lawful land use rights, making case-by-case assessment necessary.

The Department for Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management (Ministry of Finance) clarified the legal authority to set fee and charge rates at the provincial level. The question was whether the Provincial People's Council (PPC) could set a rate bracket and delegate authority to the Provincial People's Committee (Executive Committee) to determine the specific rate. The Ministry of Finance confirmed: under the Law on Fees and Charges and the State Budget Law, the authority to set fee and charge rates belongs to the Provincial People's Council, with no statutory delegation to the Provincial People's Committee. Accordingly, a PPC setting a bracket and delegating specific rate-setting to the executive committee is not compliant with the law. This is an important clarification for provincial authorities on fee management, affecting the legal validity of local fee-setting decisions.

Consolidated Document No. 22/VBHN-BCT, verified by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 30, 2026, merges Circular No. 10/2018/TT-BCT dated May 24, 2018 with its subsequent amendments under Circular No. 12/2023/TT-BCT, Circular No. 38/2025/TT-BCT and Circular No. 15/2026/TT-BCT. It provides detailed rules under Decree No. 40/2018/ND-CP on multi-level marketing (MLM) business management, specifically the training curriculum framework and the process for testing, certifying and revoking certification of legal knowledge about MLM. The training program must run at least 8 hours and cover MLM law, professional ethics, consumer-protection rules, and advertising requirements. Tests may be essay or multiple-choice format, scored on a 100-point scale, with different passing thresholds for general MLM legal-knowledge tests versus tests for local-area contact persons. Provincial People's Committees organize the exams and issue or revoke certifications. The rules apply to training institutions, MLM businesses, and individuals seeking certification in this field. This document does not affect general tax, accounting, e-invoicing, or labor obligations for businesses at large - it governs a specialized licensing procedure limited to the direct-selling/MLM industry.

The Ministry of Finance clarified for a household business established on 3 March 2026 two key questions: (1) when it may register and use e-invoices; and (2) whether payments made by a corporate buyer to the household business before e-invoices are available can be treated as allowable expenses for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) purposes. Under Articles 8 and 9 of Decree 68/2026/ND-CP: A newly-established household business must register for e-invoices within 30 days of the last day of the tax period in which cumulative VAT-taxable revenue reaches VND 1 billion. The household may only begin using e-invoices after completing registration with the tax authority. For the buyer's deductible expenses: Under Article 13 of Circular 20/2026/TT-BTC, corporate buyers purchasing from household businesses with sub-threshold VAT revenue may use Form 02/TNDN (a purchase declaration list, substituting for an invoice) to support deductible expense treatment, provided non-cash payment evidence exists for transactions of VND 5 million or more.

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.