Legal updates

In cases where a company issues an invoice at the incorrect time as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree No. 123/2020/NĐ-CP but does not fall under the cases specified in Clause 9, Article 3 of Decree No. 123/2020/NĐ-CP (regarding the use of illegal invoices and documents, and the unlawful use of invoices and documents), and the invoice fully complies with the form and content requirements of Decree No. 123/2020/NĐ-CP, it will be considered a valid invoice.

In cases where a domestic enterprise sells goods to a foreign trader with a presence in Vietnam and is designated to deliver the goods to a third party, which is a Vietnamese enterprise, through a bonded warehouse, such transactions do not meet the conditions for export sales to organizations and individuals abroad or for consumption outside Vietnam. Additionally, goods sold to organizations and individuals in non-tariff zones and consumed within these zones do not qualify as exported goods eligible for the 0% VAT rate under Clause 1, Article 9 of Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC.

In the case where a taxpayer submits a supplementary declaration for the VAT return for the tax period of June 2023 on August 10, 2023, and the supplementary declaration only results in an increase in the deductible VAT amount for the tax period of June 2023, the taxpayer shall report this adjustment under item [38] “Adjustment to Increase Deductible Value-Added Tax from Previous Periods” on the initial VAT return for the tax period of July 2023. This is in compliance with the regulations, as it falls within the filing deadline for the VAT return of the July 2023 tax period.

In cases where a goods supply contract is signed between a Vietnamese entity and a foreign contractor under DDU or DAP delivery terms, where the seller is responsible for transporting the goods to the delivery location designated by the buyer, and the contract does not include any services provided in Vietnam (such as installation, trial run, warranty, maintenance, etc., including cases where these services are provided free of charge), the contract is subject only to value-added tax (VAT) on goods at the importation stage and a corporate income tax (CIT) rate of 1% on taxable revenue. 

The General Department of Taxation requests the Tax Department to confirm individuals’ tax obligations in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Circular No. 80/2021/TT-BTC dated September 29, 2021, issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The General Department of Taxation has provided specific guidance on determining the place for submitting personal income tax refund applications in Official Letter No. 4172/TCT-DNNCN dated September 20, 2023, concerning the enhancement of personal income tax refund application processing.

One notable update in this Decree is the expansion of cases exempt from administrative notification procedures for implementing promotions, with no value limit, including:

The General Department of Taxation provides guidance as follows: In cases where the Tax Department has issued VAT refunds for exported goods and services without non-cash payment documents, the Tax Department must recover the refunded VAT amounts that lack non-cash payment documents in accordance with the provisions of the VAT Law and tax administration regulations.

VAT will be reduced for groups of goods and services currently subject to the 10% VAT rate, except for those listed in Appendices I, II, and III issued in conjunction with this Decree.