On December 02, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP regarding administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations. This Decree will officially take effect from January 16, 2026.
Crowe Vietnam is pleased to present to our esteemed clients a summary of key changes, particularly the new regulations on penalty levels for invoice violations and third-party liabilities, to assist you in proactively ensuring legal compliance. Accordingly, the key points to note are as follows:
1. Expansion of the Concept and Scope of “Administrative Tax Violations”
Decree 310 has amended Clause 1, Article 2, clarifying and expanding the scope of state budget revenues subject to administrative tax violation regulations.
- New Definition: An administrative tax violation is a fault-based act committed by an organization or individual that violates laws on tax administration, tax laws, and other revenues belonging to the state budget managed by tax administration agencies.
- Specific revenues include: Land use fees; land and water surface rents; fees for granting mineral/water resource exploitation rights; remaining after-tax profits of enterprises with 100% state-owned capital; dividends/profits distributed for the state capital portion in joint-stock companies or multi-member limited liability companies, etc.
2. Addition of “Force Majeure” Cases Eligible for Exemption
The Decree adds Clause 10 to Article 2, specifically stipulating cases of force majeure in the sanctioning of administrative violations regarding tax and invoices. Taxpayers encountering these situations (if they cannot be remedied despite applying all measures) will be considered for exemption from legal liability.
Cases include:
- Natural disasters, catastrophes, epidemics, fires.
- Unexpected accidents, war, riots, strikes.
- Unforeseen objective events.
3. New Regulations on Sanctioned Subjects (Third Parties)
A notable point in Decree 310 is the attribution of direct liability to the authorized party or the party with the obligation to pay on behalf, rather than penalizing the taxpayer as previously done in certain cases:
- Authorized Cases: If a taxpayer authorizes another organization/individual to perform tax obligations, and the authorized party commits a violation, the authorized party shall be sanctioned.
- Payment on Behalf Cases: Organizations or individuals obligated by law to register, declare, and pay tax on behalf of others shall be sanctioned if they commit violations.
- Global Minimum Tax: Constituent entities responsible for declaring under the regulations on Global Base Erosion (Resolution 107/2023/QH15) will be sanctioned under this Decree if violations occur.
4. Increased and Detailed Penalty Levels for Invoice Violations (Article 24)
Decree 310 subdivides penalty brackets based on the number of invoices involved in the violation and the nature of the act (promotional goods vs. commercial sales).
4.1. Act of Issuing Invoices at the Incorrect Time
| Penalty Level | Violation (For promotional, advertising, sample goods, internal consumption…) | Violation (For sale of goods, provision of general services) |
| Warning | Violation of 01 invoice number | (Not applicable) |
| 500,000 – 1,500,000 VND | Violation of 02 to under 10 invoice numbers | Violation of 01 invoice number |
| 2,000,000 – 5,000,000 VND | Violation of 10 to under 50 invoice numbers | Violation of 02 to under 10 invoice numbers |
| 5,000,000 – 15,000,000 VND | Violation of 50 to under 100 invoice numbers | Violation of 10 to under 20 invoice numbers |
| 15,000,000 – 30,000,000 VND | Violation of 100 invoice numbers or more | Violation of 20 to under 50 invoice numbers |
| 30,000,000 – 50,000,000 VND | (Ceiling for this group is 30M) | Violation of 50 to under 100 invoice numbers |
| 50,000,000 – 70,000,000 VND | (Not applicable) | Violation of 100 invoice numbers or more |
4.2. Act of Failing to Issue Invoices as Prescribed
This group of acts carries the most aggravated penalties, up to 80 million VND. Specifically:
| Penalty Level | Violation (For promotional, internal, lending goods…) | Violation (For sale of goods, general services) |
| Warning | Violation of 01 invoice number | (Not applicable) |
| 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 VND | Violation of 02 to under 10 invoice numbers | Violation of 01 invoice number |
| 2,000,000 – 10,000,000 VND | Violation of 10 to under 50 invoice numbers | Violation of 02 to under 10 invoice numbers |
| 10,000,000 – 30,000,000 VND | Violation of 50 to under 100 invoice numbers | Violation of 10 to under 20 invoice numbers |
| 30,000,000 – 50,000,000 VND | Violation of 100 invoice numbers or more | Violation of 20 to under 50 invoice numbers |
| 60,000,000 – 80,000,000 VND | (Not applicable) | Violation of 50 invoice numbers or more |
Note: The act of giving away or selling invoices is subject to a fine ranging from 20,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND.
5. Penalties for Related Organizations and Individuals (Article 19)
The Decree amends penalties for related parties (such as banks, asset custodians, etc.) for non-compliance with tax authority requests:
- 2,000,000 – 6,000,000 VND: Providing information, documents, or account details past the deadline by 05 days or more.
- 6,000,000 – 10,000,000 VND: Providing inaccurate information regarding assets, accounts, wages, or income of the taxpayer.
- 10,000,000 – 16,000,000 VND:
- Failure to provide information regarding assets, accounts, wages, or income.
- Colluding with or shielding taxpayers to evade tax or failing to execute enforcement decisions.
6. Transitional Provisions
To ensure rights during the transition between the two legal documents, the Decree stipulates:
- Acts completed before Jan 16, 2026: Apply old regulations (effective at the time of violation).
- Acts occurring before Jan 16, 2026, and detected after this date: Apply the new regulations of Decree 310/2025/ND-CP.
- Acts already sanctioned, currently under complaint/lawsuit: Settled according to the old law (time of the act).
