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The Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision has issued Official Letter 720/CST-TN dated March 27, 2026, summarizing the notable new points of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP and Circular 20/2026/TT-BTC concerning Corporate Income Tax (CIT) as follows:
1. New points regarding taxpayers
Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP supplements the regulation that foreign enterprises providing goods and services via e-commerce and digital platforms must pay CIT on income generated in Vietnam.
Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP supplements the list of taxpayers paying on behalf of others, including:
- Organizations managing e-commerce trading floors, organizations managing digital platforms.
- Securities investment fund management companies.
Clause 3, Article 2 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP supplements that the permanent establishment of a foreign enterprise includes e-commerce platforms and digital platforms through which the foreign enterprise provides goods and services in Vietnam.
2. New points regarding taxable income
Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP supplements the regulation that income from the transfer of capital, capital contribution rights, and securities does not include direct receipts related to the increase or decrease of the enterprise’s owner’s equity.
Clause 4, Article 3 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP supplements and clarifies that capital transfers by foreign enterprises include both direct and indirect transfers. Accordingly, even in cases where a parent company executes an offshore capital transfer, this transaction may still be considered an indirect capital transfer in Vietnam and be subject to taxation in Vietnam.
3. New points regarding taxable income and offsetting taxable income in the tax period
Article 6 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP amends the regulation allowing enterprises to offset income from the transfer of real estate, investment projects, and the right to participate in investment projects against losses from production and business activities. However, if this transfer activity incurs a loss, the enterprise is not allowed to offset it against the taxable income of production and business activities that are currently enjoying tax incentives.
4. New points regarding the determination of losses and loss carryforwards
Article 7 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP removes the regulation stating that losses from the transfer of real estate, investment projects, and the right to participate in investment projects can only be carried forward to the following year against the taxable income of that specific activity.
Concurrently, due to changes in the regulations on offsetting profits and losses in Article 6, Clause 4, Article 25 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP supplements transitional provisions on loss carryforwards, accordingly: Enterprises with losses arising before the effective date of this Decree (including losses from the transfer of real estate, investment projects, and the right to participate in investment projects) that are still within the permitted loss carryforward period shall continue to carry forward losses in accordance with the provisions of this Decree for the remaining time. Losses from the transfer of real estate, investment projects, and the right to participate in investment projects from previous periods cannot be offset against profits from production and business activities enjoying tax incentives.
