1. Decision No. 970/QĐ-TCT on Issuing the Tax Audit Process
Key updates include:
- Selection of enterprises for audit at the tax office: Priority is given based on high-risk ranking, combined with reviewing enterprises that have not been audited or inspected for over 5 years.
- Selection of enterprises for on-site inspection: Based on risk ranking from highest to lowest, combined with selecting enterprises that have not undergone tax inspections or audits for over 5 years.
- Cases subject to unscheduled inspections without needing to be included in a plan (Point 1.3, Section III of the Process): Inspections based on complaints; inspections directed by the head of the tax authority or higher-level tax authority; inspections requested by the enterprise (e.g., division, separation, merger, conversion, dissolution, termination of activities, equitization, tax code deactivation, or business relocation); inspections before tax refunds; inspections proposed after a tax office audit; and other exceptional cases.
Decision No. 970/QĐ-TCT replaces the previous tax audit process under Decision No. 746/QĐ-TCT (April 20, 2015) and Decision No. 1215/QĐ-TCT (September 3, 2020), effective from July 14, 2023.
2. National Assembly Approves 2% VAT Reduction Extension Until June 30, 2024
On November 29, 2023, the National Assembly approved a resolution during its 6th session (15th Legislature), extending the 2% VAT reduction for another six months, from January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024.
Eligible goods and services follow Point a, Section 1.1, Clause 1, Article 3 of Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15, passed on January 11, 2022.
To recap, this resolution provides a 2% VAT reduction for goods and services subject to the standard 10% VAT rate, excluding the following categories:
- Telecommunications and information technology
- Financial, banking, securities, and insurance services
- Real estate business
- Metal and fabricated metal products
- Mining products (excluding coal), coke, refined petroleum, chemical products
- Goods and services subject to special consumption tax
3. Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BTC Guiding Implementation of Decree No. 49/2022/NĐ-CP on VAT
On February 28, 2023, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BTC providing guidance on Decree No. 49/2022/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2022, regarding VAT.
This circular (with 3 articles) integrates the amendments from Decree No. 49/2022/NĐ-CP into Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC (e.g., tax base for Vietnam Electricity Group’s power production, tax base for real estate transfers, and VAT refund rules for investment projects).
Although Circular 13 took effect on April 14, 2023, its regulations on VAT refunds for conditional investment sectors apply retroactively from July 1, 2016. Adjustments for VAT, late payment interest, and penalties (if any) will follow these steps:
- If a decision on tax refund recovery, late payment, or penalty was issued, the tax authority will adjust accordingly.
- If the business has already supplemented its VAT declarations, adjustments will be made jointly between the business and the tax authority.
Any recovered VAT, including cases where it was offset against payable VAT, along with late payment amounts or penalties (if any), will be handled and refunded under the overpayment refund rules.
4. Implementation of Global Minimum Tax from 2024
On November 29, 2023, the National Assembly approved a resolution on applying additional corporate income tax (CIT) under the global anti-base erosion (GloBE) rules, effective January 1, 2024, for the fiscal year 2024.
The resolution specifies the formula for calculating the qualifying domestic minimum top-up tax:
Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax = (Top-Up Tax Rate × Top-Up Taxable Profit) + Adjusted Top-Up Tax for the Current Year (if any)
A 15% tax rate applies to multinational enterprises (MNEs) with consolidated annual revenue of at least EUR 750 million (approximately USD 800 million) in at least two of the four preceding fiscal years.
(Source: Vietnam National Assembly Portal – https://quochoi.vn/pages/tim-kiem.aspx?ItemID=82687)
5. Decree No. 70/2023/NĐ-CP on Foreign Employees Working in Vietnam
On September 18, 2023, the Government issued Decree No. 70/2023/NĐ-CP, amending Decree No. 152/2020/NĐ-CP on foreign employees working in Vietnam.
Key changes include:
Change in approval authority for employing foreign employees:
The Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs will now issue approval or non-approval documents for each job position using Form No. 03/PLI, Appendix I of Decree No. 70/2023/NĐ-CP, within 10 working days of receiving the explanatory report or the report on changes in foreign labor demand (Clause 2, Article 1).
(Previously, this authority included the Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs or the Provincial People’s Committees.)
Shortened reporting timeline for foreign labor demand:
Compared to Decree No. 152/2020/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 70/2023/NĐ-CP reduces the reporting lead time to at least 15 days before the expected employment date (Clause 2, Article 1).
Similarly, any changes in job positions, titles, work methods, quantities, or locations must be reported at least 15 days before the planned employment date.
(Previously, the requirement was at least 30 days.)
Effective date: Decree No. 70/2023/NĐ-CP has been in effect since September 18, 2023.
