Vietnam Tax & Legal Newsletter August 2025
Key updates on Special Consumption Tax, fixed asset depreciation, Personal Income Tax reform and VAT guidance for services provided to companies in non-tariff zones.
01. Special Consumption Tax Law No. 66/2025/QH15
On 14 June 2025, the National Assembly issued the Special Consumption Tax Law 2025, which provides regulations on taxable objects, non-taxable objects, taxpayers, tax calculation bases, tax refund, tax deduction and special consumption tax reduction.
Taxable objects and tax rates
| Items | Current SCT Law Before 01/01/2026 |
New SCT Law 2025 After 01/01/2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable objects | Alcohol, beer and cigarettes; cars with fewer than 24 seats; gasoline, yachts and airplanes; air conditioners under 90,000 BTU; joss paper and votive offerings. | Additional objects include helicopters, gliders and sugar-sweetened beverages with sugar content over 5g/100ml. Joss paper excludes children’s toys and educational items. Air conditioners are adjusted to the range from 24,000 to 90,000 BTU. |
| Tax rate | Wine ≥20°: 65%; wine <20°: 35%; beer: 65%; cigarettes: 75%. | Wine ≥20°, wine <20° and beer continue with base rates but increase by 5% per year. Cigarettes are subject to 75% plus an absolute tax rate. |
Non-taxable objects
The new law also clarifies certain non-taxable objects, including aircraft, helicopters and gliders used for security, national defense, medical evacuation, rescue, firefighting and pilot training purposes. Aircraft and yachts used for commercial purposes such as transporting goods, passengers and tourists are also addressed.
Special Consumption Tax refund
According to Clause 1, Article 9 of the 2025 Special Consumption Tax Law, taxpayers may be entitled to a refund of paid Special Consumption Tax in the following cases:
- Imported goods used as raw materials for the production or processing of exports, applicable to the actual quantity of goods exported.
- Tax finalization upon dissolution or bankruptcy, where there is remaining Special Consumption Tax that has not been credited.
- Refund of Special Consumption Tax under international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.
02. Additional Principles for Fixed Asset Depreciation
On 30 May 2025, the Minister of Finance issued Circular No. 30/2025/TT-BTC, amending Circular No. 45/2013/TT-BTC, which provides guidance on the management, use and depreciation of fixed assets.
The Circular introduces an additional principle for tangible fixed assets that currently exist but are temporarily not in use and have not yet been put into operation or involved in business activities.
The new principle applies specifically to enterprises with 100% charter capital held by state-owned enterprises under the project on handling shortcomings and inefficiencies in delayed and underperforming projects and enterprises in the industry and trade sector, as stipulated in Decision No. 1468/QD-TTg dated 29 September 2017.
These enterprises are allowed to proactively defer or temporarily suspend depreciation during the period the assets are not in use, while ensuring the total depreciation period remains in line with the depreciation timeframe specified in Circular No. 45/2013/TT-BTC.
03. Draft Personal Income Tax Law 2025
On 17 July 2025, the Ministry of Finance published the Draft Law on Personal Income Tax, intended to replace the 2007 Law on Personal Income Tax, on its official web portal and sought opinions from the public.
Key proposed changes
| Items | Current PIT Law | Draft PIT Law 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Progressive tax rate table | There are 7 levels in the progressive tax rate table, ranging from 5% to 35%. | The number of tax levels is reduced from 7 to 5, while maintaining tax rates from 5% to 35%. |
| PIT from business | Presumptive tax or a progressive tax schedule applies to certain individuals. | Tax rates from 0.5% to 5% are specified, varying by industry such as services, trade and construction. |
| Personal and dependent deductions | Personal deduction is VND 11 million. Dependent deduction is VND 4.4 million per person. | Two proposed options: personal deduction of VND 13.3 million or VND 15.5 million; dependent deduction of VND 5.3 million or VND 6.2 million. |
| Property transfer tax | 2% of the transfer price. | Option 1: 20% on profit. Option 2: based on a percentage of the sale price and holding period, from 10% to 2%. |
| Deduction adjustment | No mechanism for periodic adjustment. | The draft proposes linking deduction levels to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), but detailed implementation has not yet been specified. |
04. VAT Rate for Services Provided to Companies in Non-Tariff Zones
Pursuant to the regulations on the application of the 0% VAT rate for export services as prescribed in Clauses 2, 4 and 5, Article 17 of Decree No. 181/2025/NĐ-CP dated 1 July 2025, services provided to organizations located in non-tariff zones may be eligible for the 0% VAT rate if the relevant conditions are met.
Conditions for 0% VAT
- The services are provided directly to organizations located in the non-tariff zone.
- The services are used within the zone to directly serve export production activities.
- The services do not fall under the excluded cases stipulated in Clause 4, Article 17 of Decree No. 181/2025/NĐ-CP.
Examples of potentially eligible services
- Transportation services.
- Services provided to export processing companies, including container handling at ports, factories and warehouses.
- Loading and unloading at factories, ports and airports.
- Related incurred charges such as document guarantee fees, delivery electricity charges, sealing fees, cargo handling fees and packaging fees.
Excluded cases
- Postal, telecommunication and software services.
- Goods and services consumed domestically.
- Goods and services provided to individuals who are not registered for business in the non-tariff zone.
- Catering, entertainment, hotel and other personal services that do not directly serve export production.
- Industrial cleaning, security services, passenger transport, training and event, meeting or conference organization that do not directly serve export production.
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