To support businesses and individuals, on June 30, 2025, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 204/2025/QH15 on the policy of reducing value-added tax (VAT) for certain groups of goods and services (“Resolution 204”). Accordingly, the Government promulgated Decree No. 174/2025/ND-CP detailing the VAT reduction policy pursuant to Resolution 204 (“Decree 174”). On the same day, the Ministry of Finance also issued Circular No. 64/2025/TT-BTC providing for the collection rates and exemption/reduction of various fees and charges (“Circular 64”). Below is a summary of key contents updated by ATA Legal Services:
1. 2% VAT Reduction for Goods and Services
a. Maintaining the list of goods and services eligible for the VAT reduction
A 2% VAT reduction (from 10% to 8%) shall apply to goods and services currently subject to the 10% VAT rate, except for specific groups such as: telecommunications, financial, banking, securities, and insurance activities; real estate business; metal products; mined products (excluding coal); and goods/services subject to special consumption tax (excluding gasoline). Details are listed in Appendices I and II of Decree 174.
This VAT reduction shall be consistently applied at all stages of importation, production, processing, and commercial trading.
Goods and services listed in Appendices I and II of Decree 174 that are either not subject to VAT or are subject to a 5% VAT rate are not eligible for this VAT reduction.
b. VAT reduction method remains unchanged:
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Businesses applying the credit-invoice method shall apply the 8% VAT rate to eligible goods and services.
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Businesses (including household and individual businesses) applying the direct method based on a percentage of revenue shall receive a 20% reduction of the percentage rate used to calculate VAT when issuing invoices for goods and services eligible for the VAT reduction.
2. Simultaneous 50% Reduction of Various Fees and Charges for Individuals and Businesses
Circular 64 simultaneously exempts and reduces 50% of the collection rates of various fees and charges across many sectors to support businesses and individuals, including:
| No. | Sector | Fees and Charges |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance – Securities | - Licensing fee for establishment and operation of banks and non-bank credit institutions. - Fees and charges in the securities sector. - Licensing fees for granting, renewing, or reissuing securities practice certificates. |
| 2 | Intellectual Property | - Fees for protection titles and applications in the fields of crop production and forestry plant varieties. - Industrial property fees. |
| 3 | Commerce | - Appraisal fees for conditional goods/service business. - Food safety-related fees. - Certificate of origin (C/O) certification fees. |
| 4 | Labor | - Fees for issuance of passports, travel documents, exit permits, and AB stamps. - Licensing fees for sending workers abroad under fixed-term contracts. - Appraisal fees for business conditions in technical safety inspection, occupational safety, and hygiene training. |
| 5 | Fire Prevention and Fighting | - Appraisal fees for fire prevention and fighting design approvals. - Equipment inspection fees for fire prevention and fighting. |
| 6 | Transport | - Railway infrastructure usage fees. - Inspection certificate issuance fees for motor vehicles and special-use vehicles. - Fees for transshipment goods and vehicles. |
| 7 | Food Safety | - Appraisal fees for circulation, import/export permits, and declaration of medical devices. - Licensing fees for international and domestic travel services. - Fees for issuing tour guide cards. |
| 8 | Tourism – Travel – Hospitality | - Licensing fees for international and domestic travel businesses. - Fees for issuing tour guide cards. |
| 9 | Construction | - Appraisal fees for technical designs and construction estimates. - Appraisal fees for construction investment projects. |
| 10 | Justice (Lawyers, Notaries, Arbitration) | - Appraisal fees for notarial practice qualifications for notary appointment. - Appraisal fees for arbitration practice qualifications. - Appraisal fees for asset auctioneer practice certificates. - Appraisal fees for lawyer practice qualifications. - Appraisal fees for asset management and liquidation practice qualifications. |
| 11 | Others | - Business registration fees (including new, amended, or reissued business registration certificates and certificates for branches, representative offices, and business locations). - Fees for exploitation and use of information in the national population database. - Fees for reissuance or replacement of citizen identification cards. |
3. Exemption of appraisal fees for electricity operation licenses
Appraisal fees for amending or supplementing electricity operation licenses are exempted in cases where the amendment arises solely due to a change in business address following the administrative reorganization of localities.
4. Free Internet Resource Fees and Charges for the First 3 Years
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Vietnamese citizens aged 18–23 registering a “.id.vn” domain shall be exempt from fees for the first 2 years and begin paying from the 3rd year.
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Enterprises (with business registration certificates issued within 12 months of domain registration) and household businesses (with household business registration certificates) registering “.biz.vn” domains shall pay fees starting from the 3rd year.
The fee calculation starts from the first day of the 3rd year from the domain registration date. This exemption policy only applies to the first newly registered domain name.
The tax, fee, and charge exemption/reduction programs under Decree 174 and Circular 64 shall be effective from July 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
Comment: