1. Regarding the Costs of Purchasing Alcoholic Beverages in Catering Services
According to the guidance in Official Letter No. 331/CTCMA-TTHT ("Official Letter 331") dated February 1, 2024, issued by the Ca Mau Provincial Tax Department, the costs of catering services (including alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer) for guest hospitality are deductible expenses when determining taxable corporate income tax (CIT) if they meet all the conditions specified in Article 6 of Circular No. 78/2014/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, as amended by Circular No. 96/2015/TT-BTC ("Circular 78").
Additionally, these expenses can also be declared and deducted as input VAT by enterprises, following the guidelines in Official Letter No. 15176/CTHN-TTHT dated May 11, 2021, from the Hanoi Tax Department:
Companies can declare and deduct VAT on purchased goods and services if they meet the conditions stipulated in Circular No. 26/2015/TT-BTC dated February 27, 2015 (having a legal VAT invoice and non-cash payment evidence for transactions over 20 million VND). These expenses are also deductible when determining taxable CIT if they comply with the regulations in Circular No. 96/2015/TT-BTC dated June 22, 2015, of the Ministry of Finance.
2. For the Purchase of Alcoholic Beverages Not Related to Catering Services
These expenses may still be deductible when determining taxable CIT but in the form of gifts. This is guided by Official Letter No. 2971/CT-TTHT dated January 18, 2019, from the Hanoi Tax Department:
If an enterprise uses goods, such as wine, as gifts for customers, and if these gifts are intended to serve business operations, have full legal invoices and documents as required by law, and meet the conditions specified in Article 4 of Circular No. 96/2015/TT-BTC, the expenses related to these wine gifts are deductible when determining taxable CIT. The enterprise must issue a VAT invoice, detailing all required criteria and calculating VAT as if selling goods or services to customers.
Comment: