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VIETNAMESE TAX SYSTEM

Prepared: Le Phuong Thao, MBA

 Objective
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Understand overall structure of Vietnamese tax

system
Understand functions of General Tax Department
Understand functions of Tax Departments
Review different types of Taxes
 Vietnamese Tax System
3

Tax laws and policies

Tax administration system

 Tax Laws and Tax Policies
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The National Assembly issues the Laws on different kind of tax

No. 04-2007-QH12 Law on personal income tax
The Government issues Decrees detailing the implementation of the
Laws
No. 100-2008-ND-CP Degree on personal income tax
The competent Ministries issues Decisions, Circulars guiding the
implementation of the Decrees
No. 84/2008/TT-BTC Circular
Ministry of Finance, General Department of Taxation, Departments
of Taxation issue Official Letters providing detail implementation for
particular case
Official Letter No. 5145/TCT-TNCN dated 16 December 2010 of the
General Department of Taxation in response to PricewaterhouseCoopers
Vietnam concerning personal income tax for Vietnamese staff working in
foreign countries.
 Tax Administration System
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General Department of Taxation

Local Tax Departments

Tax Departments of provinces and centrally run cities

District-level Tax Departments

 Tax Administration System
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Under Decision No. 115/2009/QD-TTG

General Department of Taxation
an agency under the Ministry of Finance

advise and assist the Minister of Finance

has the legal entity status, a seal bearing the national

emblem, State Treasury accounts and headquarters in Hanoi
city.
 Tax Administration System
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The General Department of Taxation 8. The Department for Propagation and

is organized into a hierarchical system Taxpayer Assistance;
9. The International Cooperation
1. The Policy Department; Department;
2. The Department of Legal Affairs; 10. The Internal Examination Department;
3. The Department for Tax Revenue 11. The Organization and Personnel
Estimation; Department;
4. The Tax Declaration and Accounting 12. The Finance-Administration
Department; Department;
5. The Department for Management of 13. The Office (with its representative
Debts and Collection of Tax; office in Ho Chi Minh City);
6. The Department for Personal Income 14. The Inspectorate;
Tax Administration; 15. The Information Technology
7. The Department for Tax Department;
Administration at Large Enterprises; 16. The Tax School;
17. The Taxation Magazine.
 Tax Administration System
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Under Decision No. 108/QD-BTC

Tax Departments
organizations under the General Department of Taxation

perform the administration of taxes within the tasks of the

tax sector in the locality under law

have the legal entity status and its own seal and may open
accounts at the State Treasury under law.
 Tax Administration System
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For the Hanoi Tax Department and Ho Chi Minh 8. The Division of Legal Affairs;
City Tax Department
9. The Internal Inspection Division;
10. The Division of Organization and
1. The Division of Taxpayer Services and Personnel;
Propaganda;
11. The Division of Administrative Affairs -
2. The Division of Tax Declaration and Archives;
Accounting;
12. The Division of Logistics and Finance;
3. The Division of Debt Collection and
13. The Division of Tax Prints Management;
Enforcement;
14. The Informatics Division.
4. Some Tax Examination Divisions;
5. Some Tax Audit Divisions;
6. The Division of Personal Income Tax;
7. The Division of General Affairs -
Professional Operations - Forecasting;
 Tax Department
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For Tax Departments of other provinces and cities

1. The Division of Taxpayer Services and Propaganda;
2. The Division of Tax Declaration and Accounting;
3. The Division of Debt Collection and Enforcement;
4. Some Tax Examination Divisions;
5. Some Tax Audit Divisions;
6. The Division of Personal Income Tax;
7. The Division of General Affairs - Professional Operations - Forecasting;
8. The Internal Inspection Division;
9. The Division of Organization and Personnel;
10. The Division of Administration, Logistics and Finance, and Tax Prints
11. The Informatics Division.
 Tax Administration System
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Under Decision No. 503/QD-TCT

District-level Tax Departments

organizations under the Tax Departments
are uniformly organized according to district-level administrative
units.
perform the administration of taxes within the tasks of the tax sector
in the locality under law
have the legal entity status and its own seal and may open accounts
at the State Treasury under law.
 Tax Administration System
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Functions of District-level Tax Departments

1. Taxpayer Services and Propaganda Team

2. Tax Declaration and Accounting Team
3. Tax Examination Teams
4. Internal Audit Team
5. Debt Collection and Enforcement Team
General Affairs - Professional Operations Forecasting Team
6. Administration, Logistics and Finance, and Tax Prints Team
7. Registration fee - other income - personal income tax Team
8. Some the associated communes Tax Team
 Tax Administration System
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 Different Types of Taxes
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PIT
CIT
VAT
Foreign Contractor Tax
Special Sales Tax
Business License Tax
Export-import Tax
Natural resources Tax
Environmental Tax
..
 Vietnam Tax Reform
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Vietnam successfully completed 3 main tax reform phases:

1990-1995
1995-2005
2005-2010
The current tax reform strategy for the period 2011-2020
has achieved some first succeed
Tax reform contributed significantly to socio-economic
development
The main objectives of reforms depended on economic
circumstances of each period, but in general:
To create a fair, efficient, effective, convenient, transparent tax
system as a states important tool in macroeconomic adjustment
To promote competitiveness, production, export, and investment
(especially in high technology)
To create employment and growth
 First phase of tax reform (1990-1995)
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Unified tax system, including 9 important taxes to

replace the different types of taxes applied for
state-owned sector, private-owned industry and
trade sector and the agriculture sector

Turnover tax, profit tax and export-import tax were

critical taxes in this period
 Second phase of tax reform (1997-2005)
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Introduced value-added tax and enterprise income tax and

amended the regulations on import and export duties and
on special consumption tax
The uniformed tax system played an important role in the
first stage of Vietnam in a market-oriented economy
The tax system became more complicated but not
comprehensive, considered unequal, not transparent,
could not meet the requirement of international common
practice
 Third phase of tax reform (2006-2010)
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Introduced many new tax laws including Law on

non-agricultural land use tax, Law on natural
resource tax, environment protection tax
Amended VAT, special consumption tax
Reformed personal income tax, corporate income
tax
Reformed tax administration
Implemented self-assessment mechanism
 Tax Reform Strategy in 2011-2020
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The comprehensive strategy encompass reforms to the

value-added tax (VAT), personal and corporate income
taxes, special consumption taxes, import-export taxes,
environmental taxes, and fees and duties on mineral
and land use rights and agricultural lands
To meet the needs of the market economy, increase
revenues sources, production capacity, and the
competitiveness of domestic enterprises
The tax reform is a vital part in the market-oriented
economy reform, to ensure the succeed of the strategy,
the tax reform should be conducted together with the
reform in other fields