Understanding Key Indirect and International Taxes in Vietnam

Vietnam’s tax system imposes several indirect and international taxes that significantly affect how businesses operate and structure their investments. Understanding these regimes is essential for compliance, effective tax planning, and managing costs when doing business in Vietnam.

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Besides corporate income tax, businesses in Vietnam are subject to various indirect and international taxes on the production and trade of goods and services within the country. Although all taxes in Vietnam are levied at the national level, companies are obliged to pay taxes in the localities where their headquarters or branches are registered.

This article focuses on the key indirect taxes and highlights several international tax considerations applicable in Vietnam.

Indirect taxes in Vietnam

Value Added Tax

Value Added Tax (VAT) is applied to goods and services at various stages of production, trade, and consumption, with three specific rates: 0, 5, and 10 percent. The scope of each rate is outlined by the new VAT Law No. 48/2024/QH15, with further details provided under Decree No. 181/2025/ND-CP and Circular No. 69/2025/TT-BTC.

The VAT rates in Vietnam include:

• A 0 percent rate for exported goods, exported services, and other designated export activities;
• A 5 percent rate for specific categories of goods and services as prescribed by the 2024 VAT Law and clarified by Decree 181; and
• A 10 percent rate for all other goods and services not taxed at 0 or 5 percent or exempt from VAT. To aid economic recovery after COVID-19, goods and services subject to the 10 percent VAT rate are eligible for a 2 percent reduction until December 31, 2026, with some exclusions.

Vietnam’s VAT regime provides exemptions to several categories of goods and services.

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All entities producing or trading goods and services in Vietnam are generally liable to pay VAT, regardless of whether they have a physical presence in the country. Meanwhile, every entity involved in producing or providing VAT-liable goods and services must register for VAT.

In Vietnam, most companies use the credit (deduction) method for VAT declarations, allowing input VAT to be deducted from output VAT.

Read more: Vietnam VAT Rates and Applicability in 2025: A Brief Guide

Special Consumption Tax

Special Consumption Tax (SCT), or excise tax, is imposed on the production and importation of certain goods and services deemed to be luxurious or non-essential, such as alcohol and tobacco products.

SCT liability arises at both the importation stage and the point of sale. To avoid double taxation and an excessive tax burden, SCT paid upon importation is creditable against SCT payable at the sale stage.

Effective from January 1, 2026, the 2025 SCT Law seeks to influence consumer behavior toward healthier lifestyles, including reducing the consumption of tobacco, beer, alcohol, and sugar. The law also enhances measures to combat smuggling and counterfeit goods.

In addition, the new legislation aims to promote the growth of green and clean industries, improve environmental protection, increase state revenue, and reform tax administration in a simple, transparent, and accessible manner.

Overall, it is expected to create a more favorable and compliant tax environment for taxpayers.

Under the SCT Law, the SCT payable will comprise two components:

• SCT calculated under the ad valorem (percentage-based) method, based on the taxable price and applicable SCT rate; and
• SCT calculated under the specific (absolute) method, based on the quantity of taxable goods and the prescribed absolute tax rate.

Read more: Vietnam Introduces 2025 Special Consumption Tax Law

Import and export taxes

Import tax

Most goods imported into Vietnam are subject to import duty, unless they qualify for an exemption under applicable regulations.

Import duty is generally calculated on an ad valorem basis, by applying the relevant import duty rate to the customs (dutiable) value of the imported goods. Import duty rates are categorized into three tiers:

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• Preferential rates apply to goods imported from countries that are granted Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) status by Vietnam. These MFN rates are consistent with Vietnam’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments and apply to imports originating from other WTO member countries.
• Special preferential rates apply to goods imported from countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral preferential trade agreements with Vietnam, including free trade agreements (FTAs).
• Ordinary tax rates shall apply to imported goods originating from countries, groups of countries, or territories that do not apply the MFN treatment or special preferences on import tax to Vietnam. The ordinary tax rates shall not be 70 percent higher than the preferential tax rates of the same goods items specified by the Government.

There are various cases in which a refund of import duties is possible if certain conditions are met.

Export tax

Export duties in Vietnam are imposed on a limited range of goods, primarily natural resources, including sand, chalk, marble, granite, ores, crude oil, forest products, and scrap metal. Applicable export duty rates generally range from 0 to 40 percent, depending on the product category.

Considerations on international taxes implemented in Vietnam

Transfer pricing

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Transfer pricing rules are broadly consistent across jurisdictions, as they are generally founded on common international principles and approaches.

In Vietnam, transfer pricing regulations emphasize the substance-over-form principle, under which tax authorities assess the economic substance of transactions and business structures rather than their legal form. Accordingly, foreign investors should carefully consider this principle when designing and implementing supply chains and operating structures in Vietnam.

Enterprises in Vietnam that engage in related-party transactions must disclose their related-party relationships and transactions in their annual corporate income tax returns.

Contemporaneous transfer pricing documentation substantiates a taxpayer’s related-party transactions, global transfer pricing policies, and the allocation of profits among entities within a multinational group.

Read more: Vietnam’s Tax and Transfer Pricing Compliance: Amendments in VAT Law

Global Minimum Tax

On August 29, 2025, the Vietnamese government officially issued Decree No. 236/2025/ND-CP (“Decree 236”), providing detailed guidance on the implementation of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) in Vietnam as a supplement to the CIT regime. The issuance of Decree 236 represents a significant milestone in Vietnam’s efforts to align its tax framework with international tax standards.

Decree 236 sets out the general provisions governing the application of the Income Inclusion Rule (IIR) and the Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (QDMTT) within Vietnam’s CIT system.

The decree also introduces corresponding updates to financial accounting standards to reflect these changes. Notably, it provides for a QDMTT exclusion during the initial implementation phase and establishes a QDMTT safe harbor for multinational enterprise (“MNE”) groups.

All GMT-related filings are required to be submitted electronically via the Department of Taxation’s online portal.

Read more: Global Minimum Tax Implementation in Vietnam: Decree 236

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