NEWS

Decree 34 provides for delayed tax and land fee payments for some types of enterprises such as SMEs, credit institutions, enterprises in certain manufacturing and services sectors. Additional requirements might apply. A request needs to be submitted by 30 September 2022 at the latest.

Circular 2 issued introduces new methods of inspecting and assessing the compliance of foreign investment activities in Vietnam with relevant laws. The new Circular gives the responsible authorities the right to run discretionary audits on foreign-invested entities.

Decree 15 has reduced the VAT rate for many goods and services from 10% to 8%. However, the implementation of this has resulted in some additional burden for companies as it is not possible to include different VAT rates in one VAT invoice. The draft decree addresses this issue.

Circular 21 introduces new domain names: id.vn, io.vn and ai.vn. The first is for individuals only and the other for both individuals and organisations. Upon expiration of a domain name, it will be suspended immediately but it can be renewed within 25 days.

The Draft Decree will impact the practice of e-commerce providers about being compliant with tax submissions. Provisional CIT obligations at the end of any calendar year will favourably impact companies with high revenue in the last quarter. Some changes related to PIT are introduced as well.

The strategy gives a number of key solutions, including actively preventing and controlling negative impacts on the environment and environmental incidents, encouraging ecological and circular economic development, green growth, and promoting sustainable production and consumption.

The decree results in changes of decisions related to the suspension or temporary reassignment of official duties, the definition of extremely serious cases of corruption has been changed and the periodic relation of office will be applied to more positions.

Circular 5 provides further information on how to define the origin of goods to qualify for reductions under the RCEP. It contains specific provisions on applicable tax differences for beneficiaries of the RCEP, unifying definitions, specifications, requirements, formalities, and tax rates. Thereby facilitating cross-border trade inside the free trade zone, one of the core incentives for RCEP signatories.

Foreign investors can invest under varying conditions depending on the free trade agreement they rely on. Some investments are allowed without restrictions under one free trade agreement but not under another. Others are allowed under WTO commitments but are restricted under the EVFTA, UKFTA or RCEP; or the other way around.

After the issuance of Decree 153, MOF became aware of certain risks related to non-compliance and/or high-risk financing via corporate bonds. The draft decree intends to lower risks for investors and make the market more transparent. However, with the current draft, Vietnamese companies might be impacted negatively.

Decree 128 on penalising administrative violations in securities and the securities market sector amends some existing penalties and adds a new one as well. Penalties can be given related to issuing shares, selling treasury shares, publishing maximum ownership ratio and the reporting regime.

Decree 122 clarifies the definition of organisation, imposes higher administrative penalties for many violations covered by it. It also adds a new sanction for over-declaration of the charter capital.