Vietnam has signed agreements to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion with respect to taxes on income and property (hereinafter referred to as “Double Taxation Agreement” or “DTA”) with more than 170 countries and territories in the world. Accordingly, individuals and organizations that meet the conditions under DTA can submit application for tax exemption or reduction in Vietnam.
Deadline For Submitting The Application For Tax Exemption Or Reduction Under DTA
According to the provisions of Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance dated 29 Sep 2021, application for tax exemption or reduction under DTA must be submitted to Tax department within 15 days prior to the deadline for tax declaration for organizations or 15 days prior to performing contract in Vietnam for individuals.
Handling Late Submission Of Application
Notwithstanding the provisions of Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC dated 29 Sep 2021 above, the application for tax exemption or reduction under DTA is still accepted by the tax department with the condition that tax exemption or reduction proposed for a period of maximum 3 years prioir to the time of application submission.
For example: On 1 Oct 2022, enterprise A submits application for tax exemption under DTA between Vietnam and Japan for the entire tax amount arising in Vietnam in the period from 2015 to 2022. In this case, the Vietnamese tax department will only consider tax exemption in Vietnam for the amount arising in Vietnam for a period of 3 years from 1 Oct 2019 to 1 Oct 2022.
Legal basis: Circular 205/2013/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance dated December 24, 2013 guiding the implementation of Double Taxation Agreement, Article 6, Clause 1:
“Article 6. Some cases of refusal to apply the Agreement on the basis of the principle of benefiting from the Agreement
Unless otherwise provided in the Agreement on the limitation of the benefits of the Agreement, the Vietnamese tax authority will refuse the application for application of the Agreement in the following cases:
- The requester proposes the application of the Agreement to the tax amount already incurred more than three years before the time of application for the application of the Agreement.”
Note that, in this case, the late submission of application may be administratively sanctioned in accordance with the law.