CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE APPLICATION OF VALUE ADDED TAX RATES ACCORDING TO THE PREFERENTIAL IMPORT TARIFFS

Pursuant to Value Added Tax (VAT) Law No. 02/1997/QH9 of May 10, 1997;
Pursuant to June 17, 2003 Law No. 07/2003/QH11 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the VAT Law;
Pursuant to the Governments Decree No. 158/2003/ND-CP of December 10, 2003 detailing the implementation of the VAT Law and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the VAT Law;
With a view to facilitating the VAT declaration and payment, the Finance Ministry hereby guides the application of the VAT rates according to the Preferential Import Tariffs as follows:

1. The Lists of goods and VAT rates applicable thereto (hereinafter called the VAT Lists for short), promulgated together with this Circular, have been drawn up on the basis of the Lists of goods in the Preferential Import Tariffs, promulgated together with the Finance Ministers Decision No. 110/2003/QD-BTC of July 25, 2003. The goods in the VAT Lists are classified in the same way as the goods in the Preferential Import Tariffs, prescribed in the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 85/2003/TT-BTC of August 29, 2003.

2. The VAT Lists fully specify the names of goods like the current Preferential Import

2.1. The VAT Lists, apart from providing guidance on the VAT rates for 4-digit headings or 6-digit subheadings or 8-digit subheadings, also prescribe the VAT rates for the Particularly sections of the above-said headings and subheadings. Concretely:

- Goods items detailed in a

- The VAT rate prescribed for each heading or 6-digit or 8-digit subheading shall apply to goods items under that heading or subheading, except for items specified in the Particularly sections.

Example 1: In heading 0210, the VAT rate prescribed for 8-digit subheadings is 5% or 10% while the section Particularly: Meat and edible meat products, smoked; edible fine or raw powders of meat or meat products of heading 0210 is subject to the VAT rate of 10%. Therefore, the goods items mentioned in the

...

...

...

Example 3: 8-digit subheading 8483.90.15 is subject to the VAT rate of 5% while the section

2.2. The VAT Lists prescribe only one VAT rate in the VAT rate column. If an import goods item is subject to a tax rate specified at Point 2 or 3, Section II, Part B or not subject to VAT as prescribed in Section II, Part A of the Finance Ministrys Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC of December 12, 2003, such item shall enjoy the VAT rate prescribed in Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC.

Example 1: In the VAT Lists, the VAT rate for subheading 9020.00.10 Breathing appliances is 10%. That means all goods items under this subheading are subject to the VAT rate of 10%. However, if the appliances under subheading 9020.00.10 are determined as for medical use as prescribed at Point 2.3, Section II, Part B of the Finance Ministrys Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC, they shall be subject to VAT at the rate of 5%.

Example 2: In the VAT Lists, the VAT

2.3. Goods items not subject to VAT are symbolized as (*) in the VAT rate column of the VAT Lists.

Example 1: Imported bank notes under heading 4907, subheading 4907.00.20, are not subject to VAT.

Example 2: Salt of heading 2501 is not subject to VAT.

Example 3: Rice used as seed under heading 1006, subheading 1006.10.10, is not subject to VAT.

3. Among goods items being animal breeds or plant varieties, such as breeding eggs and animals, saplings and seeds, sperms, embryos and genetic materials, under headings and subheadings in Chapters 1 thru 12, some items are not specified as for breeding but categorized as the common ones and subject to the VAT rate of 5% in the VAT Lists. In cases where the headings and subheadings in these chapters contain goods items determined as meeting the criteria for breeding and fully meeting the conditions prescribed at Point 2, Section II, Part A of the Finance Ministrys Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC, such goods items shall not be subject to VAT.

...

...

...

4. Tyres imported in complete sets of tyres, tubes and fairings are subject to the corresponding VAT rate prescribed in the tax rate column for tyres. If units import these parts separately (tubes, fairings), these parts shall be subject to the tax rate prescribed for each goods item.

5. Fishing nets, net robes and fibres for net knitting, including fishing nets of all types, fibres of all types and net robes used specifically for net knitting, irrespective of the materials used for the production thereof, are subject to the VAT rate of 5%.

6. Goods being base chemicals; the List of pharmaceutical materials used as raw materials for production of curative and preventive medicines, which are the goods items specified in Appendices 1 and 2 to the Finance Ministrys Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC, are subject to the VAT rate of 5%. Other goods items not mentioned in the above Appendices 1 and 2 shall be subject to the tax rates prescribed in the VAT Lists.

7. Goods fully meeting the conditions for being determined as weapons or military equipment exclusively used for defense and/or security purposes are not subject to VAT under the provisions at Point 19, Section II, Part A of the Finance Ministrys Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC.

8. For goods under headings and subheadings being machinery or equipment spare parts or accessories in Chapters 84 thru 90 (except for spare parts and accessories of automatic data-processing machine defined at Point 2.35, Section II, Part B of Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC), that are subject to the tax rate of 5%, this tax rate shall apply only to spare parts and accessories made of metal. Non-metal spare parts and accessories under these headings and subheadings shall be subject to the VAT rate of 10%.

9.

- The complete sets of spare parts are subject to the same VAT rate prescribed for the complete product unit;

- The non-complete sets of spare parts are subject to the VAT rate prescribed for each spare part or accessory.

- The imported non-complete sets of spare parts that are entitled to the preferential import tax rate according to the localization rate prescribed for the whole detailed list

...

...

...

10. The VAT rates specified in the VAT Lists shall apply to import goods uniformly from the importation stage to the domestic consumption stage and be used to determine the VAT rates applicable to the goods produced and traded at home.

This Circular takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette and applies to all import goods declarations already submitted to the customs offices as from the effective date of this Circular.

In the course of implementation, if any VAT rates provided for in these Lists fail to conform with the provisions of Circular No.120/2003/TT-BTC or vary regarding the same category of import goods and home-made goods, the local tax agencies and the customs offices shall still collect VAT according to the announced rates, and at the same time synthesize the situation and report it to the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry shall base itself on the provisions of the Governments Decree No.158/2003/ND-CP of December 10, 2003 to guide the uniform implementation.

FOR THE FINANCE MINISTER
VICE MINISTER




Truong Chi Trung

ATTACH FILE

...

...

...