New features of the Import and Export Tax Law

(Baonghean.vn) - On October 5th, the Ministry of Finance held a specialized press conference to introduce the basic contents and new points of the Law on Import and Export Taxes. Along with that, the contents of the Decree promulgating the preferential import tariff schedule, the list of goods and absolute tax rates, mixed tax rates, import taxes outside the tariff quota, and the Decree promulgating the special preferential import tariff schedule to implement bilateral trade agreements were also presented to the press.

According to the International Cooperation Department (Ministry of Finance), Law No. 107/2016/QH13 on Import and Export Taxes, passed by the National Assembly on April 6, 2016, came into effect on September 1, 2016. The Law on Import and Export Taxes comprises 5 chapters and 22 articles, with many groundbreaking new points in administrative reform, tax exemptions and reductions, tax refunds, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguard duties, etc.

Taxes are an important supplement to the budget. (Illustrative image)

The promulgation of this Tax Law ensures the continuity of the provisions of the Import and Export Tax Law No. 45/2005/QH11, while also adding new provisions to ensure the consistency and uniformity of the legal system with related documents such as the 2013 Constitution, the Investment Law, the Tax Administration Law, the Customs Law, etc., creating a legal environment and administrative procedures that are simple and convenient for those implementing the Law and contributing to effective tax management.

In addition, obstacles in the implementation process have been overcome, especially regarding regulations on: taxable subjects; tax rate framework; tax payment deadlines; and geographical areas and sectors that need to be encouraged for development based on preferential policies such as tax exemptions and refunds for export and import taxes.

To meet the requirements of socio-economic development in the new period, administrative procedures reform and tax and customs system reform have been implemented in accordance with the Tax and Customs System Reform Strategies for the period 2011-2020, consistent with international commitments in the process of international integration. During this process, Vietnam has proactively negotiated and signed 11 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, 10 of which have already come into effect.

To fulfill its import tax commitments, the Ministry of Finance spearheaded the development and submission to the Government of the Special Preferential Import Tariff Schedule of Vietnam for the implementation of Free Trade Agreements for the period 2016-2018/2019. The principle was to inherit existing regulations, without changing specific preferential conditions or tax rates, and to adjust the names and descriptions of goods to conform with the Vietnamese Export and Import Goods List, ensuring the consistency of the legal system, compliance with the 2016 Import and Export Tax Law, and facilitating business operations.

Meeting of the Ministry of Finance on the Law on Import and Export Taxes.

At the press conference, representatives from the Ministry of Finance addressed concerns related to anti-dumping and countervailing duties, the impact of the Eurasian Economic Union Agreement on Vietnamese export goods, trade defense issues, and the impact on the proportion of state budget revenue from import and export taxes when implementing FTA agreements.

Clearly, with the increasingly deep scope of international integration commitments, the reduction in the proportion of revenue from import and export taxes is inevitable and has been occurring since Vietnam joined the WTO. Before Vietnam joined the WTO, the average simple import and export tax was 18%; through the implementation of WTO commitments, the average simple tax is approximately 10%.

However, according to assessments of the impact of FTAs, the absolute proportion of revenue from import and export taxes will not decrease but will tend to increase, thereby creating a suitable policy framework to ensure a balanced proportion of state budget revenue in the future.

Red River