Vietnam has introduced Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC, standardising the VAT refund process for foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese. The new system links customs and the tax authority’s electronic invoice platform, requiring businesses to meet strict electronic invoicing and data integrity standards. Foreign passengers must verify invoices and present goods for inspection at least 30 minutes before departure.
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Vietnam Law Magazine · 1 day ago
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance introduces Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC to standardise VAT refunds for foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese. The new circular supersedes earlier directives and establishes a direct link between the Customs Department and the tax authority’s electronic invoice system. It sets clear timelines for account issuance, bank licensing, and passenger inspection procedures.
AviNews · 5 days ago
Vietnam clarifies that household businesses buying livestock from external suppliers, slaughtering them, and selling fresh meat must pay VAT at 1% of revenue. The guidance also confirms that self-produced livestock products are exempt from VAT if only basic processing is performed.
LuatVietnam · 19 days ago
Vietnam's new Circular No. 84/2026/TT-BTC, effective 1 July 2026, introduces an electronic VAT refund system for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese, requiring sellers to enter invoices electronically and comply with customs and tax authority integration.
VatCalc · 3 months ago
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has issued a draft decree to streamline e-invoicing for e-commerce and low-value transactions, shifting invoice issuance to platform operators and allowing small businesses below thresholds to issue consolidated daily invoices. The Finance Ministry also proposed extending e-invoicing to businesses with sales above VND 1 billion on 10 December 2025, and Circular 32/2025 provides detailed guidelines on numbering, use cases, and service provider standards. A June 2024 directive urges the remaining non‑compliant businesses, especially retail outlets, to adopt e‑invoicing, following the successful Phase 2 rollout in 2022 that registered 92 % of obligated taxpayers.
VatCalc · 4 months ago
Vietnam has temporarily set VAT on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel to 0% from 26 March to 15 April 2026, exempting businesses from VAT declaration and payment while allowing input VAT recovery. The measure also waives environmental protection tax and zeroes special consumption tax on gasoline, expected to cut state revenue by about 7.2 trillion VND per month.
Vietnam Briefing · 5 months ago
Vietnam’s 2025 VAT Law expands refund eligibility to investment projects, exporters, and 5%‑rate businesses with at least VND 300 million in accumulated input VAT, while tightening documentation and audit requirements. Key changes include removal of refunds for ownership or structural changes, stricter rules for deferred payments, and new limits on import‑export refund eligibility.
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Key Takeaways
Under Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC, effective 1 July 2026, the VAT refund management system must directly connect and exchange data with the tax authority’s electronic invoice system to verify VAT invoices and refund declarations.
Customs offices must issue or revoke system access accounts for enterprises selling VAT refund-eligible goods and commercial banks acting as refund agents within one working day after receiving valid notices, as required by Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC effective 1 July 2026.
Bank refund counters of agent banks must be located in secure, isolated areas within the airside international departure or designated port refund areas, as stipulated by Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC effective 1 July 2026.
Foreign passengers and overseas Vietnamese must verify invoice details, submit tax refund invoice-cum-declaration forms, and present goods for customs inspection at least 30 minutes before scheduled departure, as mandated by Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC effective 1 July 2026.
Primary source
Read the full article at LuatVietnamThis summary was published on VATfaqs.com on 27 July 2026. It relates to VAT developments in Vietnam. The original source is LuatVietnam.
