Công văn 5293/TCT-CS

In the last period, the General Department of Taxation has received official dispatches from provincial tax departments and enterprise with respect to policies on value-added tax (hereinafter referred to as “VAT”) imposed on bonded warehouse leasing services and services provided in bonded warehouses. With regard to this issue, the General Department of Taxation has the following opinions:

 Clause 20 Article 4 of the Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC dated December 31, 2013 of Ministry of Finance on guiding goods and services which are not subject to VAT provides for as follows:

“….Free trade zones include: export-processing zones, export processing companies, tax-suspension warehouses, bonded warehouses, special economic zones, commercial - industrial zones, and other economic zones established and provided with similar tax incentives as free trade zones according to Decisions of the Prime Minister.   The transactions between a free trade zone and an external party are considered export/import.”

Clause 1 Article 9 of the Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC dated December 31, 2013 of Ministry of Finance provides for guidance on the 0% tax imposed on the following exported goods and services:“1. 0% VAT is applied to exported goods and services; construction and installation overseas and in free trade zones; international transport; exported goods and services that are not subject to VAT, except for the cases in Clause 3 of this Article, in which 0% VAT is not applied. Exported goods and services are those that are sold to overseas organizations and individuals and are consumed outside Vietnam, sold to the entities in free trade zones, or sold to foreign customers as prescribed by law.

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b) Exported services include the services directly provided to overseas organizations and individuals and are consumed overseas; the services provided to the entities in free trade zones and consumed within the free trade zones.

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Conditions for application of 0% tax are specified in Clause 2 Article 9 of the Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC dated December 31, 2013 of Ministry of Finance.

Clause 3 Article 9 of the Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC dated December 31, 2013 of Ministry of Finance provides for the cases in which 0% VAT is not applied, including:

“- 0% tax is not applied to the following services that are provided in Vietnam to overseas entities:

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+ Services in association with sale, distribution, consumption of goods in Vietnam.”

With regard to similar contents, Ministry of Finance has provided for in the Official Dispatch No. 14688/BTC-TCT dated October 19, 2015 in response to the National Assembly Delegation of Binh Duong Province, and the General Department of Taxation has also promulgated the Official Dispatch No. 4754/TCT-CS dated November 11, 2015 in response to Mascot Vietnam Company Limited and Tax Department of Hai Duong Province (copies of said official dispatches are attached hereto).

Based on the said guidelines, if an enterprise that is permitted to establish and operate bonded warehouses in conformity with prevailing regulations provides bonded warehouse leasing services to foreign entities to store their goods before they are exported, in transit, re-exported or used to produce or process exported goods; or provides cargo loading, packaging or labeling services in association with export of goods to foreign countries to foreign entities in bonded warehouses, the 0% VAT shall apply to these services provided that conditions mentioned in Clause 2 Article 9 of the Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC dated December 31, 2013 of Ministry of Finance are satisfied.    

If an enterprise that is permitted to establish and operate bonded warehouses in conformity with prevailing regulations provides bonded warehouse leasing services, cargo loading, packaging or labeling services in association with distribution and sale of goods in Vietnam, to foreign entities, such services are the cases mentioned in Clause 3 Article 9 of the Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC.