Công văn 2598/TCT-CS

OFFICIAL LETTER

ON VALUE-ADDED TAX (VAT) ON COMMISSIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING AGENCY SERVICES

In response to Official Letter No. 206/CT-TTHT of January 8, 2008, of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Office, and Official Letter No. 299/CT-KTr1 of March 4, 2008, of the Hai Phong City Tax Office , regarding VAT on commissions for international shipping services, the General Department of Taxation has the following opinions:

Point 23, Section II, Part A of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 120/2003/TT-BTC of December 12, 2003, on VAT, provides the following guidance on objects not subject to VAT:

“- Goods and services directly supplied for international transportation such as fuel, materials, spare parts, water, food, meal rations for passengers, cleaning services for seagoing ships, aircraft and international trains, and for loading of exported goods.

- International cargo and passenger transportation.

International transportation includes transportation by foreign countries or domestic transportation business establishments engaged in cargo and passenger transportation from Vietnam to foreign countries or vice versa, and cargo transportation between foreign ports.”

Point 8 of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 84/2004/TT-BTC of August 18, 2004, provides the following guidance on VAT: “Business establishments acting as agents selling goods or services not subject to VAT; and business establishments acting as agents providing postal, insurance, lottery or air ticket sale services which provide these services at prices set by their principal establishments and enjoy commissions are not required to declare and pay VAT on the turnover from goods or services they have sold and the turnover from agency commissions they have earned.”

Point 1.23, Section II, Part A of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 32/2007/TT-BTC of April 9, 2007, on VAT, stipulates that objects not subject to VAT include goods and services supplied to the following:

“a/ Services of registry of vehicles owned by foreign-based organizations or individuals (unless these vehicles are bare-boat chartered or time-chartered for shipping activities under law);

b/ Re-insurance services provided to foreign countries, …, insurance services provided for vehicles owned by foreign-based organizations or individuals.

c/ International transportation, which means cargo and passenger transportation from Vietnam to foreign countries, from foreign countries to Vietnam or between foreign ports.”

Point 2.4, Section II, Part C of Circular No. 32/2007/TT-BTC stipulates: “Business establishments acting as agents selling goods and services not subject to VAT and business establishments acting as agents providing postal, insurance, lottery or air ticket sale services which provide these services at prices set by their principal establishments and enjoy commissions are not required to declare and pay VAT on the turnover from goods and services they have sold and the turnover from agency commissions they have earned.”

Under the above guidance, the General Department of Taxation issued Official Letters No. 4359/TCT-CS on October 24, 2007, and No. 662/TCT-CS on January 29, 2008, regarding VAT on commissions for international shipping agency services, and now provides the following additional guidance:

Commissions not subject to VAT guided in the above Official Letters are merely commissions earned by agents from the sale of international shipping not subject to VAT from ports around the world to Vietnam (and vice versa) at prices set by foreign shipping firms. These agents collect on behalf of foreign shipping firms the international shipping freights they have sold. If these agents collect, at the request of foreign shipping firms, freights they have not sold or other sums of money, the commissions they have earned from such collection are subject to VAT according to regulations.

If a business establishment acting as a sale agent has declared and paid VAT on the turnover from commissions it has earned from the sale and collection of international shipping freights, the declared and paid VAT amount will not be adjusted.

The General Department of Taxation gives the above reply to the Provincial Tax Offices for information.