The draft law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT), submitted to the National Assembly at this session, continues to spark mixed opinions.
In a recently released preliminary verification report, the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee stated that amending the law at this time is unnecessary. The Committee argued that the proposal lacks a comprehensive assessment basis and poses potential risks of budget revenue loss and invoice fraud regarding VAT refunds.
According to the verification agency, all three amendments proposed by the Government are provisions that were recently revised in the 2024 Value Added Tax Law, which was passed at the 8th session and took effect on July 1, 2025. While gathering and synthesizing feedback from enterprises during the law's implementation is necessary to find solutions to resolve "bottlenecks" caused by legal regulations, caution is required.
However, tax policies always have a broad and multidimensional impact on related parties—some benefit while others are adversely affected. Therefore, tax regulations must align with sound principles and policies without creating loopholes that cause state budget losses. Consequently, amending the law requires careful scrutiny, along with a comprehensive and objective impact assessment from various perspectives.
The Committee on Economics and Finance noted that the Government's submission mainly reflects the views of certain associations and enterprises, lacking analysis from the perspective of state budget revenue management.
The main issue for businesses is related to delays in VAT refunds. Along with specific analyses for each proposed amendment, many opinions within the Standing Board of the Economic and Financial Committee believe that the draft law lacks convincing evidence for the necessity of amendments and does not ensure compliance with Regulation No. 178-QĐ/TW on power control and anti-corruption, negativity in law-making, and suggests that the Government complete the dossier to clarify the basis more convincingly.
The Government proposes to restore the provision allowing businesses trading in unprocessed agricultural products not to pay VAT but still be able to deduct input tax. The reason is to facilitate cash flow for export businesses and avoid discrimination against imported goods.
The Committee's Standing Board believes this reason needs to be reconsidered. Since 1997, VAT taxation at the commercial stage has been consistent with international practices. Since 2013, when businesses were allowed to create their invoices, VAT refund fraud became serious, so the 2016 Law added a provision not to issue invoices at the commercial stage to prevent fraud.
Currently, businesses use electronic invoices connected to tax authorities, and there is a regulation that buyers can only get a tax refund if the seller has declared and paid taxes. Therefore, the reason for proposing this amendment is no longer appropriate. Additionally, the policy of applying a 5% VAT at the commercial stage encourages businesses to purchase directly from producers, thereby reducing intermediary costs and increasing value for farmers.
The Committee's Standing Board recommends not presenting the amendment at this session due to insufficient time for a comprehensive evaluation. The Government can address obstacles through resolutions or sub-law documents under the authority granted.
If the amendment is still presented at the session, the Government needs to supplement explanations: reasons for amending newly issued provisions, assess the risk of state budget revenue loss, and propose appropriate management measures.
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