Compliance Deadlines in Vietnam Approaching: Reporting and Taxes for 2020

In order to run a sustainable business in Vietnam, you must also make sure it complies with the Vietnamese accounting and compliance regulations. Here are the key accounting and compliance deadlines in Vietnam that every business owner should keep in mind.

Vietnam’s compliance calendar for the first quarter of 2020

In Vietnam, you can choose from four fiscal year periods:

• January 1 to December 31
• April 1 to March 31
• July 1 to June 30
• October 1 to September 30

There are several deadlines distributed over the year, however, the most important compliance deadlines in Vietnam fall on the first quarter:

#1 Deadline for paying taxes – January 30

As the quarterly compliance in Vietnam requires you to pay taxes for the previous quarter by the 30th day of the following quarter, the year begins with tax declarations and payments.

Type of tax	Declaration and payment deadline	How to report
Corporate Income Tax (CIT) for Q4 of 2019	No declaration, paid on estimates Due: January 30, 2020	Report to your local tax department using HTKK software
Personal Income Tax (PIT) for Q4 of 2019	Declaration and payment due: January 30, 2020
Value-Added Tax (VAT) for Q4 of 2019	Declaration and payment due: January 30, 2020

Annual business license tax payment

Companies in Vietnam also need to pay the annual business license tax and the deadline for that is January 30.

The amount of the business license tax you need to pay depends on your registered charter capital and the type of your business:

Charter capital/type of your business	Business license tax
Capital is 10 billion VND or less (~US$ 430,000)	2 million VND (~US$ 85)
Capital is more than 10 billion VND	3 million VND (~US$ 130)
Branches, representative offices, business location, public service providers, and other business organizations	1 million VND (~US$ 40)

#2 Deadline for reports – March 30

The next significant compliance deadline in Vietnam that you as a business owner need to keep in mind is March 30 by which you must submit the majority of the reports required in Vietnam.

1) Financial statement in Vietnam

By March 30, 2020, companies in Vietnam also need to file their annual financial report for 2019 which has to include:

• Balance sheet
• Profit and loss
• Cash flow
• Note of financial statement

If you registered your company before October 2019, you are required to submit a financial statement for 2019. If later, you can consolidate your financial report for 2019 together with the next year’s report.

The accounting records must be kept in the currency of Vietnamese dong and written in Vietnamese. In case you have a foreign-owned company, you must also have your financial report audited by an independent Vietnamese auditing company.

Emerhub’s team of knowledgeable accountants can help you with your financial statement in Vietnam as well as have it audited and submitted it to respective institutions on your behalf. Contact us via [email protected] to get started.

2) Tax settlement declarations for 2019

The end of Q1 is also the time to file the settlement reports for your previous year’s taxes:

• CIT settlement declaration for 2019
• PIT settlement declaration for 2019

Note that if the total PIT and CIT tax amounts that you paid quarterly in 2019 are smaller than the total tax amount in the settlement, your company must also pay the difference.

Did you know? You can reduce your corporate income tax in Vietnam by claiming VAT invoices as expenses. In fact, not asking for a VAT invoice while making a purchase is one of the seven common mistakes companies make in Vietnam.

3) Statistics report

Companies in Vietnam also need to submit a compliance report for the previous year to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

4) FDI reports

If your company has investment coming from another country, you also need to submit reports on the progress of every foreign-invested project. These reports must give an overview of the profits, losses, revenue, and expenses met during the previous year.

Corporate compliance in Vietnam throughout the year

As already mentioned above, most of the chief compliance deadlines in Vietnam are in Q1. However, there are also other important quarterly, annual, and biannual compliance requirements that you need to know:

To find more information on what are the compliance requirements after incorporation and throughout the year, read our in-depth article on corporate compliance in Vietnam or book a free consultation with our accounting team directly via [email protected].

What happens if you don’t meet compliance deadlines in Vietnam

Failure to meet the given deadlines will result in a fine. The amount of the fine you will face depends on the number of days you are late with your submission.

For a non-timely financial statement in Vietnam, for example, the fine starts from VND 700,000 (US$ 30) and can go up to VND 25,000,000 (~US$ 1,100).

In case of more serious breaches such as non-payment of fines or not taking notice of reporting claims, the government bodies have the authority to annul your company’s licenses and stop your operations.

The New Penal Code in Vietnam

Vietnam implemented the New Penal Code in January 2018, under which corporations can be now held criminally responsible for numerous violations, including tax evasion.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have your accounting paperwork and reports to avoid falling prey to costly mistakes.

…We at Emerhub believe that your main task should not be to navigate the ever-changing regulations and requirements in Vietnam, but to focus on building your core business instead.

Our team of experienced accountants will gladly assist you in meeting the compliance deadlines in Vietnam so that you would have more to concentrate on what you do the best.

Our accounting and tax services in Vietnam include:

• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Tax reporting and compliance
• Payroll management

Get in touch with us via the form below for a complimentary consultation to discuss how we can assist you in keeping your company’s paperwork in order.