Consumers must pay value added tax when purchasing goods at the VAT rate in effect at the time of purchasing.
Legal grounds:
- Decree No. 44/2023/ND-CP.
We receive the following questions:
My company in Vietnam still has some of inventory bought from early 2023, at that time VAT rate is 10%. If I sell in September 2023, shall I pay VAT of 10% or 8%?
Pursuant to Decree No. 44/2023/ND-CP, groups of goods and services currently subject to a VAT rate of 10% will be applied a tax rate of 8% within the period from July 1, 2023 to the end of December 31, 2023, except for certain goods and services.
According to the provisions of this Decree, tax reduction is applied according to the type of goods sold from July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, regardless of the time of purchasing before.
In addition, value added tax is payable by the buyer, which is included in the payment amount. The seller is entitled to a deduction for VAT on purchased goods. Therefore, when selling goods, businesses must apply the VAT rate in effect at the time of sale, regardless of the tax rate when purchasing goods.
Therefore, in case business have purchased goods with a VAT rate of 10%, but the time of sale is from July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, the business must apply a VAT rate of 8% when selling goods, except for some specific goods that do not apply the VAT reduction policy.
