Decree 252/2026/ND-CP: Key Changes In Tax Administration In Vietnam

On 30 June 2026, the Government promulgated Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 252”), providing detailed regulations and implementation measures for Tax Administration Law No. 108/2025/QH15, effective from 1 July 2026. This is a consolidating instrument that simultaneously supersedes five previously issued decrees, namely Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP, Decree No. 91/2022/ND-CP, Decree No. 49/2025/ND-CP, Decree No. 117/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 373/2025/ND-CP; Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP on administrative penalties for violations relating to tax and invoices remains separately in effect until superseded by a replacement instrument.

Comprising 7 Chapters and 76 Articles, Decree 252 establishes the legal foundation for transitioning the tax administration model toward one based on data, risk assessment and taxpayers’ compliance levels, while tightening tax debt enforcement tools and expanding the scope of international tax administration cooperation. Set out below are the key points that enterprises — particularly foreign-invested enterprises and branches or representative offices of foreign companies in Vietnam — should note in order to promptly review their internal tax compliance governance systems.

1. Transition to Risk- and Compliance-Based Tax Administration

• Tax administration authorities classify taxpayers by risk level and level of tax law compliance, based on compliance history (registration, declaration, tax payment, tax debt status, and inspection/audit results) and risk indicators arising in the course of operations (use of e-invoices, tax refunds, tax exemptions/reductions, etc.), as the basis for applying management measures appropriate to each taxpayer group. More detailed classification criteria by industry, scale of operations, ownership structure and expected budget contribution are further specified in Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC providing implementation guidance.
• For the first time, the Decree formally institutes a “priority taxpayer” mechanism for the group assessed as having good compliance and low risk, involving simplified dossier-processing procedures and enhanced support from tax authorities. The detailed assessment procedures and criteria will be further specified in subsequent implementing guidance.

2. Disclosure of Taxpayer Information and Personal Data Protection Mechanism

• Automatic periodic disclosure: the tax administration system automatically discloses, on a monthly basis, on the tax authority’s website, the details of taxpayers whose tax debt has been outstanding for more than 90 days from the payment due date.
• Failure to explain e-invoice risk: taxpayers who fail to respond to a tax authority’s request for explanation regarding an e-invoice risk warning will be subject to mandatory information disclosure.
• Information disclosure also applies to cases of tax evasion, violations of tax law that affect the lawful rights and interests of other organizations or individuals, or failure to operate at the address registered with the tax authority.
• Limitation on the scope of disclosure: disclosed information is limited to the tax code, taxpayer’s name, address and reason for disclosure; for individuals, the personal identification number may only display the last 4 digits, with the remaining digits masked or encrypted — a notable new feature for personal data protection compared with prior regulations.

3. Deadlines for Tax Declaration, Payment and Supplementary Declaration

• Provisional quarterly corporate income tax must be paid no later than the last day of the first month of the subsequent quarter.
• For individuals who directly finalize personal income tax with the tax authority, the deadline for submitting the finalization dossier is the last day of the fourth month from the end of the calendar year (i.e., 30 April, where the fiscal year coincides with the calendar year) or from the end of a consecutive 12-month tax period, as applicable.
• Taxpayers may only file a supplementary tax declaration within 5 years from the expiry of the deadline for submitting the tax declaration dossier of the tax period containing the error or omission.
• Where a competent authority concludes that a seller has used unlawful invoices or used invoices in violation of regulations, the buyer must still file a supplementary declaration to adjust the tax obligations related to that invoice, including for tax periods that have already been inspected or audited. This provision places an additional responsibility on the buyer to review the legality of input invoices, even after the dossier has already been finalized.

4. Tax Administration in Respect of E-Commerce and Foreign Suppliers

• Foreign suppliers conducting business in Vietnam through e-commerce platforms must register for electronic tax transactions concurrently with their initial tax registration, and may apply either monthly declaration or per-occurrence declaration, depending on whether their business activities are regular or irregular in nature.
• Operators of e-commerce platforms with online ordering and online payment functions are responsible for withholding and paying, on behalf of foreign suppliers, the value-added tax and corporate income tax arising from such suppliers’ transactions, at the time the transaction is confirmed and payment is accepted.
• To avoid duplicate withholding on the same transaction, an organization in Vietnam that has withheld and paid tax on behalf of a foreign supplier or non-resident individual must notify the operator of the e-commerce platform.
• Non-resident individuals conducting business on platforms without online ordering and payment functions must still register for tax, declare and pay tax themselves on a per-occurrence basis.

5. Expansion and Clarification of the Conditions for Applying Temporary Exit Suspension

• Business individuals and household business owners with tax debt of VND 50 million or more, overdue for more than 120 days, and who are subject to enforcement of an administrative decision on tax, may be subject to temporary exit suspension.
• For enterprises, the applicable threshold is VND 500 million or more, overdue for more than 120 days; this measure applies to the enterprise’s legal representative and beneficial owner.
• An enterprise that has been notified as not operating at its registered address but fails to complete procedures to restore its operating status or to terminate the validity of its tax code within 120 days may likewise cause its legal representative and beneficial owner to be subject to temporary exit suspension; tax registration for a new enterprise by such individuals may only be carried out after they have fulfilled their outstanding declaration and tax payment obligations.
• The tax authority is responsible for notifying the taxpayer a certain period of time in advance before officially applying the temporary exit suspension measure; this measure is lifted once the remaining tax debt falls below the applicable threshold, without it being necessary to pay the debt in full.

Overall, Decree 252/2026/ND-CP marks a significant shift in the approach to tax administration in Vietnam: from a model based on dossiers and administrative procedures to a model based on data, risk assessment and the substantive compliance level of each taxpayer. Alongside introducing more favorable mechanisms for taxpayers with good compliance, the Decree also considerably tightens monitoring tools, information disclosure and tax debt enforcement, while enhancing transparency in respect of foreign investment structures through beneficial ownership declaration obligations and the expansion of international tax information exchange cooperation.

In this context, enterprises – particularly foreign-invested enterprises, branches and representative offices of foreign companies, and entities engaged in cross-border transactions – should not wait until issues arise with the tax authority before conducting a review. Proactively updating internal compliance governance procedures from the effective date of the Decree will help enterprises minimize the risk of information disclosure, exit suspension or subsequent tax assessment, while better leveraging the favorable mechanisms that the Decree reserves for taxpayers with good compliance.