Viet Nam officially adopts VAT refund policy
Update: Jul 04, 2014
(TITC) - Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No.72/2014/TT-BTC on value-added tax (VAT) refund for purchases made in Viet Nam by foreigners, overseas Vietnamese when leaving the country.

Accordingly, from 1 July 2014, the VAT refund is officially implemented in 7 international border gates, including Noi Bai International Airport (Ha Noi), Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang City), Cam Ranh International Airport (Khanh Hoa Province), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City), Da Nang International Seaport (Da Nang City), Nha Trang International Seaport (Khanh Hoa Province), and Khanh Hoi International Seaport (Ho Chi Minh City).

The VAT refund is applied for valid invoices at 1 store in 1 day with the total cost at least 2 million VND. VAT refund amount represents 85% of VAT amount of goods.  VAT refund currency is VND.

Previously, the VAT refund was piloted in Noi Bai International Airport (Ha Noi) and Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014. According to General Department of Customs, after nearly two years of implementation, up to the end of February 2014, the number of foreigners and overseas Vietnamese refunded VAT reached 8,628; VAT refund amount of 32.9 billion VND.

The official application of VAT refund policy for foreigners, overseas Vietnamese represents international integration of Vietnamese Government, at the same time boosts visitors’ expenditure and increases export turnover.

Thu Giang