On 18 June 2021, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued Circular 45/2021/TT-BTC, which sets out new rules on Advance Pricing Agreements in Vietnam. The key measures of the Circular are listed below:

Transactions covered by APAs

Eligible transactions should meet the following conditions:

  • Transactions occur during the APA period,
  • The transaction has a basis for determining the nature of the transaction, which determines the tax obligation, independent comparable,
  • The transaction is not subject to a tax dispute or complaint,
  • Transactions are made transparently, not for the purpose of evading, avoiding tax or taking advantage of tax agreements.

Application process

  • To reduce administrative burden on both tax authority and taxpayer, pre-filing phase is no longer compulsory
  • Applicatin procedures include four steps:
    • Formal application,
    • Evaluation,
    • Discussion and negotiations, and
    • Conclusion, approval, and signing-of.
  • There is no recommended timeline for each of the above steps.

Effective period

The signed APA will be binding on tax authorities and taxpayers. The effective period of a signed APA is up to 3 tax years, but not exceeding the actual number of years the taxpayer has engaged in production and business activities and declared and paid corporate income tax in Vietnam.

Effective date

This Circular takes effect from 3 August 2021, replacing Circular No. 201/2013/TT-BTC dated 20 December 2013 of the Ministry of Finance.