What are the conditions for application of CIT incentives in Vietnam ? How to file an application of corporate income tax (CIT) incentives?
What is Corporate income tax ?
Corporate income tax or (CIT) is a direct tax, collected based on the final results of production and business activities of organizations and enterprises.
Conditions for application of CIT incentives
1. CIT incentives are applicable only to enterprises which observe accounting, invoice and document regulations and register and pay CIT as declared.
2. While enjoying CIT incentives, enterprises that carry out different production and business activities shall separately account income from production and business activities eligible for CIT incentives (including preferential tax rates or tax exemption or reduction) from income from those ineligible for CIT incentives for separate tax declaration and payment.
During a tax period, if an enterprise fails to separately account incomes from production and business activities eligible and ineligible for tax incentives, the income from production and business activities eligible for tax incentives equals (=) the total taxed income multiplied by (x) the ratio (%) of the turnover from or deductible expenses for production and business activities eligible for tax incentives to the total turnover or total deductible expenses of the enterprise in the tax period.
If an enterprise has an income or a deductible expense which cannot be separately accounted, such income or expense shall be determined according to the ratio of the turnover from or deductible expenses for production and business activities eligible for tax incentives to the total turnover or total deductible expenses of the enterprise.
3. CIT incentives are not applied and the tax rate of 20% is applied to enterprises (including also enterprises subject to the tax rate of 20% under Clause 2, Article 11 of this Circular) that have the following incomes:
4. For enterprises having investment projects eligible for CIT incentives for being engaged in the fields eligible for investment incentives, incomes from these fields and incomes from the liquidation of waste materials and scraps of products in these fields, exchange rate differences directly related to turnover from and expenses for these fields, demand deposit interests and other directly related incomes are also eligible for CIT incentives.
5. New investment projects:
a/ New investment projects eligible for CIT are:
– Projects which are granted first-time investment certificates from January 1, 2014, and generate turnover from the date of grant of such certificates.
– Domestic investment projects associated with the establishment of new enterprises which have investment capital of under VND 15 billion, are outside the list of conditional investment fields and are granted enterprise registration certificates from January 1, 2014.
– Investment projects which were granted investment licenses or investment certificates before January 1, 2014, are under construction, not yet commissioned, have generated no turnover and are granted certificates of modification of investment licenses or modified investment certificates from January 1, 2014.
– Investment projects independent from projects of operating enterprises (including also projects having investment capital of under VND 15 billion and outside the list of conditional investment fields) which obtain investment certificates from January 1, 2014, for implementation of these independent investment projects.
b/ For enterprises that modify or supplement investment licenses or investment certificates of their operating projects without changing conditions for enjoyment of incentives, incomes from modified or supplemented activities may continue to enjoy incentives given to these projects before the modification or supplementation for the remaining duration or enjoy incentives for expanded investment in case of satisfying the prescribed conditions for incentives.
c/ New investment projects eligible for CIT incentives do not include the following:
– Investment projects formed from the splitting, separation, merger or transformation of enterprises in accordance with law;
– Investment projects formed from ownership conversion (including also implementation of new investment projects with assets, business locations and lines of old enterprises for continued production and business activities, and acquisition of operating investment projects).
Enterprises established or having investment projects from transformation, ownership conversion, splitting, separation, merger or consolidation may continue enjoying CIT incentives given to enterprises or investment projects before the transformation, conversion, splitting, separation, merger or consolidation for the remaining duration if they still satisfy the conditions for CIT incentives.
d/ For enterprises enjoying CIT incentives as enterprises newly established from investment projects, only incomes from production and business activities satisfying the conditions for investment incentives stated in their first-time business registration certificates are eligible for such incentives. Enterprises currently engaged in production and business activities may continue enjoying tax incentives for the remaining duration if they have a change in their business registration certificates which does not affect the satisfaction of the prescribed conditions for tax incentives.
6. Incentives for expansion investment
a/ If satisfying one of the three conditions prescribed at this Point, enterprises having investment projects to develop operating investment projects such as expansion of production scale, increase of capacity and renewal of production technology (commonly referred to as expanded investment projects) in the fields or geographical areas eligible for CIT incentives under Decree No. 218/2013/ND-CP (including also economic zones, hi-tech parks, industrial parks other than those located in urban districts of special-grade cities, centrally run grade-I cities and grade-I provincial cities) may be chosen to enjoy CIT incentives for their operating projects for the remaining duration (if any) or to be entitled to a duration of tax exemption or reduction for additional incomes brought about by expansion investment (not eligible for preferential tax rates) equal to the tax exemption or reduction duration applicable to new investment projects in the same geographical area or field eligible for CIT incentives. If enterprises choose to enjoy CIT incentives for their operating projects for the remaining duration, expanded investment projects must be in the fields or geographical areas eligible for CIT incentives under Decree No. 218/2013/ND-CP and in the same field or geographical area with operating projects.
b/ Operating enterprises that enjoy tax incentives and invest in building new production lines, expanding production scale, adding production and business lines or raising productivity (commonly referred to as expanded investment) not in the fields or geographical areas eligible for tax incentives under Decree No. 218/2013/ND-CP , on CIT, are not entitled to CIT incentives for additional incomes brought about expanded investment.
7. In the same tax period, if having an income eligible for different preferential CIT rates and tax exemption and reduction durations, an enterprise may choose to apply the most beneficial incentive.
8. During the CIT incentive period, if an enterprise fails to satisfy any of the conditions for enjoying tax incentives in a tax year specified in Clauses 7, 8 and 12, Article 1 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on CIT and Article 19 of Decree No. 218/2013/ND-CP, it is not entitled to tax incentives in that tax year and shall pay CIT at the common rate and that year shall be counted in its incentive enjoyment period.
9. In the same tax period, if an enterprise’s business activities eligible for tax incentives sustain losses, while business activities ineligible for tax incentives and other incomes from business activities (excluding income from real estate transfer and project transfer activities; income from transfer of the right to implement projects or the right to explore, exploit and process minerals in accordance with law) generate incomes (or vice versa), the enterprise may choose to clear such losses against its taxable incomes from income-generating business activities. The remaining income after clearing is subject to the CIT rate applicable to income-generating activities.
10. In the duration of enjoyment of CIT incentives under regulations, if a competent examination or inspection agency detects:
– A higher CIT amount eligible to tax incentives compared to that declared by the enterprise itself (including the case where the enterprise has not made declaration to enjoy tax incentives), the enterprise may enjoy provided CIT incentives for CIT amounts detected through examination or inspection (including the added CIT amount and the CIT amount eligible for tax incentives which has been declared without any specified tax incentive amount).
– A lower CIT amount eligible for tax incentives compared to that declared by the enterprise itself, the enterprise may only enjoy CIT incentives applicable to the CIT amount detected through examination or inspection.
– Depending on the severity of the enterprise’s violations, the competent examination or inspection agency shall apply sanctions on tax-related violations under regulations.