Gasoline is a commodity subject to special consumption tax of 7-10%. Photo: N. Lien

Special consumption tax is an indirect tax, levied on certain luxury goods and services; goods that are highly polluting and harmful to consumers' health such as air conditioners, gasoline, soft drinks and carbonated drinks. However, many opinions say that after many years of application, it is necessary to re-determine the value of goods to apply the tax.

Inadequacies in defining luxury goods

According to businesses and lawyers, special consumption tax is revealing some shortcomings in determining luxury goods to apply tax rates.

Mr. Chu Van Hien, Deputy Head of the Propaganda, Dissemination, Education and Law Development Department, Provincial Lawyers Association, proposed not to impose special consumption tax on gasoline and air conditioners. Because gasoline is an important and essential commodity in the economy of every country. This is a commodity that governs all production and business activities, directly affecting production costs, product prices, as well as the consumer price index (CPI). Moreover, gasoline is subject to environmental protection tax, so it is not necessary to impose special consumption tax on gasoline.

According to the Draft Law on Special Consumption Tax, the special consumption tax rate on tobacco products will be applied in two forms, from 75%/pack or according to the roadmap from 2-10 thousand VND/tobacco product from 2026-2030. Apply a tax rate of 70% for beer and wine. Apply 10% special consumption tax on air conditioners...

The purpose of special consumption tax is to levy on goods and services that are luxurious or pollute the environment, harmful to consumers' health, and have negative impacts on the environment and society. Therefore, the tax is aimed at regulating production and consumption in a limited manner, contributing to strongly regulating consumer income and regulating the community. Currently, air conditioners with a capacity of 90,000 BTU or less are considered common goods, and are needed by agencies, organizations, businesses, and all people. Therefore, air conditioners should not be included in the list of special consumption goods in the near future.

Stick to reality to build tax

Special consumption tax is considered a tool to protect people's health, social security, and the environment... Therefore, in order for special consumption tax to closely follow real life, contributions need to be researched and targeted to the right subjects.

Contributing to the development of the Special Consumption Tax Law Project, the representative of the Regional Customs Department XVIII said that in the regulations on taxable subjects, the draft has content on goods that are defined as complete products, not including components for assembling these goods. In addition to complete products as in the past, for transportation reasons, in some cases, complete products must be disassembled for convenient packaging and storage. Thus, for separate components, although they are separate but are still assembled into a complete product, customs still considers them as a product and must pay special consumption tax as a complete product. In addition, imported goods in unassembled or disassembled form are still subject to special consumption tax.

For temporarily imported goods for re-export, no tax must be paid during the temporary import and re-export period. However, there is currently a situation where goods are temporarily imported but not re-exported. The customs sector recommends adding additional regulations that for temporarily imported goods for re-export but then not used for the original purpose, tax must be paid immediately at the time of declaration of non-use. In case at the time of declaration, the goods are no longer available, the tax calculation will be based on the declaration to collect tax, and late payment fees will be calculated.

Another problem mentioned is that the special consumption tax rate on some goods is still quite high, while the control of the smuggling market is not effective (cigarettes, sugary drinks, alcohol, etc.), this causes unfair competition when domestic goods or officially imported goods often have higher prices than smuggled goods...

At the conference to collect opinions from units, organizations and individuals of Dong Nai, Standing Member of the National Defense and Security Committee of the 15th National Assembly, National Assembly delegate of Dong Nai province Trinh Xuan An said that the opinions from enterprises, state management units as well as units on special consumption tax are quite close to reality. The opinions related to a number of issues such as: determining taxable goods; taxable prices and calculation methods are close to reality, reflecting the true nature.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan An affirmed that the special consumption tax revenue is an important source of revenue for the state budget. Vietnam is considering economic growth targets for 2025 and the following years. Changes in tax policies will impact changes in fiscal policies, especially in the tax sector, so a comprehensive assessment is needed. In particular, it is necessary to clearly identify luxury goods, avoid subjectivity, ensure the promotion of business development while still ensuring state budget revenue.

Ngoc Lien

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/can-xac-dinh-lai-cac-mat-hang-xa-xi-de-tinhthue-tieu-thu-dac-biet-f57789d/