Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 28, 2022, stipulates tax exemption and reduction policies according to Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 of the National Assembly. However, it does not clearly specify whether the goods and services related to game cards under industry code 9329 (Other recreational and entertainment activities not elsewhere classified; Details: Electronic game business, provision of electronic game services over the internet) are eligible for the 8% tax rate reduction.

Mr. Thang asks whether the 8% tax rate applied by the issuing entity for game cards is correct or not. Is the application of the 8% tax rate to game cards in line with the spirit of tax exemption and reduction according to Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15?

The Ministry of Finance responds to this issue as follows:

Based on Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 28, 2022, which stipulates tax exemption and reduction policies related to value-added tax (VAT).

In Article 1, regarding the reduction of VAT:

"1. Reduce VAT for groups of goods and services that are subject to a tax rate of 10%, except for the following groups of goods and services:

a) Telecommunications, financial activities, banking, securities, insurance, real estate business, metals and pre-cast metal products, mineral products (excluding coal mining), coke and semi-coke, refined petroleum products, chemical products. Details in Appendix I issued with this Decree.

b) Goods and services subject to special consumption tax. Details in Appendix II issued with this Decree.

c) Information technology as defined by information technology laws. Details in Appendix III issued with this Decree.

d) The VAT reduction for each type of goods and services specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be uniformly applied to various stages such as import, production, processing, commercial business...

2.  VAT Reduction Rate

a) Businesses subject to VAT calculation using the deduction method shall apply an 8% VAT tax rate to goods and services specified in Clause 1 of this Article...

In Article 3, stipulating the effectiveness of implementation and organizational execution:

"1. This Decree shall take effect from February 01, 2022.

Article 1 of this Decree shall be applicable from February 01, 2022, until December 31, 2022..."

Based on Appendices I, II, III issued with Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 28, 2022.

Based on the aforementioned regulations, in the case of your company calculating VAT using the deduction method, providing services (currently subject to a 10% VAT tax rate) not listed in the list of goods and services as stipulated in Appendices I, II, III issued with Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP, the 8% VAT tax rate shall be applied from February 1, 2022, until December 31, 2022, according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 1 of Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP.

In the case that your company provides services listed in Appendices I, II, III, and these services are not eligible for VAT reduction as stipulated in Appendices I, II, III issued with Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 28, 2022, these services are not subject to VAT reduction as defined in Clause 1, Article 1 of Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 28, 2022.

We suggest that you assess the actual situation of the goods and services your company provides and compare them with Appendices I, II, III issued with Government Decree No. 15/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 28, 2022, to determine the goods and services eligible for reduction and those not eligible for reduction in accordance with the regulations.

If you encounter any difficulties during the implementation process, we recommend that you provide relevant documents related to the issues and contact the tax authorities directly for specific guidance.