VCCI recommends removing obstacles in value-added tax for agricultural products

VTV.vn - Agricultural enterprises reflect that the new tax policy is creating major barriers, affecting cash flow and competitiveness of Vietnamese goods.

After more than three months of implementation, the Value Added Tax Law has begun to reveal many obstacles, putting pressure on agricultural, forestry, and fisheries businesses. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has submitted a document to the Prime Minister requesting urgent consideration and removal of inadequacies in tax policy that are creating unprecedented barriers, affecting cash flow and the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products.

The biggest obstacle is the regulation imposing a 5% tax rate on agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products that "have not been processed into other products or have only undergone basic processing." According to businesses, this regulation does not accurately reflect the nature of value-added tax, which is only levied on the added value of a product.

Every year, the coffee industry is estimated to have to temporarily pay nearly 10,000 billion VND in taxes, while the pepper industry has to "shoulder" about 2,240 billion VND.

Furthermore, another bottleneck is the lack of uniformity. Although the law stipulates that finished animal feed products are tax-exempt, many local tax authorities apply a 5% tax to input materials (such as corn, bran, and fishmeal at the commercial stage).

This not only creates difficulties for domestic food manufacturers but also creates unfair competition with imported goods, which are not subject to value-added tax.

Source: https://vtv.vn/vcci-kien-nghi-thao-go-vuong-mac-thue-gia-tri-gia-tang-cho-nong-san-100251024061455528.htm