Regulations on license fees according to Vietnamese law

License fees is one of the fees that businesses, business households, and individual businesses must pay annually to the tax authority based on the level of charter capital or investment capital or revenue of the year. So how much is the fee for this type of fee? Are there any subjects who are exempt from paying license fees? 

CSPL:    Articles 2, 3, 4 of Decree 139/2026/ND-CP;

               Clause 1 Article 1 Decree 20/2020/ND-CP;

               Article 2 Circular 302/2016/TT-BTC;

               Clause 1, Article 1, Circular 65/ 2020/TT-BTC;

1. License fee payers

Fee payers are organizations and individuals engaged in production and trading of goods and services, except for cases of exemption, including:

– Enterprises established under the provisions of law.

– Organizations established under the Cooperative Law.

– Public service units established in accordance with the law.

– Economic organizations of political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, people’s armed units.

– Other organizations engaged in production and business activities.

– Branches, representative offices and business locations of organizations above.

– Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in production and business activities.

2. License fee rates

2.1. License fee rates for organizations producing and trading goods and services

• Organizations with charter capital or investment capital of over 10 billion VND: 3,000,000 VND/year;
• Organizations with charter capital or investment capital of 10 billion VND or less: 2,000,000 VND VND/year;
• Branches, representative offices, business locations, public service units, other economic organizations: 1,000,000 VND/year.
  The license fee collection rate for organizations specified in Points a and b of this Clause is based on the charter capital recorded in the business registration certificate; In case there is no charter capital, it is based on the investment capital stated in the investment registration certificate.

2.2. License fee rates for individuals, groups of individuals, and households engaged in production and trading of goods and services

• Individuals, groups of individuals, households with revenue over 500 million VND/year: 1,000,000 (one million) VND/year;
• Individuals, groups of individuals, households with revenue over 300 to 500 million VND/year: 500,000 (five hundred thousand) VND/year;
• Individuals, groups of individuals, households with revenue over 100 to 300 million VND/year: 300,000 (three hundred thousand) VND/year.

3. Cases of license fee exemption

The following 10 cases are exempt from license fees:

– Individuals, groups of individuals, households engaged in production and business activities with annual revenue of 100 million VND or less.

– Individuals, groups of individuals, and households with irregular production and business activities; no fixed location.

– Individuals, groups of individuals, and households producing salt.

– Organizations, individuals, groups of individuals, households farming, fishing, seafood and fisheries logistics services.

– Commune cultural post office; Press agencies (print press, audio press, visual press, electronic press).

– Cooperatives and unions of cooperatives (including branches, representative offices, and business locations) operating in the agricultural sector according to the provisions of law on agricultural cooperatives.

– People’s Credit Fund; branches, representative offices, business locations of cooperatives, cooperative unions and private enterprises doing business in mountainous areas. Mountainous areas are determined according to the regulations of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities.

– Exemption from license fees in the first year of establishment or production and business activities (from January 1 to December 31) for:

• • Newly established organization (issued with new tax code, new business code).
  • Households, individuals, and groups of individuals starting production and business activities for the first time.
  • During the license fee exemption period, organizations, households, individuals, or groups of individuals that establish branches, representative offices, or business locations are exempt from license fees.

– Small and medium-sized enterprises converting from business households (according to the provisions of Article 16 of the Law on Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) are exempted from license fees for a period of 03 years from the date of issuance of the first business registration certificate.

• • During the license fee exemption period, small and medium-sized enterprises that establish branches, representative offices, and business locations shall be branches and representative offices. Representatives and business locations are exempt from license fees during the period when small and medium-sized enterprises are exempted from license fees.
  • Branch, representative office, business location of small and medium-sized enterprises (subject to license fee exemption according to the provisions of Article 16 of the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises) established before the effective date of this Decree, the license fee exemption period of the branch, representative office, and business location is calculated from the effective date of this Decree until the end of the period when small and medium-sized enterprises are exempted from license fees.
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises converted from business households before the effective date of this Decree are exempted from license fees according to the provisions of Article 16 and Article 35 of the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises.

– Public general education establishments and preschool education establishments. public mountain