New preferential import tax rates for automobile production and assembly

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Production activities at Hyundai Thanh Cong Vietnam Automobile Manufacturing Joint Stock Company. Photo: Hoang Vinh

This amendment will facilitate enterprises' production and business activities and ensure the Customs' risk management. This is also one of the contents to promptly remove difficulties for domestic production and business enterprises, encourage enterprises to continue investing, innovate technology, and reduce product costs.

Article 8 of Decree 26 stipulates the preferential import tax rates for automobile components imported under the tax incentive program for the production and assembly of cars (tax incentive program), enterprises with a license Certificate of eligibility for automobile production and assembly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade will be applied the preferential import tax rate of 0% for imported auto components of group 98.49 (in Clause 3, Section II, Appendix II). promulgated together with this Decree). Accordingly, at the time of customs declaration registration, the customs declarant shall declare and calculate tax on imported goods at the normal import tax rate, the preferential import tax rate, or the customs duty rate. According to regulations, special preferential import tax rates have not yet been applied to the preferential import tax rate of 0% of heading 98.49.

The Decree also stipulates the applicable conditions for imported automobile components.

Enterprises that manufacture and assemble cars using imported gasoline, oil, and auto components enjoy the tax rate of 0% must satisfy the following conditions: the components are named in heading 98.49 and belong to types that cannot be produced domestically and are used to manufacture and assemble automobiles in the incentive consideration period (including spare parts in stock of previous incentive periods used for manufacturing and assembling automobiles at the following preferential periods). Determining components that cannot be produced domestically is based on the Ministry of Planning and Investment regulations on the list of raw materials, supplies and semi-finished products that can be produced domestically.

For components directly imported by automobile manufacturing and assembling enterprises, or by entrusting or authorizing imports, in case of imported parts (including imported by many sources and many trips) when the bodywork and chassis must meet the requirements, such as the bodywork includes at least the following assemblies: roof assembly, floor assembly, left rib assembly, right rib assembly, front assembly, behind assembly and separate bonding arrays (if any) and not powder coated; Automobile frames are regulated: imported ones with a length of less than 3.7 m, whether or not linked together, must not be powder coated; types with a length of 3.7 m or more, whether or not linked together, are allowed to be powder coated before being imported.

For enterprises manufacturing and assembling electric cars, cars using fuel cells, hybrid cars, cars using completely biofuels, and cars using natural gas, Enterprises do not have to register car models when participating in tax incentive programs. Decree 26 stipulates that enterprises are not required to meet the minimum output requirements at the first registration period for the tax incentive program and the next incentive consideration period. Suppose the provisions of Clause 2, Point A, Clause 3, Clause 4, Clause 6, Clause 7, Clause 8, and Article 8 of Decree 26 are satisfied. In that case, the tax rate of 0% will be applied to all used imported components to manufacture and assemble a group of vehicles that the enterprise has registered to participate in the factory tax incentive program in the incentive consideration period. In the following incentive consideration periods, the enterprise must satisfy the minimum output specified at Point B, Clause 5 of this Article and satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 2, Point A, Clause 3, Clause 4, Clause 6, Clause 7, Clause 8 of this Article, the tax rate of 0% shall be applied to all imported components used to manufacture and assemble a group of vehicles that the enterprise meets the production requirements according to factory regulations, during the preferential review period.

For enterprises manufacturing and assembling cars using gasoline and diesel fuel to enjoy the preferential tax rate, they need to satisfy the conditions on emission standards fully, conditions on vehicle models, and conditions on the minimum overall quantity and minimum specific quantity. Accordingly, the conditions on emission standards are regulated. The production and assembly of cars must meet emission standards of level 5 or higher for the period from 2022 onwards, and vehicles with emission standards of level 4 when production and assembly have been granted the certificate of quality, technical safety and environmental protection before January 1, 2022, and is still valid according to the provisions of Decree 116/2017/ND-CP and other documents amend, supplement or replace (if any). Regarding car models, enterprises manufacturing and assembling cars using petrol and diesel fuel may register 1 or more car models when participating in the tax incentive program. During the program's implementation, enterprises can change or supplement vehicle models and the number of registered models. The output of the modified or added car model is added to the minimum general output for consideration of incentives but must still meet the minimum specific production conditions for each preferential consideration period.