Video: Ministry of Finance urgently developing decree on preferential tariffs under EVFTA

Vietnamese agencies are preparing procedures to submit to the National Assembly for the session in May. If the EVFTA is approved on this session and two parties notify each other of finishing legal procedures in June, the decree will come into force from July 1.

To carry out Vietnam’s obligation on tax commitments, the Ministry of Finance is urgently developing a decree on Preferential Export Tariffs and Preferential Import Tariffs under EVFTA to apply as the decree comes into force and building a roadmap to cut special preferential import and export tariffs as committed in the decree.

Regarding import tariffs, Vietnam is committed to elaborating import taxes as soon as the decree is effective for 48.5 of tariffs, equivalent to 64.5 percent of import turnover from the EU and about 99 percent of tariffs, equivalent to 99.8 percent of import turnover from the EU after 10 years. For the remaining tariffs, Vietnam will have an over-10-year roadmap or offer preferences for the EU based on WTO tariffs.

The roadmap to elaborate import taxes for Vietnam’s major items as follow: cars (after nine years for powerful cars (more than 3,000cc for petrol engines and over 2,500 cc for diesel engines) and 10 years for the remaining cars); automobile components and spare parts (after a maximum of seven years); chemicals (a maximum of seven years); alcoholic beverages (a maximum of 10 years); beef (three years), frozen pork (after seven years), chicken (10 years); milk and milk products (three to five years); fish and fish products (three to seven years); cigarettes and cigars (15 years); and machinery and equipment (a maximum of seven years); etc.

Regarding export tariffs, Vietnam is committed to elaborating export taxes for items to the EU under a roadmap as much as 15 years, except for items of which export tax rates remain like crude oil and coal (excluding coal for coking and coke).