Vietnam

Vietnam Net - E | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedEconomic Growth

Vietnam’s economy is entering a new phase described as “decompression,” characterized by the release of accumulated energy hindered by long-standing bottlenecks in development. This phase is about freeing the economy from excessive constraints to foster experimentation, creativity, and natural growth. The State must also be “decompressed” by removing bureaucratic barriers and restoring public trust to enable businesses to thrive. This requires fundamental changes in administrative operations rather than minor procedural adjustments.

A significant challenge identified is the undervaluation of the domestic sector compared to foreign-invested enterprises (FDIs), which benefit from structural advantages like lower financing costs and a more stable business environment. Equalizing conditions for domestic firms, especially by reducing interest rates and administrative burdens, is crucial for their growth and competitiveness. The government aims to create a fairer business environment supporting both domestic and foreign enterprises, moving towards a national investment strategy emphasizing large-scale projects and mobilizing mostly private capital to drive sustained economic growth.

Key growth opportunities include unblocking stalled projects and eliminating procedural inefficiencies to prevent new bottlenecks from arising. Comprehensive transport infrastructure development is also prioritized to reduce logistics costs, which currently represent 17-18% of GDP. However, capital injection must be accompanied by improved supporting conditions, such as better regulatory frameworks and governance, to avoid ineffective investments.

Empowering local authorities and businesses with innovation incentives is important but must be paired with protection mechanisms to ensure those who take risks are supported and not penalized. Addressing high interest rates remains critical; lowering and stabilizing rates over the long term will allow domestic businesses to compete more effectively. Proposed solutions include state-backed subsidies on lending rates with conditional enforcement for broad application and gradual phasing out aligned with economic strength, requiring strong political will and new mechanisms.

Structural bottlenecks to medium-term growth include the treatment of land, capital access, and human resources. Land policy must shift from treating land as a territorial asset to a market resource with properly defined property rights to avoid speculative distortions. Capital markets need to better support productive private investment rather than speculative activity. Human capital development calls for radical education reform, moving towards fostering creativity, independent thinking, and the integration of human and artificial intelligence to enhance innovation and competitiveness in the global economy.

Overall, Vietnam’s economic reform phase focuses on unlocking growth potential through systemic decompression, equalizing business conditions, strategic investments, infrastructure improvements, and education transformation to secure sustainable development in the coming years.

Quy định mới về điều kiện sản xuất, buôn bán thuốc bảo vệ thực vật

Bao Dien Tu | Local Language | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

Decree No. 33/2026/ND-CP introduces updated regulations on the production and trade of plant protection drugs, amending Decree No. 66/2016/ND-CP to align with the Law on Investment and reduce business conditions as per Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1671/QD-TTg dated 05/8/2025. It revises requirements related to conditions, procedures, and authority for granting, re-granting, and revoking Certificates of Eligibility for Production and Trade of plant protection drugs.

For production, organizations must comply with Article 61 of the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine, requiring that managers have a university degree in relevant fields and that workers receive chemical safety training. Production facilities must be located in industrial zones and adhere to national safety regulations for handling hazardous chemicals. Equipment used must also meet prescribed safety and technological standards.

In trading, individuals or organizations must ensure that sellers have at least intermediate qualifications or professional training certificates in related disciplines. Trading locations must be separated from food services, schools, and hospitals, with warehouses following safety standards including specific shelving requirements for retail storage.

Applications for Certificates of Eligibility for Production/Trade must include an application form and a statement of compliance with conditions. Submissions can be made in person, online, or by mail to the designated agency appointed by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. The agency will respond on dossier completeness within one working day for electronic or postal submissions. Certification issuance involves dossier appraisal, on-site inspections, and evaluation reports, with timelines of 20 working days for production certificates and 10 working days for trading certificates. The provincial chairman decides on issuance within five working days after appraisal.

Certificates may be revoked due to alteration, repeated administrative violations related to plant protection and quarantine, or other legally defined grounds. The authority for granting, re-issuing, and revoking certificates rests with the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Renewal dossiers must be submitted at least three months before certificate expiration for continued eligibility.

Cục Thuế: Không căn cứ doanh thu 2026 để truy thu thuế khoán các năm trước

VN Express | Local Language | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

Starting in 2026, millions of households under the lump-sum tax regime will transition to declaring and paying taxes based on actual revenues. Despite concerns over potential retroactive tax assessments if declared 2026 revenues exceed previous lump-sum amounts, the Tax Department clarified in Official Dispatch 307 dated January 19 that it will not use 2026 declared revenues to retroactively assess or recover tax obligations from prior years. This applies to taxpayers assigned revenues and payment levels by the tax authority through 2025 and earlier, and to those whose taxable revenues changed by 50% or more due to shifts in operational scale.

Deputy Director General Mai Sơn emphasized that administrative sanctions regarding invoices for business households have been designed to be simpler and more appropriate to their scale, confirming that declared revenues in 2026 will not be used to recover lump-sum taxes for past years. The tax authority will also enhance support channels and provide step-by-step guidance to facilitate the declaration process for business households.

However, if fraud or revenue concealment causing tax shortfalls is detected, households or individual businesses will face sanctions under Decree 125/2020. Penalties can include warnings, fines up to 200 million VND for organizations and 100 million VND for individuals, fines on false declarations equaling 20% of the missing tax, and tax evasion fines from one to three times the evaded amount. Additional measures include suspension of invoice printing, full payment of taxes and penalties, and potential criminal prosecution for serious offenses.

By the end of 2024, Vietnam had approximately 3.6 million business households and individuals, with 2.2 million stably operating under lump-sum or declared regimes. These contributed around 26 trillion VND to the budget in 2024, with 17 trillion VND collected in the first half of that year.