Question:
1. Quoting from letter No. 978/CT-TTHT dated 01/02/2016 of Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department as follows: “In the case where the company is not a direct importer of alcohol and beer (goods subject to special consumption tax – SCT) for sale but purchases from importing companies, when selling alcohol and beer to customers, the company is not required to pay SCT.” The business would like to know if the content of the mentioned letter is still in line with current legal regulations for the business to apply?
2. The business imports wine, which is subject to special consumption tax, and has already paid SCT at the importation stage. Currently, the business is applying the “direct tax calculation method,” and when selling wine, the business pays SCT according to the following formula: “SCT payable = SCT amount for goods subject to SCT sold in the period – SCT amount already paid for goods and raw materials at the importation stage or corresponding SCT amount paid at the purchase of raw materials for the quantity of goods sold in the period,” is that correct?
Answer:
Based on Article 4 of Circular No. 195/2015/TT-BTC dated November 24, 2015, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which guides the payment of SCT by taxpayers.
Based on Article 1 of Circular No. 20/2017/TT-BTC dated March 6, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which amends and supplements Clause 2 of Article 8 of Circular No. 195/2015/TT-BTC dated November 24, 2015, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 108/2015/ND-CP dated October 28, 2015, by the Government, which provides detailed regulations and guidance for the implementation of some provisions of the Law on SCT and the Law amending and supplementing some provisions of the Law on SCT (as amended and supplemented by Circular No. 130/2016/TT-BTC dated August 12, 2016, by the Ministry of Finance).
Based on the above regulations:
• In the case where the company is not a direct importer of alcohol and beer (goods subject to SCT) for sale, but purchases from importing companies, when selling alcohol and beer to customers, the company is not required to pay SCT.
• In the case where the company directly imports goods subject to SCT, when selling them domestically, the company must calculate the output SCT and deduct the SCT already paid at the importation stage when determining the SCT amount to be paid for the goods sold domestically according to the provisions of Article 1 of Circular No. 20/2017/TT-BTC by the Ministry of Finance.
Please note that the regulations related to special consumption tax may be updated and amended at different times. Therefore, to ensure accuracy and compliance with the law, businesses should monitor and comply with the latest regulations on special consumption tax.
