SUMMARY OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS
PROFESSIONAL NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2025
INTRODUCTORY SECTION:
The Professional Newsletter for December 2025 provides updates on new legal policies in the fields of enterprises, investment, taxation, invoices and documents, labor and wages, and import–export. Key highlights include new regulations on special investment incentives under the 2025 Law on Investment; changes in tax administration and personal income tax effective from 2026; stricter penalties for invoice-related violations; requirements for non-cash payments; recognition of the legal validity of electronic labor contracts; and updates to administrative procedures in the import–export sector, helping enterprises promptly grasp and comply with legal regulations.
SUMMARY TABLE:
| No. | Title, reference number, date of issuance and effective date | Content |
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PART I: LEGAL POLICIES ON ENTERPRISES AND INVESTMENT |
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| 1 | Circular No. 96/2025/TT-BTC abolishing Circular No. 19/2003/TT-BTC guiding the adjustment of charter capital increases and decreases and the management of treasury shares in joint-stock companies, issued by the Minister of Finance
(Issued on 24 October 2025, effective from 15 December 2025) |
The Minister of Finance promulgated Circular No. 96/2025/TT-BTC abolishing in its entirety Circular No. 19/2003/TT-BTC dated 20 March 2003 of the Ministry of Finance, which provided guidance on the adjustment of increases and decreases in charter capital and the management of treasury shares in joint-stock companies. |
| 2 | Notice No. 269/TB-UBND on the termination of the receipt of administrative procedure dossiers at Departments and agencies and the implementation of the receipt and return of administrative procedure results at the City Public Administration Service Center (Issued on 23 December 2025, effective from 27 December 2025) | From 27 December 2025, Ho Chi Minh City centralizes the receipt and return of administrative procedure results at the City Public Administration Service Center (43 Nguyen Van Ba Street, Thu Duc Ward). Departments and agencies ceased receiving dossiers from 26 December 2025. Dossiers received prior to this date will continue to be processed by the relevant Departments and agencies in accordance with regulations, and the results will be transferred to the Center for return to organizations and individuals. |
| 3 | Law on Investment 2025, No. 43/2025/QH15
(Issued on 11 December 2025, effective from 1 March 2026) |
The Law on Investment 2025 (effective from 1 March 2026) provides for special investment incentives and support to encourage projects with significant impacts on socio-economic development, particularly in strategic technologies, innovation, semiconductors, data, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure.
The incentive levels and duration of application shall be implemented in accordance with the Law on Corporate Income Tax 2025 and land legislation; investment support is regulated under Article 14 of the Law on Investment 2025. These incentives do not apply to projects approved prior to the effective date of the Law. The Prime Minister may decide on the application of other incentives for particularly important projects; attention should be paid to provisions that take effect earlier or later as stipulated in Article 51 of the Law on Investment 2025. |
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PART II: LEGAL POLICIES ON TAXATION |
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| 1 | Law on Tax Administration 2025, No. 108/2025/QH15, applicable from 2026 (Issued on 10 December 2025, effective from 1 July 2026, with certain provisions effective from 1 January 2026) | The Law on Tax Administration 2025 (generally effective from 1 July 2026) provides for the classification of taxpayers into groups for the purpose of applying appropriate tax management, supervision, risk assessment, and tax compliance measures. The criteria for such classification shall be prescribed in detail by the Minister of Finance.
The Law expands and clarifies the scope of taxpayers, including domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, entities operating on digital platforms and in e-commerce, as well as entities responsible for tax withholding and tax payment on behalf of others. For business households and individual business operators, provisions on tax declaration, calculation, and withholding (Article 13) and the use of electronic invoices (Article 26) take effect earlier, from 1 January 2026. |
| 2 | Law on Personal Income Tax 2025, No. 109/2025/QH15, applicable from 2026 (Issued on 10 December 2025, effective from 1 July 2026) | The Law defines resident and non-resident individuals and streamlines the progressive tax tariff from seven (7) brackets to five (5) brackets, with the highest tax rate at 35%. Family-based deductions are increased to VND 15.5 million per month for the taxpayer and VND 6.2 million per month for each dependent. |
| 3 | Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated 19 October 2020 of the Government on penalties for administrative violations in taxation and invoices (Issued on 2 December 2025, effective from 16 January 2026) | The Decree provides detailed penalties for failure to issue invoices, categorized by the nature of the violation and the number of violating invoices, with penalties ranging from warnings to fines of up to VND 80 million.
These new provisions aim to strengthen the management of invoices and documents and enhance taxpayers’ compliance with tax laws. |
| 4 | Decree No. 320/2025/ND-CP of the Government detailing a number of articles of and measures for the organization and implementation of the Law on Corporate Income Tax
(Issued and effective on 15 December 2025) |
The Decree specifies conditions for deductible expenses when calculating corporate income tax, under which purchases of goods and services valued at VND 5 million or more must be supported by non-cash payment documents.
Enterprises may deduct expenses that are actually incurred in relation to production and business activities, supported by lawful invoices and documents, and satisfying non-cash payment requirements. In particular, research and development (R&D) expenses may be deducted at up to 200% of actual costs if the prescribed conditions are met. Where payment has not yet been made at the time the expense is recorded, the expense may be temporarily treated as deductible; however, it must be adjusted and reduced if, upon payment, non-cash payment documents are not available. |
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PART III: LEGAL POLICIES ON LABOR AND WAGES |
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| 1 | Circular No. 19/2025/TT-BNV regulating the economic and technical characteristics of technical inspection services for machinery, equipment, materials, and substances subject to strict occupational safety requirements, issued by the Minister of Home Affairs (Issued on 8 October 2025, effective from 1 December 2025) | This Circular stipulates the economic and technical characteristics of occupational safety technical inspection services for machinery, equipment, materials, and substances subject to strict safety requirements. It applies to organizations providing occupational safety technical inspection services and to relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals. The attached Appendix sets out detailed economic and technical characteristics of such inspection services. |
| 2 | Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP of the Government regulating the conclusion and performance of electronic contracts (Issued on 24 December 2025, effective from 1 January 2026) | The Decree provides that electronic labor contracts have the same legal validity as paper-based contracts if they are concluded in the form of data messages in accordance with labor law and the law on electronic transactions.
The conclusion and performance of such contracts through e-contract platforms must satisfy requirements on digital signatures, security, identification and authentication of contracting parties, data storage and integrity, as well as the ability to convert between electronic contracts and paper versions. E-contract systems must be connected to the Electronic Labor Contract Platform, support reporting, statistics, and labor management, and ensure network information security in compliance with applicable laws. |
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PART IV: LEGAL POLICIES ON IMPORT AND EXPORT |
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| 1 | Decision No. 3666/QD-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the promulgation of amended and supplemented administrative procedures in the field of import and export under the management authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Issued on 17 December 2025, effective from 13 January 2026) | Exporting enterprises are required to carry out procedures in accordance with the updated contents and must no longer apply the previous regulations under Decision No. 1781/QD-BCT where changes have been made. Accordingly, relevant administrative procedures shall be applied in their new versions from 13 January 2026. |
General Note:
This newsletter is for reference only – businesses or individuals should review the full text and, if necessary, consult legal experts to ensure proper compliance with procedures and forms.
