VietNamNet Bridge – Overseas Vietnamese, or Viet Kieu, who return home can enjoy tax exemptions for one car and one motorbike, but the automobile must have been used for at least six months with a minimum mileage of 10,000km, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Illustrative image. – File photo

In Circular 20/2014/TT-BTC that takes effect from April 1, the ministry said such vehicles can be imported as properties of Vietnamese citizens who reside abroad and those people have completed procedures for permanent residence in Vietnam.

Nevertheless, vehicle owners must pay the required taxes and fees such as excise tax, value added tax (VAT), and registration tax at the rate for new cars.

Meanwhile motorbikes imported by returning Viet Kieu must be less than three years old.

The imported motorbike must be also registered for use in the country of residence or where Vietnamese citizens reside for work if different from the country of residence.

The registration must have been done before overseas Vietnamese register their permanent residence in Vietnam.

Moreover, there are also regulations about the standards of technical safety and environmental protection that vehicles must satisfy.

Particularly, overseas Vietnamese must have the import procedures done on their own, and shall not authorize any other organization or individual to import the vehicles.

If the car has been imported as a repatriated overseas Vietnamese’s private assets but could not meet tax exemption regulations, the importer must re-export the vehicle, otherwise the owner will be subject to all taxes applicable to used cars.

For motorcycles, offenders will be fined and forced to re-export them.

The new regulations are meant to fight trade fraud as many expensive cars have been imported into Vietnam in recent times as private assets of Viet Kieu, but in fact they are new vehicles imported by traders who take advantage of legal loopholes.

The circular points out that beneficiaries of the preferential policy must be Vietnam citizens residing abroad and holding valid overseas passports or other equivalent papers. They must have been approved for permanent residence in Vietnam under the current regulations.

The beneficiaries can also be overseas Vietnamese holding both Vietnamese passports and overseas residence permits.

Source: SGT