Tax news this week: VAT refunds up 48.8%, Vietnam off the EU tax blacklist, customs accounts locked from 1 January 2027
Four tax stories from late October 2026 that matter to businesses: VAT refunds are up 48.8% year on year, the EU has removed Vietnam from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, Customs will lock declaration accounts with uncleaned data from 1 January 2027, and the Tax Department is stepping up AI-based risk scoring. What should businesses do now?
3M Team··6 min read
The last week of October 2026 brought several tax and customs updates that touch businesses' cash flow and paperwork directly. Most were discussed at KPMG's annual Tax & Legal Institute 2026, held from 27 to 30 October in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with Mai Xuân Thành, Director General of the Tax Department, among the speakers (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam). Here are the four main stories and what businesses should do about them.
News 1: VAT refunds up 48.8% year on year
According to Mr Thành, as of 9 a.m. on 27 October 2026, total VAT refunds were up 48.8% on the same period of 2025 and had reached more than 94% of the 2026 refund budget (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam). The tax authority sees faster refunds as a way to free up working capital so businesses can keep operating and expand.
What it means for you: if your company has input VAT it has not yet been able to offset, especially exporters and companies in an investment phase, now is a good time to review it and file for a refund. The more complete the file and the clearer the bank payment records, the fewer follow-up questions you are likely to get.
News 2: the EU removes Vietnam from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions
On 9 October 2026, the Council of the EU announced that Vietnam and Panama had been removed from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (VnExpress). Vietnam had been added in February 2026, after the OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes found that it did not yet meet the required standards on tax information exchange. After the decision, 8 jurisdictions remain on the list (VietNamNet).
KPMG Vietnam noted that very few countries manage to get off the list within about eight months, and that the move strengthens Vietnam's standing with FDI companies and international investors (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam).
Mr Thành stressed, however, that getting off the list does not mean the job is done. Vietnam uses spontaneous exchange, exchange on request and country-by-country reporting. An OECD expert team is due to visit in November 2026, and businesses must declare beneficial ownership information as required (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam).
What it means for you: foreign-invested companies, and companies with a parent or partners abroad, should keep their beneficial ownership details and related-party transaction files ready. The tax authority increasingly needs this information to exchange with its international counterparts.
News 3: Customs will lock declaration accounts with uncleaned data from 1 January 2027
The Customs Department requires businesses registered on the VNACCS user registration and management system to finish reviewing, updating and cleaning their data before 31 December 2026. The exercise started on 25 September 2026 under Official Letter 21692/CHQ-CNTT of 15 September 2026. On 26 October 2026, Customs issued Official Letter 23474/CHQ-CNTT, telling its branches to notify and guide businesses (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam).
From 1 January 2027, accounts that have not been updated will be locked, and will only be reopened once the business completes the update. Updates are made at dksd.customs.gov.vn, following the guidance in Official Letter 21692 (Tuổi Trẻ). The aim is to keep the system secure and to stop businesses from being impersonated or having their accounts misused (Nhân Dân).
What it means for you: a locked account could stop your import and export declarations at the start of 2027, just when many businesses are shipping year-end and new-year orders.
News 4: the Tax Department turns to AI and "embedded tax" for risk management
The Director General said the tax sector is stepping up its use of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and data integration. The "embedded tax" model connects the tax management system with businesses' accounting systems so that irregularities in invoices and tax debts are flagged automatically. The goal is a "zero touch" process with fewer manual steps and fewer unnecessary requests (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam).
KPMG experts at the event explained that AI and big data help the authority analyse financial statements, score risk and select whom to inspect, moving from broad inspections to targeted ones. Businesses with a good compliance record may be inspected less often and refunded faster. Risky businesses will be inspected (Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam).
Mr Thành's advice to businesses: strengthen your accounting system, tighten internal controls and take compliance seriously.
What it means for you: once the authority scores risk from data, messy books or small invoice errors are easily flagged by the system. Clean books pay off directly: fewer inspections and faster refunds.
What to do now
- Review unclaimed input VAT. If you qualify for a refund, prepare the file and bank payment records and submit early.
- Importers and exporters: update your customs account before 31 December 2026. Assign one person to log in at dksd.customs.gov.vn and review and update user information under Official Letter 21692. Do not leave it to the last week of the year.
- Clean up invoices and books. Reconcile purchase and sales invoices with the ledger every month and fix invoice errors straight away instead of leaving them until year end.
- Companies with foreign capital or partners: keep beneficial ownership information and related-party transaction files ready.
- Remember that the Q3 provisional CIT deadline is today, 30 October 2026. If your revenue is no more than ₫10 billion, see our guide to the 30% tax cut under Resolution 43.
How 3M can help
For clients on our full-service accounting and tax package, 3M reconciles invoices and books every month, tracks refundable VAT and prepares refund files. If you want your books checked before the tax authority scores your risk, start with our financial statement review.
Book a free consultation to review your refund file and year-end deadlines.
Talk to us:
- Hotline / Zalo: +84 33 827 0386 · Message on Zalo
- Email: [email protected]
This article is for general information only and is compiled from official press reports up to 29 October 2026. Please contact 3M for advice on your specific situation.
Sources:
- Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam (27 Oct 2026): Tax sector steps up reform to support business growth (Vietnamese)
- Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam (29 Oct 2026): Real reform: the tax sector and businesses building growth together (Vietnamese)
- VnExpress (10 Oct 2026): Vietnam responds after the EU removes it from the non-cooperative tax list (Vietnamese)
- VietNamNet (10 Oct 2026): Vietnam welcomes removal from the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions (Vietnamese)
- Thời báo Tài chính Việt Nam (26 Oct 2026): Customs to lock declaration accounts from 1 January 2027 if data is not cleaned (Vietnamese)
- Tuổi Trẻ (28 Oct 2026): From 1 January 2027, businesses' customs accounts will be locked if data is not updated (Vietnamese)
- Nhân Dân (28 Oct 2026): From 1 January 2027, Customs will lock declaration accounts of businesses that have not cleaned their data (Vietnamese)
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