OFFICIAL LETTER NO. 7279/TNI-QLDN2 DATED 13 AUGUST 2026 PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON FOREIGN CONTRACTOR TAX AND DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES ON THE PURCHASE OF SERVICES FROM A FOREIGN SUPPLIER (TIKTOK PTE. LTD)

On 13 August 2026, the Tay Ninh Province Tax Department issued Official Letter No. 7279/TNI-QLDN2 providing guidance on foreign contractor tax obligations and the conditions for treating payments for services to the foreign supplier TikTok Pte. Ltd as deductible expenses, specifically:

• If TikTok Pte. Ltd has directly declared and paid tax via the electronic portal on the revenue received from the Vietnamese enterprise, and the invoices/documents are inclusive of Vietnamese tax, the Vietnamese enterprise is not required to declare, withhold and pay foreign contractor tax on its behalf.
• Invoices/documents issued by TikTok Pte. Ltd are not VAT invoices under Vietnamese law, and therefore the enterprise may not credit the input VAT.
• Platform service fees are treated as deductible expenses when determining income subject to corporate income tax (“CIT”) if the documents fully state the name, address and tax identification number of the Vietnamese enterprise and are accompanied by valid payment documents.

👉 Enterprises doing business on TikTok should check the declaration and tax payment status in Vietnam of the foreign supplier, and review the information on the invoices/documents and payment records in order to correctly determine their foreign contractor tax obligations and to ensure the conditions for recognising deductible expenses for CIT purposes are met.