Law No. 66/2025/QH15 details the list of goods and services not subject to tax, which is important information that businesses and individuals need to know to declare taxes accurately, optimize costs and comply with the law. This article summarizes all types of goods and services that are exempt from tax, helping you to easily apply them in production, business and financial management.
Understanding the list of goods and services not subject to tax under Law No. 66/2025/QH15 not only helps businesses avoid errors in declaration, but also optimizes tax benefits and reduces production and business costs. At the same time, individuals and organizations can proactively plan investments, choose products and services that are suitable for tax exemption policies, contributing to improving financial efficiency and comprehensive legal compliance.
Legal basis related to Law No. 66/2025/QH15
To correctly and effectively apply Law No. 66/2025/QH15, businesses and individuals need to clearly understand the direct legal documents, implementation instructions and related regulations. The table below summarizes the legal basis, applicable subjects and roles of each document:
| STT | Legal documents | Related content |
| 1 | Law No. 66/2025/QH15 | Regulations on goods and services subject to and not subject to special consumption tax. |
| 2 | Tax Administration Law 2019 (revised 2023) | Instructions for tax declaration, payment, inspection and handling of violations. |
| 3 | Law on VAT 2008 (revised 2016) | Determine the relationship between special consumption tax and VAT. |
| 4 | Decree guiding Law 66/2025/QH15 | Specifies in detail how to determine, calculate and exempt tax. |
| 5 | Circular guiding the Decree | Instructions on documents, procedures and how to identify tax-free goods and services. |
| 6 | Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer and Tobacco | Identify goods that are restricted or exempt from duty. |
| 7 | Customs Law | Instructions for importing goods not subject to special consumption tax. |
| 8 | Technical, environmental and food safety standards documents | Identify tax-exempt goods, e.g. soft drinks, dietary supplements. |
Comparison of Law No. 66/2025/QH15 with Law No. 27/2008/QH12
The table below summarizes the main differences between taxable and non-taxable goods and services, helping businesses and individuals easily grasp the changes when applying Law No. 66/2025/QH15:
| Criteria | Law 27/2008/QH12 | Law No. 66/2025/QH15 | New Points / Notes |
| List of goods not subject to tax | More limited, for example, cars with less than 24 seats are not clear, air conditioners are not specifically classified | More clearly and in detail: cars under 24 seats, motorbikes ≤125 cm³, air conditioners 24,000–90,000 BTU | Expanding portfolio, more transparency |
| List of non-taxable services | Education, health care, public services | Education, health care, public services, additional basic cultural, sports and agricultural services | Expanding the scope of tax exemption, updating to suit reality |
| Applicable principles | Fair and transparent | Transparent, fair, feasible | Add the “feasibility” principle for easy practical application |
| Tax calculation instructions | Decree and circular providing general guidance | Decrees and circulars provide more detailed guidance, applicable to each type of goods and services. | More details, reduce the risk of disputes and fraud |
| Main objective | Regulate consumption, create revenue | Regulate consumption, protect the environment and health; generate revenue; encourage sustainable development | Add goals for environmental protection, health and sustainable development |
Principles and objectives in Law No. 66/2025/QH15
When learning about Law No. 66/2025/QH15, understanding the principles and objectives of the law is the foundation for understanding how to apply special consumption tax to goods and services. These principles not only guide the management agency in monitoring and collecting taxes, but also help businesses and consumers clearly recognize their rights, responsibilities, and the impact of tax policies on consumption, the environment, and society.
Regulating luxury goods consumption and protecting the environment and health
One of the important objectives of Law No. 66/2025/QH15 is to regulate the consumption of luxury goods and products that have negative impacts on health and the environment. By applying special consumption tax, the state aims to limit excessive consumption while encouraging the use of products that are more friendly to the environment and public health.
Generate revenue and encourage sustainable development
Law No. 66/2025/QH15 is not only a regulatory tool, but also plays an important role in generating revenue for the state budget. Revenue from special consumption tax helps fund social, educational, health and infrastructure development programs, while encouraging businesses to develop in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.
Applicable principles: transparency, fairness, feasibility
The provisions of Law No. 66/2025/QH15 are built on the basic principles: transparency, fairness and feasibility. Transparency makes it easy for businesses and management agencies to implement and monitor; fairness ensures that no subject is favored or disadvantaged; feasibility makes the regulations easy to apply in practice, while reducing the risk of disputes and tax fraud.
Classification of taxable and non-taxable subjects according to Law No. 66/2025/QH15
To correctly apply Law No. 66/2025/QH15, it is extremely important to clearly classify taxable and non-taxable objects. The table below summarizes the groups of goods and services:
| STT | Object type | Typical examples | Note |
| 1 | Taxable goods | Tobacco, alcohol, beer, cars with more than 24 seats, motorbikes >125 cm³, carbonated soft drinks | Subject to special consumption tax according to Law No. 66/2025/QH15 |
| 2 | Tax-free goods | Cars with less than 24 seats, 2-3 wheeled motorbikes ≤125 cm³, air conditioners 24,000–90,000 BTU, votive paper, playing cards | Tax exempted according to the list of Law No. 66/2025/QH15 |
| 3 | Taxable services | Disco, luxury massage, casino, electronic games with prizes | Subject to special consumption tax according to law |
| 4 | Tax-free services | Education, health care, public services | Tax exempted under Law No. 66/2025/QH15 |
List of goods not subject to tax under Law No. 66/2025/QH15
The table below lists the types of goods exempt from special consumption tax according to the provisions of Law No. 66/2025/QH15, helping businesses and consumers to easily identify:
| STT | Tax-free goods | Notes / Notes |
| 1 | Cars under 24 seats | Includes pickup, van, double cabin |
| 2 | 2-3 wheeled motorbikes ≤125 cm³ | Popular vehicles, personal use |
| 3 | Air conditioner 24,000–90,000 BTU | Except for those installed on vehicles |
| 4 | Joss paper and playing cards | Used for cultural and religious purposes |
| 5 | Soft drinks that are non-carbonated or low in sugar | Comply with functional food standards |
| 6 | Cigarettes, special alcohol (according to the duty-free list) | Applies to certain types of domestic production exempted by law |
| 7 | Airplanes, helicopters, yachts, gliders | Vehicles for special purposes or sports |
List of non-taxable services according to Law No. 66/2025/QH15
To properly implement Law No. 66/2025/QH15, it is extremely important to identify services that are not subject to special consumption tax. Businesses and individuals need to clearly understand this list to properly apply the regulations and avoid risks when declaring and paying taxes. The table below lists the services that are exempt from tax according to the law:
| STT | Tax-free services | Notes / Notes |
| 1 | Educational services | Includes school, vocational training, formal courses |
| 2 | Medical services | Including medical examination and treatment, health care, clinics, hospitals |
| 3 | Public services | For example: electricity, clean water, basic waste treatment |
| 4 | Basic cultural and sports services | Including libraries, museums, public sports fields |
| 5 | Agricultural and fishery services | Including basic production, preservation and processing support services |
| 6 | Some other social services | Examples: disability support services, disaster relief |
Impact of tax exemption provisions in Law No. 66/2025/QH15
The tax exemption for certain goods and services under Law No. 66/2025/QH15 not only helps reduce costs for businesses and consumers, but also has broader impacts on the economy, society and tax administration. The main impacts can be classified as follows:
Impact on the state budget
The tax exemption provision will reduce some of the direct revenue from excise tax. However, the law will also encourage consumption of tax-exempt goods and services, helping to increase indirect revenue from value-added tax, corporate income tax and other taxes. In addition, the reasonable allocation of revenue sources will also create conditions for the state to invest in social, educational, health and infrastructure development sectors.
Impact on business
Enterprises trading in tax-exempt goods and services will reduce production costs and product prices, thereby increasing competitiveness in the market. In addition, these regulations also encourage enterprises to expand investment in sectors and fields that are consistent with the policy, such as education, health care, agriculture or environmentally friendly production.
Impact on consumers
Consumers benefit through more reasonable prices for tax-free goods and services. This not only helps improve access to essential services such as education, health care, and public services, but also promotes sustainable consumption, reducing the pressure to spend on luxury products or products that have negative impacts on health and the environment.
Impact on tax administration
Tax exemption regulations help tax authorities clearly identify the applicable subjects, thereby minimizing disputes and confusion in tax declaration and payment. However, there is also a risk of fraud or false declaration, so management agencies are required to strengthen inspection, supervision and guidance for businesses to comply with regulations.
Difficulties and solutions in implementing Law No. 66/2025/QH15
Although Law No. 66/2025/QH15 brings many benefits in terms of tax exemption and consumption regulation, in actual implementation, there are still some problems that need to be resolved to ensure effectiveness and legality.
Identify tax-exempt subjects
One of the main problems is determining exactly which goods and services are exempt from tax. For new products or services that combine many features, businesses and tax authorities may have difficulty in classifying.
Solution: Detailed guidance from the Ministry of Finance or tax authorities is required on classification criteria, e.g. list of goods, product specifications, or types of tax-exempt services.
Fraud risk management
When applying tax exemption, there is a risk that some businesses will make false declarations to enjoy incentives for the wrong people. This affects fairness and budget revenue.
Solution: Strengthen inspection, supervision and strict sanctions against violations. At the same time, apply electronic tax management technology to monitor and compare tax declaration data.
Transition and policy stabilization
Some goods, services in circulation or contracts signed before Law No. 66/2025/QH15 takes effect may cause difficulties in applying tax exemption.
Solution: Develop a transition roadmap, specific instructions on inventory handling, and signed contracts. Ensure that the business is not damaged and that the tax authority has a basis for inspection.
Deployment and dissemination of the law
Many businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, do not fully understand the regulations, leading to incorrect implementation or omission of tax exemption benefits.
Solution: Organize training, seminars and disseminate guidance documents. At the same time, update accounting and tax declaration software to properly integrate the tax-exempt goods and services categories according to Law No. 66/2025/QH15.
Illustrative example of application of law No. 66/2025/QH15
To help businesses and individuals understand how to apply Law No. 66/2025/QH15, below are detailed illustrative examples, classified by type of goods and services:
Low sugar soft drinks
Scenario: A company producing 100 mL fruit juice, with a sugar content of only 3 g/100 mL, wants to determine whether it is subject to exemption. special consumption tax or not
Application of the law: According to the list of law No. 66/2025/QH15, soft drinks without gas or with low sugar content are exempt from special consumption tax.
Result: The company is exempt from special consumption tax.
Meaning: Helps businesses reduce production costs, while encouraging the production and consumption of healthy, health-friendly products.
Basic cultural services
Situation: The city library organizes a free reading program for the community.
Application of the law: Law No. 66/2025/QH15 stipulates that basic education, cultural, sports and public services are exempt from special consumption tax.
Result: This activity is not subject to special consumption tax.
Meaning: Create conditions for people to access cultural and educational services, while encouraging organizations to develop public and social services.
Cruise ships for tourism
Situation: A business imports a 15-seat yacht for domestic tourism business.
Application of the law: The list of special goods exempted from special consumption tax under Law No. 66/2025/QH15 includes yachts, airplanes, and helicopters for specialized or sports purposes.
Result: Yachts are exempt from special consumption tax; businesses only have to pay other taxes such as VAT and registration fees.
Meaning: Encourage investment in tourism and entertainment, reduce initial cost burden for businesses, promote socio-economic development.
Conclude
Law No. 66/2025/QH15 is an important tool to regulate the consumption of goods and services, and clearly define the list of goods and services subject to and not subject to special consumption tax. Understanding the content of the law helps businesses and individuals make accurate tax declarations, minimize the risk of violations and optimize economic benefits from tax incentives.
Tax exemption regulations not only create a stable source of budget revenue but also encourage sustainable development, protect health and the environment. Thanks to clear guidelines, businesses can optimize costs, improve competitiveness and expand investment in priority areas.
The application of the law requires transparency, fairness and enforceability, and requires adequate documentation to demonstrate tax exemptions. Proper implementation of the law will minimize risks when tax authorities audit and inspect. MAN – Master Accountant Network Providing comprehensive consulting and support services, helping businesses comply with the law, save time and optimize tax benefits.
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