Vietnam's Ministry of Finance issued Circular 39/2022/TT-BTC, guiding several articles of Decree 121/2021/ND-CP on the business of prize electronic games for foreigners, according to the government's news portal1. The circular was published on 4 July 2022 and takes effect on 8 August 20221. Decree 121/2021/ND-CP itself took effect on February 12, 20222.
The circular sets the appraisal fee for granting and extending a business eligibility certificate at 150 million VND, and the fee for re-granting or adjusting one at 5 million VND1. The government portal describes the fees as central budget revenue, and states that a business may only be granted, re-granted, adjusted or extended its certificate after paying the fee into the state budget1. One English-language report gives the re-grant and adjustment figure as "$5 million", which does not match the Vietnamese-language figure of 5 million VND2.
On accounting, the circular requires a prize electronic games business to keep separate accounts for revenue, costs and profit related to that activity, tracked separately in its accounting books and financial statements1. If it cannot separate that revenue, the whole amount is treated as revenue from prize electronic games and counted as revenue for special consumption tax1.
The circular also covers discounts under Article 35 of Decree 121/2021/ND-CP. The party eligible for a discount is a player buying conventional currency worth at least 50,000 USD per purchase1. Businesses may deduct the discounted amount from taxable revenue under tax law, and must notify the tax authority that directly manages them about the discount policy1.
"Thông tư này có hiệu lực thi hành từ 8/8/2022"
Under Decree 121/2021/ND-CP, a business may organize prize electronic games at only one site licensed by authorized state agencies2. The players permitted at those sites are foreigners and Vietnamese people who reside abroad and legally enter Vietnam on passports or international travel documents issued by foreign authorities, with valid visas2. They must carry papers proving they belong to the permitted group, follow the game's rules and the operator's regulations, meet their tax obligations under law, and follow relevant legal rules2. Players are not allowed to use the results of prize games to bet directly with one another, or to harm security, order or safety at gaming sites2.
What it means for players
The circular changes what operators pay and how they account for the money, not the rules on who may play. Access to these venues remains limited to foreigners and Vietnamese people resident abroad who enter Vietnam legally with valid visas and travel documents2. Locals without that status are not in the permitted group. Players at these sites are expected to carry documents showing they qualify, and to follow the operator's rules and their tax obligations2. Betting directly between players on game results is prohibited2. The 50,000 USD threshold applies to a single purchase of conventional currency and concerns the operator's discount and tax treatment, not a player's winnings1.
What happens next
The circular took effect on 8 August 20221. No further steps are set out in the reporting.
Sources4 sources
- Phí cấp phép kinh doanh trò chơi điện tử có thưởng cho người nước ngoài là 150 triệu đồng, baochinhphu.vn
- MoF clarifies law on prize electronic games for foreigners, vietnamnews.vn
- MoF clarifies law on prize electronic games for foreigners, bizhub.vietnamnews.vn
- Rules on business in prize electronic games for foreigners, en.vietnamplus.vn
