The Ministry of Finance has issued a new circular on reducing certain fees and charges to help businesses and citizens recover and grow production and commercial activities.

From July 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026, a broad range of fees and charges across various sectors will be cut by 50% compared to current rates.

Specifically, a 50% reduction applies to license fees for establishing and operating banks and non-bank credit institutions under Circular No. 150/2016/TT-BTC; appraisal fees for businesses dealing in restricted or conditional goods and services in the commercial sector under Circular No. 168/2016/TT-BTC; licensing fees for commodity exchange establishment; certification, licensing, and permit assessment fees in civil aviation; aircraft security transaction registration fees; entry and exit fees at airports and customs fees for international flights arriving in Vietnam under Circulars No. 193/2016/TT-BTC and 194/2016/TT-BTC; and fees for accessing meteorological and hydrological data under Circular No. 197/2016/TT-BTC.

In the agricultural sector, a 50% reduction applies to fees for intellectual property protection certificates, registration of IP rights, professional representative licensing, and plant variety protection across all stages of validity as stated in Circular No. 207/2016/TT-BTC.

Other reduced fees include those related to publications, foreign barcodes, airport exploitation, inland waterway reporting, civil cryptographic products, fire safety assessment, labor export, and document verification.

Notably, a 50% cut also applies to industrial property fees under Circular No. 263/2016/TT-BTC; railway infrastructure usage fees; business condition assessment fees in technical labor safety, travel services, tour guide licensing; and permits related to fireworks, weapons, explosives, support tools, and identity card reissuance or replacement.

In the legal and judicial sectors, the 50% reduction covers independent civil case processing fees, competition exemption application appraisal, animal and animal product quarantine fees, fire safety equipment inspection fees, livestock operation fees, passport and travel document issuance fees, food safety, fisheries, water resource use, radio frequency, securities, transportation inspection certification, construction practice certification, technical design and investment project assessment, healthcare, secured transaction registration, environmental, transit goods and vehicles, and certificate of origin (C/O) issuance fees.

Also included are reductions in notarization, commercial arbitration, asset auction, legal practice, asset liquidation, electricity operation license assessments under certain conditions, business registration for companies, branches, and representative offices, and data access fees from the National Population Database under Circular No. 48/2022/TT-BTC.

Of particular interest, the Circular fully exempts electricity operation license assessments when modifications are due to address changes resulting from administrative restructuring. This exemption remains valid until December 31, 2026.

The Circular also amends Circular No. 10/2025/TT-BTC to further promote digital transformation. Vietnamese citizens aged 18 to 23 registering the domain “id.vn” will be exempt from fees for the first two years and charged from the third year onward.

Newly established enterprises (under 12 months) and licensed household businesses registering “biz.vn” domains will also enjoy two years of fee exemption. This policy applies only to the first newly registered domain per individual or unit.

From January 1, 2027, the mentioned fees and charges will revert to their original rates or as amended or replaced. Other procedures regarding eligibility, collection, exemptions, declarations, submissions, and management of fees and charges will continue under current legal regulations.

Nguyen Le