What is a Tax Registration Certificate? Is registration mandatory?

What is a tax registration certificate? Is it mandatory to register? What are the regulations and forms of tax code registration certificates for companies, business households, individuals, etc.? Let fdiinvietnam.com answer in the article below.

What is a tax registration certificate?

A tax registration certificate is a document issued by the tax authority to organizations, enterprises, individual business households, and individuals engaged in production and business activities that have completed tax registration dossiers and procedures according to previous regulations.

A tax registration certificate is also known as a tax code certificate or a tax code registration certificate. In addition, depending on the subject to which it is issued, a tax registration certificate is also known by other names such as:

• Certificate of business tax code (issued to companies, businesses);
• Certificate of personal tax registration, certificate of personal tax code;
• Certificate of business household tax registration (issued to individual business households).

Is it mandatory to obtain a tax registration certificate?

Article 35 of the Law on Tax Administration stipulates the use of tax codes (MST) as follows:

• Taxpayers must record their tax codes on invoices, documents, contracts, etc. when conducting business transactions, opening bank accounts, performing tax declaration procedures, paying taxes, refunding taxes, not collecting taxes, exempting taxes, reducing taxes, registering customs declarations, etc.;
• Taxpayers must record their tax codes on their records when performing administrative procedures or provide their tax codes to relevant agencies and organizations;
• Tax authorities, State Treasury, and banks use taxpayers’ tax codes to manage taxes and collect taxes into the state budget;

…

Article 33 of the Law on Tax Administration stipulates: Taxpayers must register for tax within 10 working days from the date of:

• Enterprises, business households, and cooperatives are granted business registration certificates/investment licenses, individual business household licenses, and establishment and operation licenses;
• Commencement of production and business activities for individual business households, individual businesses that are required to register for business but do not have a business registration certificate or organizations that are not required to register for business;
• Organizations and enterprises that have the responsibility to deduct and pay taxes on behalf of individuals; organizations that pay on behalf of individuals according to contracts;
• Personal income tax liability or tax refund request arises;

…

➨ Thus , the law does not specifically state that “it is mandatory to register a tax registration certificate for all entities”. However, considering the above provisions, registering this certificate is necessary.

According to current regulations, the registration of tax registration certificate is applied as follows:

• After establishment, individual business households, individuals who incur tax obligations must still carry out procedures to register for tax registration certificates and notify tax codes;
• Organizations, companies, and enterprises do not need to apply for a tax registration certificate to be granted a tax code, but only need to complete the procedure for applying for a business registration certificate (also known as business establishment procedure) at the Department of Planning and Investment to be granted a tax code.

Regulations on granting tax registration certificates

1. Issuing tax registration certificates to taxpayers

The tax authority shall issue a tax code registration certificate to the taxpayer within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the taxpayer’s complete tax registration dossier as prescribed. 

The contents of the tax registration certificate include:

• Taxpayer name (company name, business household name, individual name registering tax code…);
• Tax code (which is the taxpayer code);
• Tax authority;
• Number, date, month, year of business registration certificate/establishment and operation license or investment registration certificate; ID card/citizen ID card/passport information of individuals not required to register for business.

>> See more: Distinguishing between corporate tax codes, 10-digit tax codes and 13-digit tax codes.

2. Issuance of tax code notification in lieu of tax registration certificate

Tax authorities do not issue tax registration certificates but only send tax code notifications to taxpayers in the following cases:

• Employees authorize the income paying unit to register for a tax code on behalf of the employee and dependents;
• Employees register for tax through tax declaration;
• Individuals, organizations and businesses register for tax to deduct and pay taxes on their behalf;
• Individuals register tax codes for dependents.

>> See more: How to register for personal tax code online and look up tax code.

3. Re-issuance of tax registration certificate

The tax authority shall reissue the tax registration certificate or notify the tax code to the taxpayer within 2 working days from the date of receipt of the taxpayer’s valid dossier.

Tax registration certificate form – latest 2023

Depending on the tax registration subject, the tax authority issues a tax code certificate to the taxpayer according to the following forms:

1. Tax registration certificate for organizations, enterprises, households and individuals doing business

Tax authorities issue tax registration certificates according to form No. 10-MST to organizations, enterprises, individual business households, and individuals engaged in production and business activities.

For example:

• Individuals buying, selling, transferring and trading real estate;
• Individuals doing online business on Shopee, Tiki, Lazada;
• Individuals in Vietnam but have income from abroad.

>> FREE DOWNLOAD: Form No. 10-MST Tax registration certificate.

2. Tax registration certificate for individuals

The tax authority issues a tax registration certificate according to form No. 12-MST to individuals with income from wages and salaries who submit tax registration documents directly to the tax authority, not through the income-paying agency or organization.

>> FREE DOWNLOAD: Form No. 12-MST Tax registration certificate for individuals.

3. Personal tax code notification

Tax authorities issue personal tax code notifications according to form No. 14-MST to individuals with income from salaries and wages in cases where individuals (employees) pay personal income tax through organizations or enterprises that pay income and have written authorization for organizations or enterprises to carry out tax registration procedures (register personal tax codes).

After completing the tax registration procedure, the organization or enterprise paying income is responsible for notifying the employee of the tax code issued.

>> FREE DOWNLOAD: Form No. 14 – Tax code Notification of personal tax code.

4. Notification of dependent tax code

The tax authority issues a notification of dependent tax code according to form No. 21-MST to the individual who directly registers the tax code for the dependent.

>> FREE DOWNLOAD: Form No. 21-MST Notification of dependent tax code.

The tax authority issues a tax code notice of the dependent authorizing the income paying agency to carry out tax registration procedures according to form No. 22-MST for the income paying agency.

>> FREE DOWNLOAD: Form No. 22-MST Notification of tax code of dependents authorizing tax registration for income paying agencies.

5. Tax code notification in other cases

Tax authorities issue tax code notices according to form No. 11-MST to:

• Individuals and organizations register for tax deduction and tax payment on behalf of others;
• Individuals register for tax through tax declarations.

>> FREE DOWNLOAD: Form No. 11-MST Tax code notification.

Above is detailed information about tax registration certificate, tax code notification for individuals, businesses, and individual business households. 

Individuals and business households with income from online business, real estate business or other business activities need to apply for a tax registration certificate to declare and pay taxes. You can refer to:

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Some frequently asked questions about tax registration certificates