Vietnam has joined the OECD’s BEPS programme on a measured path: the four minimum standards are domesticated to different degrees, the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) has been signed, while the global minimum tax travels through its own channel in Resolution 107/2023/QH15. This article separates the layers of commitment so groups can tell which obligations are already hard law in Vietnam, which still depend on each individual treaty, and what documentation to prepare now.
The four BEPS minimum standards in Vietnam: how far implementation has gone
Vietnam is a member of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework and committed to the four BEPS minimum standards. Countering harmful tax practices (Action 5) is implemented through incentive review and exchange of information on tax rulings. Preventing treaty abuse (Action 6) is approached cautiously: rather than one channel rewriting everything at once, Vietnam negotiates anti-abuse clauses when amending individual treaties. Three-tier transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting (Action 13) are fully domesticated, now housed in Decree 255/2026/ND-CP, which replaced Decree 132/2020/ND-CP from 1 July 2026. Improving dispute resolution (Action 14) ties to operating the MAP mechanism within the treaties.
As for the MLI, Vietnam signed the Multilateral Convention in February 2022. The MLI does not, however, automatically rewrite every treaty: its effect on a given treaty depends on whether both contracting states list that treaty as a covered agreement, on the reservations each side declares, and on when each side completes ratification. The correct answer to which treaties the MLI changes must therefore be checked pair by pair and year by year, rather than by a single date for all 81 treaties.
CbCR: the layer businesses feel most directly
Among the BEPS standards, country-by-country reporting (CbCR) is the obligation that touches multinational groups most directly: a group with consolidated revenue of VND 18,000 billion or more in the reporting year must prepare a report allocating revenue, profit, tax paid and activity indicators by country. An ultimate parent resident in Vietnam files the report with the Vietnamese tax authority; where the parent is abroad, the Vietnamese member’s duties depend on automatic exchange between the two authorities and on surrogate-filing cases set out in Decree 255/2026/ND-CP.
What businesses underestimate is interconnection: CbCR data is exchanged automatically and cross-checked against transfer pricing files in each country. An allocation of profit that is inconsistent across the CbCR, the local file and the Vietnamese subsidiary’s returns becomes a risk signal in itself, even if each document looks reasonable standing alone. Preparing for BEPS is therefore not an extra form; it is bringing the group’s entire profit-allocation story back to a single version.
Conclusion and preparation roadmap
Groups should map obligations in three layers: hard-law duties already in force in Vietnam (three-tier transfer pricing documentation, CbCR, and the top-up tax under Resolution 107/2023/QH15); treaty-dependent items (MLI effects, anti-abuse clauses, MAP availability) to be checked per partner country; and internal process (consistent CbCR data collection, review of rulings and incentives currently enjoyed). Done properly, BEPS turns from an abstract list of commitments into a concrete compliance calendar for each filing season.
Frequently asked questions
1. Which BEPS minimum standards has Vietnam applied?
The four minimum standards are: countering harmful tax practices with exchange of rulings (Action 5); preventing treaty abuse, typically through a principal purpose test or limitation-on-benefits clause (Action 6); three-tier transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting (Action 13); and improving dispute resolution through MAP (Action 14). Of these, Action 13 is the most fully domesticated in Vietnam, through the transfer pricing documentation regime in Decree 255/2026/ND-CP.
2. Which groups does country-by-country reporting (CbCR) apply to?
CbCR applies to multinational groups with consolidated revenue of VND 18,000 billion or more in the reporting fiscal year, equivalent to the OECD’s EUR 750 million threshold. An ultimate parent resident in Vietnam files the report with the Vietnamese tax authority. A Vietnamese subsidiary of a foreign group usually does not file directly where the report is automatically exchanged from the parent’s country, but may still fall into surrogate-filing or information-provision cases under Decree 255/2026/ND-CP, and must in any event maintain its local transfer pricing file like any other related-party enterprise.
3. If Vietnam joins the MLI, how will its tax treaties change?
Where both Vietnam and the partner state list a treaty as a covered agreement, the MLI can insert anti-abuse rules (such as the principal purpose test), an anti-abuse preamble and improved dispute-resolution provisions into that treaty, with separate effective dates for withholding taxes and other taxes. The degree of change is not uniform across treaties because it also depends on each side’s reservations. Businesses enjoying treaty benefits — for example reduced withholding on interest or royalties — should re-test their entitlement treaty by treaty instead of assuming prior conditions carry over unchanged.
4. What documentation and processes should businesses prepare?
Three actions to take now: first, test the CbCR threshold and ensure the consolidated financial data used for CbCR reconciles with the transfer pricing file in Vietnam; second, review every cross-border income stream currently enjoying a treaty rate (dividends, interest, royalties, service fees) through the anti-abuse lens and prepare genuine-business-purpose arguments; third, put MAP deadlines and tax-residence evidence into the annual compliance calendar, because once a dispute arises, a missed treaty deadline cannot be cured by good documentation.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council