Vietnam extends zero tax rates on fuel and jet fuel to end-2026
Resolution 43, issued on 30 September, extends the application period for preferential MFN import duty, environmental protection tax and VAT on gasoline, diesel, petroleum feedstock and jet fuel. According to Znews, the three taxes stay at 0% through 31 December 2026, replacing a deadline that had been set for 30 September. Excise tax on gasoline is unchanged at 10% for mineral grades, 8% for E5 and 7% for E10.
Vietnam has extended reduced tax treatment for fuels until the end of 2026. The government issued Resolution 43 on 30 September, prolonging the application period for preferential most-favoured-nation (MFN) import duty, the environmental protection tax and value-added tax on gasoline, diesel, the feedstock used to produce them, and jet fuel. According to Znews, the three taxes are maintained at 0% through 31 December 2026. The resolution took effect on 1 October; the previous deadline for the relief had been 30 September.
- MFN preferential import duty on gasoline, diesel, petroleum production feedstock and jet fuel: 0%
- Environmental protection tax: 0%
- Value-added tax: 0%
Excise tax on gasoline is outside the extension and continues to be applied under the Law on Special Consumption Tax and its guiding documents. Under current rules, mineral gasoline carries a rate of 10%, E5 gasoline 8% and E10 gasoline 7%.
Finance Ministry expects oil prices to stay high
In its submission supporting the extension, the Ministry of Finance said the conflict in the Middle East would most likely continue to develop in complex ways, with no identifiable end date. Even if hostilities stopped soon, the ministry argued, restoring extraction capacity and oil and gas infrastructure in the region would take time. World oil prices are therefore unlikely to fall quickly and could remain elevated for a prolonged period.
The ministry tied global crude movements directly to the domestic fuel price level, and from there to import costs, production and trading expenses, and retail pump prices. Keeping time-limited tax support in place is expected to contain additional costs, assist inflation control, stabilise production and business activity, and secure energy supply. The ministry also said the extension gives companies room to diversify their sources of fuel and feedstock and to reduce dependence on a small group of traditional import markets, which in turn supports domestic availability.
Inflation data behind the decision
Price statistics formed part of the case. Average consumer price inflation over the first eight months reached 4.45%, while the energy market remained exposed to multiple risks, the Ministry of Finance said. The Statistics Office, which sits under the ministry, reported that the consumer price index rose 0.47% in August against the previous month, mainly because domestic fuel prices followed world fuel prices higher.
Pump prices confirmed the trend in late September. In the price adjustment effective from 15:00 on 24 September, E10 RON 95 gasoline rose 1,450 dong per litre to 27,080 dong per litre, while diesel also moved above 30,000 dong per litre, Znews reported.
Market rules and the biofuel ladder
Alongside the tax decision, a draft decree on the fuel market is expected to make trading more competitive. Distribution and retail companies, however, are concerned that the power to set prices and allocate supply will continue to rest with the wholesale importers that sit at the head of the chain.
The excise structure remains the main fiscal lever separating fuel grades, with a three-percentage-point gap between mineral gasoline at 10% and E10 at 7%, and 8% for E5. Biofuel has been part of Vietnam's retail mix since 1 January 2018, when E5 replaced A92 mineral gasoline at the pump. With import duty, environmental protection tax and VAT all at zero until the end of 2026, excise and world product prices are left as the principal variables in the retail price for importers, blenders and distributors to work with.