Vietnam

Nguyen Thanh Vinh and Dao Thanh Hoa are the key practitioners at Baker McKenzie Vietnam. The tax team offers services covering international and local tax planning, tax compliance, controversy, and customs. It is also aligned with industry groups in order to provide a better service, particularly in consumer goods and retail, energy mining infrastructure, financial institutions, healthcare, industrials and manufacturing, transportation, and TMT.

Details of the firm’s work and clients remain confidential.

Thomas McClelland leads the tax practice at Deloitte. Its tax service covers international tax, indirect tax, tax dispute, and M&A. It is particularly active in M&A transactions in various sectors, including agricultural products, consumer goods, real estate, media, and insurance.

One of the case studies showed that the team served as a tax advisor and assisted a Vietnamese subsidiary of a global leader in paints and coatings in dealing with the challenges of corporate income tax incentives during a tax audit. The work included conducting detailed analysis and assisting in technical discussion with the tax audit team.

Vu Minh Ngoc joined the team as a director in 2022.

The tax team at DFDL consists of dedicated lawyers. It provides tax services including tax advisory, international tax, M&A, tax compliance, transfer pricing, and customs advisory. It is also experienced in handling tax controversy matters, including litigation on tax and customs, tax audits, and tax disputes.  Tax director Lan Hua is one of the key practitioners in the team.

The team recently assisted a client in the energy sector headquartered in Germany in Vietnamese tax analysis and tax structuring of an offshore windfarm project. The work included advising on the application of withholding tax and commenting on the possibility of double tax treaty relief with Germany.

Le Thi Kieu Nga leads the corporate tax practice at KPMG. It combines deals, tax, and legal business to enhance its tax services. It includes corporate tax, integrated international tax, global mobility services, legal services, diligence, forensic, M&A advisory, strategy, valuations and enterprise. It also has strength in its trade and customs practice, offering customs regulation advice, supply chain strategy, and M&A advisory for companies regarding the local and international business environment.

The team recently assisted a large consortium of foreign contractors in an indirect tax controversy matter which led to a tax saving of approximately 10% of the project value. The work included assisting the client in the appeal against the audit conclusion for the period 2017-2019 to the General Department of Taxation, and providing tax audit support services during the new inspection of the tax audit of period 2020-2022.

The tax practice at LNT & Partners provides services including tax advisory for transfer pricing, M&A, and corporate structuring from both a legal and commercial perspective. It serves large domestic companies, regional subsidiaries, and large multinational conglomerates. In addition, it is also capable of representing clients in appeals against decisions of the tax authorities by working closely with its dispute resolution practice. Partners Le Net and Tran Thai Binh are the key practitioners in the team.

Details of the firm’s work and clients remain confidential.

WTS Tax Vietnam has a very strong in-house capability in benchmarking and transfer pricing expertise with the support of the WTS Global network. It focuses on providing full tax compliance and tax advisory services, as well as the Chief Accountant Service. Nguyen Thi Hang Nga heads the tax services and specializes in practice areas of transfer pricing and M&A. Wolfram Grünkorn is another key practitioner in the team. Wolfram focuses on international and Vietnamese taxation and related legal matters.

One recent example of the firm’s work saw it advising a European client on business structuring to avoid tax exposure in Vietnam. The final setup was confirmed in an official letter from the tax authority to not trigger tax exposure in Vietnam.

The team welcomed Georg Hirsch as a tax lawyer in 2022.

VDB Loi is a network of law and tax advisory firms with a presence in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The Vietnam team consists of corporate lawyers, tax lawyers, and tax advisors. Thuan Pham and Maxim Kobzev are the key practitioners in the local team. It focuses on areas of tax compliance, tax due diligence, tax advisory, and tax disputes.

Details of the firm’s work and clients remain confidential.

The Vision & Associates tax team consists of lawyers with commercial experience and comprehensive knowledge of tax law. Its tax practice covers corporate income tax, capital gains tax, value-added tax, foreign contractor tax, and personal income tax. Key clients come from various industry sectors, including Turkish Airlines, Fedex, and Expedia Group.

One recent example of the firm’s work saw it assisting Hulane Electronic with full legal services in its daily operations. Work included providing legal advice during its operation in Vietnam relating to tax, labor, other compliance issues.