VAT refunds - 7 common mistakes that get claims rejected or moved to pre-refund inspection

For exporters and companies in an investment phase, VAT refunds are real cash flow, sometimes as much as a quarter's profit margin. Since 1 July 2026, when the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 took effect, the tax management system automatically classifies each claim, or each portion of a claim, as refund first or pre-refund inspection. Most delayed claims are not ineligible; they are held up by mistakes that could easily have been avoided.

The 2026 legal framework for VAT refunds

• Article 15 of the Law on VAT No. 48/2024/QH15: businesses with exported goods or services may claim a refund when unutilised input VAT reaches VND 300 million or more; the refund cannot exceed 10% of export revenue for the refund period, with any excess carried forward.
• Law No. 149/2025/QH15 (effective 1 January 2026) repealed the condition that the seller must have declared and paid VAT on invoices issued to the claimant.
• Article 18 of the 2025 Law on Tax Administration: the tax authority classifies claims or amounts for refund first or inspection first; claims refunded first may be subject to post-refund inspection within 5 years (Article 22).
• Article 31 of Decree 252/2026/ND-CP: refund-first claims are settled within 6 working days of the acknowledgement notice; pre-inspection claims within 10 working days of the inspection conclusion. Time the taxpayer spends on explanations does not count towards these deadlines.

7 common mistakes

1. Missing or mismatched non-cash payment evidence

Under the 2024 VAT Law and Article 26 of Decree 181/2025/ND-CP, purchases of VND 5 million or more (VAT inclusive) require non-cash payment evidence for input VAT to be deductible. Typical errors: paying through a personal or third-party account without a tripartite agreement, netting off balances without a signed reconciliation, or splitting same-day invoices from the same seller to stay under the threshold.

2. Miscalculating the VND 300 million threshold and the 10% export revenue cap

The claim must be the input VAT attributable to exports after offsetting VAT payable on domestic sales. Businesses selling both domestically and overseas that cannot track input VAT separately must allocate it by revenue ratio. Claiming amounts above 10% of export revenue is a frequent reason for claims being cut.

3. Claiming refunds on goods imported and re-exported unchanged

Goods imported and then exported to another country without manufacturing or processing in Vietnam are not eligible under Clause 1, Article 15 of the VAT Law. Trading companies with a transit model should separate input VAT on these shipments from the bookkeeping stage.

4. Inconsistent export documents

Customs declarations not yet cleared; contracts, invoices and declarations that disagree on quantity, value or customer name; or export proceeds paid by a party other than the buyer without a written agreement. Each discrepancy becomes an explanation request, and each request extends the refund timeline.

5. Input invoices from suppliers flagged as risky

A supplier that has ceased trading, is not operating at its registered address or has invoice risk alerts will push the related VAT into pre-refund inspection. Under Official Letter 6936/CT-QLTT dated 18 September 2026, only the risky portion is inspected and the remainder is still refunded; alerts further up the supply chain than the direct seller (tier 2, tier 3) are not by themselves grounds to inspect or refuse. Even so, the company must still be able to prove the transaction was real: contract, delivery records, transport and payment documents.

6. Refund figures that do not match the VAT return

The amount claimed differs from the unutilised input VAT on the return, refund periods overlap with periods already refunded, or VAT already claimed is still carried forward as a credit in the next period. Automated cross-checks catch these discrepancies immediately, making a refund-first classification unlikely.

7. Late or unfocused explanations

Because explanation time does not count towards the deadline, every day of delay is another day the refund is held. Generic replies that do not address each invoice or transaction queried usually trigger a second round of requests.

Self-check before you file

1. Reconcile the claim with the VAT returns for the relevant periods and the amount offset against domestic VAT.
2. Check the 10% export revenue cap and the VND 300 million threshold.
3. Filter all purchase invoices of VND 5 million or more and confirm non-cash payment evidence matching the seller and amount.
4. Check the tax code status of key suppliers on the tax authority portal.
5. Match contracts, invoices, customs declarations and export receipts for each shipment.
6. Remove import-and-re-export shipments from the claim.
7. Appoint one owner responsible for responding to the tax authority the same day.

How Kaizen can help

Kaizen reviews VAT refund claims before filing, builds a standard document pack for each period and supports you through explanations with the tax authority until the cash is in your account. Book a free tax health check to find out where the risks lie in your next refund claim.