Law On Combating Tax Evasion And Tax Avoidance In Crypto-Asset Transactions In Vietnam
Quach Thi Thuy Duong, PhD Applicant, University of Law, Hue University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
ABSTRACT
The rapid expansion of crypto-asset trading among Vietnamese residents has outpaced the capacity of the domestic tax system to identify, characterise, and collect revenue from the gains it generates. This article examines the legal architecture that Vietnam is assembling to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance in crypto-asset transactions, tracing its three interlocking layers: general tax-administration law, crypto-specific administrative sanctions, and anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations that increasingly double as a tax- enforcement channel. It analyses the newly enacted Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15, the criminal-liability regime under Article 200 of the Penal Code together with its pending amendment, the administrative sanctions introduced by Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP, and the August 2026 amendment bringing crypto-asset service providers within the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Law. The article also maps the principal evasion and avoidance channels observed in practice, including offshore-exchange migration, decentralised-finance activity, and the use of privacy-enhancing tools, before evaluating Vietnam's alignment with the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. The author contends that Vietnam's current framework remains fragmented: it regulates crypto-asset markets, criminalises tax evasion in general terms, and polices money laundering, yet still lacks a dedicated, self-contained provision addressing tax evasion committed specifically through crypto-asset transactions. Building on this diagnosis, the article proposes legislative, administrative, and technological measures to close the gap, and argues that international information exchange under CARF, rather than unilateral enforcement, will ultimately determine whether Vietnam can tax this asset class effectively.
Keywords: crypto-assets; tax evasion; tax avoidance; anti-money laundering; Vietnam; digital economy; virtual asset service providers.
