Vietnamese Minister Of Health: Cancel The Taxation Clauses On New Tobacco Products Such As E-cigarettes To Avoid Misunderstandings

Vietnamese Minister of Health: Cancel the taxation clauses on new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes to avoid misunderstandings

Vietnam's Minister of Health suggested abolishing the tax on e-cigarettes, arguing that this could lead to misunderstandings, and called on the government to ban new tobacco products to prevent nicotine addiction.

According to Baovanhoa on November 24, Vietnamese Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan said at a panel discussion on the Special Consumption Tax Law (Revision) project held on November 22 that it is recommended to abolish the provisions for imposing special consumption taxes on new tobacco products because this can easily lead to misunderstandings.

Regarding the special consumption tax provisions for new tobacco products (such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco) in the draft law, the Minister of Health proposed to delete Article 12, which "authorizes the government to impose special consumption taxes on specific imported, produced, and operated new tobacco categories."

She explained that the current "Law on the Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harm" has not yet made any provisions for new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, so it is unreasonable to include them in the scope of taxation without a legal basis.

In addition, the third paragraph of Article 2 of the draft provides that: "If necessary, the objects of special consumption tax collection in this article shall be modified according to changes in economic and social conditions, and the government shall make separate provisions." The minister pointed out that such preliminary provisions may be misunderstood as allowing the production and sale of these products.

In the cigarette tax rate table, the Ministry of Health also suggested that the measurement method in milliliters (ml) be eliminated because cigarettes and their raw materials do not contain tobacco oil components. The tobacco oil components are only present in e-cigarettes, so the provisions in milliliters should not be added, otherwise it may be considered that the regulatory agency supports the sale of e-cigarettes.

The minister also urged the government to ban e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and other new tobacco products to prevent more people from becoming addicted to nicotine. She pointed out that the Ministry of Health will promote the amendment and supplement of the Tobacco Harm Prevention and Control Law in the future.