Mining taxes, fees and the environment: natural resources tax and its rates, the fee for granting mining rights, the environmental protection fee, export duty, corporate income tax at 40% or 50% for precious and rare minerals, environmental impact assessment and licences, the rehabilitation deposit, mine closure, communities and land, with an illustrative fiscal model

The fiscal stack

A Vietnamese mine pays the State in five main ways: a fee for being granted the right to mine, a tax on what it extracts, a fee for the environmental impact of extraction, a duty on what it exports, and corporate income tax on its profit. On top of those sit the ordinary charges of any business, land rent on the leased mine site, VAT on domestic sales and foreign contractor tax on payments to foreign service providers, together with the environmental rehabilitation deposit, which is security rather than a charge. The first three are levied on volume or value regardless of profit, so a mine with thin margins can be in loss after royalty-type charges and still owe them. Modelling the fiscal take therefore starts with the volume charges, not with CIT (FAQ 107).

The charges are administered by different bodies. The fee for granting mining rights is approved by the licensing authority and collected by the provincial tax office; natural resources tax, the environmental protection fee and CIT are declared to the tax authority under Law No. 108/2025/QH15 on Tax Administration; export duty is collected by customs. Arrears in any of them can block a licence extension or transfer and, in the case of tax debts, the remittance of profits abroad (Profit remittance and repatriation of capital).

Natural resources tax

Natural resources tax (thuế tài nguyên) is levied under Law No. 45/2009/QH12 on Natural Resources Tax on the value of resources extracted, calculated as the taxable output multiplied by the taxable price and the rate. The taxable price is the commercial selling price of the resource at the point of sale, but not less than the price set by the provincial People's Committee within the frame issued by the Ministry of Finance; where the mined product is processed before sale, the value of the resource is derived from the processed product. Taxable output is the quantity actually extracted, measured at the mine, which is why Article 64 of the minerals law requires output to be measured before minerals leave the site.

The rates are set by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly within the frame in the law. Resolution No. 1084/2015/UBTVQH13, in force since 1 July 2016, fixes, among others, 14% for iron and manganese, 17% for gold, 18% for titanium and rare earths, 12% for platinum, silver, tin, aluminium and bauxite, 15% for copper, lead and zinc, 20% for tungsten and antimony, 10% for nickel, 10% for underground and 12% for open-pit anthracite, 10% for limestone for lime and cement, 15% for granite and sand, and between 18% and 27% for gemstones (FAQ 107). Natural resources tax is deductible in computing CIT. In July 2026 the Ministry of Finance published a draft law amending the Law on Natural Resources Tax that would set rates for metallic minerals according to the degree of processing and move rate-setting to the Government, with a proposed effective date of 1 January 2027; at the review date it had not been adopted.

The fee for granting mining rights and the environmental protection fee

The fee for granting mining rights is calculated as T = Q x G x R under Article 132 of Decree No. 193/2025/ND-CP, where Q is the licensed reserve or volume, G the provincial natural resources tax price adjusted by a conversion coefficient, and R the rate in Appendix III of the decree or the winning auction rate. The total is divided by the years of the licence and paid annually, the first instalment within 24 working days of the tax authority's notice and later instalments by 31 May each year, and is settled against actual output under Articles 139 and 140. The mechanics are explained in Mineral groups, licensing and auctions.

The environmental protection fee on mineral extraction is levied under Decree No. 27/2023/ND-CP on each tonne or cubic metre of minerals extracted, at rates set by each provincial People's Council within the national frame in the decree. Because provinces fix the rate, the fee for the same mineral can differ between neighbouring provinces, and it is revised from time to time; the current provincial resolution should be checked. Oil and gas bear the fee at national rates, VND 100,000 per tonne of crude and VND 50 per cubic metre of gas, which are discussed in Petroleum contracts and fiscal terms.

Export duty and corporate income tax

Many ores and concentrates bear export duty under the export tariff in Decree No. 26/2023/ND-CP, most recently amended by Decree No. 201/2026/ND-CP, and may be exported at all only if they meet the lists and standards set by MOIT or the Ministry of Construction (Strategic minerals, rare earths and exports). Exported unprocessed minerals also face restrictive VAT treatment, so the VAT position of any export product should be confirmed under VAT and e-invoicing.

Corporate income tax follows Article 10(4) of Law No. 67/2025/QH15. The exploration and extraction of precious and rare resources, namely platinum, gold, silver, tin, tungsten, antimony, gemstones, rare earths and other rare resources defined by law, is taxed at 50%; where at least 70% of the allocated area of the mine lies in areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions, the rate is 40% (FAQ 21). The extraction of other minerals, including coal, iron, bauxite, copper, limestone and construction materials, bears the standard 20%. A mining company that also processes the mineral must account separately for the income taxed at different rates. Mineral extraction has historically been excluded from most CIT incentives; any incentive claimed for a processing project should be checked against Investment incentives. The general CIT rules are in Corporate income tax.

Environmental approvals

Law No. 72/2020/QH14 on Environmental Protection, with Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP as amended by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP, classifies projects by environmental risk, and mineral extraction projects are in the categories that require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) approved before the project proceeds, or, where the law allows that route, an environmental licence (FAQ 89). The approved EIA or the environmental licence is a condition of the mining licence (Article 61 of Decree No. 193/2025/ND-CP; FAQ 109), so it sits on the critical path between reserve recognition and licensing. Appraisal is shared between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the provinces according to the project's scale and location. Law No. 146/2025/QH15, in force from 1 January 2026, simplified parts of the permitting process, and a wider overhaul of the 2020 law was published in draft in June 2026.

Once operating, a mine must hold an environmental licence covering its wastewater, emissions and solid waste, monitor them, and report under the licence. Tailings storage, acid drainage, dust and water use are the usual points of conflict with neighbours and inspectors. A mine that uses or discharges water also needs water-resources permits, and Article 36 of the minerals law requires the miner to comply with the water law.

The rehabilitation deposit and closure

Article 137 of Law No. 72/2020/QH14 requires every organisation that extracts minerals to lodge an environmental rehabilitation deposit (ký quỹ cải tạo, phục hồi môi trường) with an environmental protection fund, based on the rehabilitation plan approved with its EIA or environmental licence. Under Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP the deposit may be paid as a lump sum or in annual instalments, the first before mining begins, and it is refunded once the rehabilitation has been carried out and verified (FAQ 109). Where the miner fails to rehabilitate, the deposit is used to do so.

Rehabilitation is part of a wider closure obligation. Articles 81 to 85 of Law No. 54/2024/QH15 require a mine closure scheme when reserves are exhausted, the licence ends or the mine is otherwise closed. Closure must account for the reserves mined and those remaining, restore the land, water, vegetation and landscape to the rehabilitation standards, secure the stability and safety of the area, and optimise the use of the land afterwards (Article 81). The scheme is appraised and approved by the licensing authority (Articles 82 and 83; Articles 101 to 106 of Decree No. 193/2025/ND-CP), and the miner must carry it out and hand the land back. Article 79(2) is blunt: the organisation carrying out mineral activities bears all costs of environmental protection, rehabilitation and closure.

Communities and land

A mine changes the lives of those around it, and the law gives them a stake. Article 8 of the minerals law entitles the locality and the communities where minerals are mined to share in the benefits through investment in infrastructure, and obliges the miner to support affected households, including with vocational training and jobs, and to give priority to local labour (FAQ 102). Those duties are written into the investment registration and the licence, and in practice into a memorandum with the commune and province.

The land itself is obtained either by State recovery and lease under Articles 79 and 205 of the Land Law 2024, with compensation, support and resettlement for existing users, or by negotiated transfer of land use rights. Compensation disputes are the most frequent cause of delay in mine development, and a project that relies on State recovery depends on the province's timetable. Land rent is payable annually on the leased area. The land procedures, valuation and compensation rules are explained in Land recovery, compensation and non-use and Land rent, land prices and Resolution 254.

Environmental and closure steps for a new mine

1. Screen the projectClassify the project under Law No. 72/2020/QH14 and Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP as amended to confirm whether an EIA or an environmental licence route applies and which authority appraises it.
2. Prepare the EIA and the rehabilitation planBaseline studies, community consultation, impact assessment, mitigation, tailings design and a costed rehabilitation plan.
3. Obtain EIA approvalAppraisal by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment or the province; the approval is a condition of the mining licence.
4. Lodge the rehabilitation depositLump sum or first annual instalment with the environmental protection fund before mining begins (Article 137).
5. Obtain the environmental licence for operationCovering discharges, emissions and waste; set up monitoring and reporting.
6. Rehabilitate progressively and reportCarry out rehabilitation as areas are worked out; annual reports and inspections.
7. Prepare and implement the closure schemeSubmit the scheme for approval when reserves are exhausted or the licence ends (Articles 82 and 83); carry it out; obtain acceptance and the refund of the deposit.