Plastic Bags Subject to Environmental Taxes

The Ministry of Finance issued Circular No 159/2012/TT-BTC supplementing and amending Circular No 152/2011/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No 67/2011/ND-CP dated August 8, 2011 detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Environmental Protection.

 

The new circular requires that a thin plastic bag or packaging made of high-density polyethylene resin (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or linear low-density polyethylene resin (LLDPE) membrane is subject to environmental taxes, except for ready-made packaging and plastic bags which meet environmentally-friendly criteria as certified by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

 

The circular also provides that goods that are exported or entrusted to be exported by manufacturers or processers, as well as materials imported for fabricating and processing of these goods, shall be exempt from environmental taxes, unless such goods or materials are acquired for the purposes of export.

 

The circular takes effect on November 15, 2012.