On 17 November 2025, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (“MEF”) has issued a new Prakas on imposition of Value Added Tax (“VAT”) under state charge on basic meals for daily living of citizens to replaces and abrogates Prakas No. 171 MEF.PrK.GDT dated 20 March 2024.
Contents
This regulation imposes VAT under state charge (i.e., VAT payable by the state instead of taxpayers) on specific locally produced basic food items, aiming to ease the cost-of-living burden for citizens.
Key Highlights
Scope of Application
The VAT under state charge applies to the local supply of basic meal goods provided by self-assessed regime taxpayers (i.e., those registered under the self-assessment regime).
Definition of “Basic Meal”
For the purpose of this Prakas, basic meal items include specific locally produced goods that are essential for daily consumption:
- Meat of livestock (fresh, dry salted/cured, or smoked)
- All types of animal eggs (fresh or processed)
- Freshwater and saltwater fish, lobster, shrimp, prawn, crab, and mollusks (raw, cured, or smoked)
- All types of sugar (excluding candy)
- All types of salt
- All types of soy sauce and fish sauce
VAT Treatment
- VAT on the local supply of basic meals as listed above shall be imposed under state charge from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028.
- Restaurant food services are excluded sales of meals by restaurants do not qualify for VAT under state charge.
For more details and assistance in reviewing your tax obligations under this instruction, please contact us.
