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v20
| 1 | --- |
| 2 | name: laos-vat |
| 3 | description: Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for a Laos VAT return for any client. Trigger on phrases like "Laos VAT", "Lao PDR tax", "Tax Department filing", or any request involving Laos VAT. MUST be loaded alongside vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Laos VAT work. |
| 4 | version: 2.0 |
| 5 | --- |
| 6 | |
| 7 | # Laos VAT Return Skill v2.0 |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ## Section 1 — Quick reference |
| 10 | |
| 11 | | Field | Value | |
| 12 | |---|---| |
| 13 | | Country | Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic) | |
| 14 | | Standard rate | 10% (effective 2024; previously 7%) | |
| 15 | | Zero rate | 0% (exports) | |
| 16 | | Exempt | Financial services, education, healthcare, public transport, unprocessed agricultural products | |
| 17 | | Return form | Monthly VAT return | |
| 18 | | Filing portal | Tax Department online system | |
| 19 | | Authority | Tax Department, Ministry of Finance | |
| 20 | | Currency | LAK (Lao Kip) | |
| 21 | | Filing frequency | Monthly | |
| 22 | | Deadline | 20th of the month following the tax period | |
| 23 | | Companion skill | vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded | |
| 24 | | Validated by | Pending local practitioner validation | |
| 25 | |
| 26 | **Conservative defaults:** |
| 27 | |
| 28 | | Ambiguity | Default | |
| 29 | |---|---| |
| 30 | | Unknown rate on a sale | 10% | |
| 31 | | Unknown VAT status of a purchase | Not deductible | |
| 32 | | Unknown counterparty location | Domestic Laos | |
| 33 | | Unknown business-use proportion | 0% recovery | |
| 34 | |
| 35 | --- |
| 36 | |
| 37 | ## Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue |
| 38 | |
| 39 | ### Required inputs |
| 40 | |
| 41 | **Minimum viable** — bank statement for the month. Acceptable from: BCEL (Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao), LDB (Lao Development Bank), JDB, Phongsavanh Bank, BFL, or any other. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | ### Laos-specific refusal catalogue |
| 44 | |
| 45 | **R-LA-1 — Special Economic Zone (SEZ) entity.** Trigger: client in SEZ with tax incentives. Message: "SEZ entities have special VAT exemptions. Please escalate." |
| 46 | |
| 47 | **R-LA-2 — Concession agreement enterprise.** Trigger: client with government concession (mining, hydropower). Message: "Concession agreements have bespoke tax terms. Please escalate." |
| 48 | |
| 49 | --- |
| 50 | |
| 51 | ## Section 3 — Supplier pattern library |
| 52 | |
| 53 | ### 3.1 Lao banks (fees exempt — exclude) |
| 54 | |
| 55 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 56 | |---|---|---| |
| 57 | | BCEL, BANQUE COMMERCE EXTERIEUR | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Exempt | |
| 58 | | LDB, LAO DEVELOPMENT BANK | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same | |
| 59 | | JDB, JOINT DEVELOPMENT BANK | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same | |
| 60 | | PHONGSAVANH BANK, BFL | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same | |
| 61 | | INTEREST, LOAN, REPAYMENT | EXCLUDE | Out of scope | |
| 62 | |
| 63 | ### 3.2 Government (exclude) |
| 64 | |
| 65 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 66 | |---|---|---| |
| 67 | | TAX DEPARTMENT, MOF | EXCLUDE | Tax payment | |
| 68 | | CUSTOMS, LAO CUSTOMS | EXCLUDE | Customs duty (import VAT separate) | |
| 69 | | LSSO, SOCIAL SECURITY | EXCLUDE | Social security | |
| 70 | |
| 71 | ### 3.3 Utilities |
| 72 | |
| 73 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 74 | |---|---|---| |
| 75 | | EDL, ELECTRICITE DU LAOS | Domestic 10% | Electricity | |
| 76 | | NPLAOS, LAO WATER | Domestic 10% | Water (commercial) | |
| 77 | | LTC, UNITEL, ETL | Domestic 10% | Telecoms | |
| 78 | |
| 79 | ### 3.4 SaaS and international services |
| 80 | |
| 81 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 82 | |---|---|---| |
| 83 | | GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS | Self-assess 10% | Non-resident | |
| 84 | | ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA | Self-assess 10% | Same | |
| 85 | |
| 86 | ### 3.5 Payroll and exclusions |
| 87 | |
| 88 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 89 | |---|---|---| |
| 90 | | SALARY, WAGES | EXCLUDE | Outside VAT scope | |
| 91 | | OWN TRANSFER, INTERNAL | EXCLUDE | Internal movement | |
| 92 | | CASH WITHDRAWAL | TIER 2 — ask | Default exclude | |
| 93 | |
| 94 | --- |
| 95 | |
| 96 | ## Section 4 — Worked examples |
| 97 | |
| 98 | ### Example 1 — Standard domestic sale at 10% |
| 99 | |
| 100 | **Input line:** `05.04.2026 ; LAO TRADING CO ; CREDIT ; Invoice LA-041 ; LAK 11,000,000` |
| 101 | |
| 102 | **Reasoning:** Domestic. 10%. Net = LAK 10,000,000, VAT = LAK 1,000,000. |
| 103 | |
| 104 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 105 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 106 | | 05.04.2026 | LAO TRADING CO | +11,000,000 | +10,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 10% | Output | N | — | |
| 107 | |
| 108 | ### Example 2 — Export, zero-rated |
| 109 | |
| 110 | **Input line:** `15.04.2026 ; THAI BUYER CO ; CREDIT ; Exported wood ; LAK 50,000,000` |
| 111 | |
| 112 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 113 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 114 | | 15.04.2026 | THAI BUYER CO | +50,000,000 | +50,000,000 | 0 | 0% | Zero-rated | N | — | |
| 115 | |
| 116 | ### Example 3 — Non-resident digital service |
| 117 | |
| 118 | **Input line:** `18.04.2026 ; GOOGLE ; DEBIT ; Google Ads ; LAK 2,200,000` |
| 119 | |
| 120 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 121 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 122 | | 18.04.2026 | GOOGLE | -2,200,000 | -2,000,000 | 200,000 | 10% | Output + Input | N | — | |
| 123 | |
| 124 | ### Example 4 — Bank charges, excluded |
| 125 | |
| 126 | **Input line:** `30.04.2026 ; BCEL ; DEBIT ; Monthly fee ; LAK -50,000` |
| 127 | |
| 128 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 129 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 130 | | 30.04.2026 | BCEL | -50,000 | — | — | — | — | N | "Exempt" | |
| 131 | |
| 132 | --- |
| 133 | |
| 134 | ## Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed) |
| 135 | |
| 136 | ### 5.1 Standard rate 10% — Default for all taxable supplies. |
| 137 | ### 5.2 Zero rate — Exports with customs documentation. |
| 138 | ### 5.3 Exempt — Financial services, education, healthcare, public transport, unprocessed agriculture. |
| 139 | ### 5.4 Input tax credit — Valid tax invoice with TIN required. Business purpose. |
| 140 | ### 5.5 Blocked input — Personal consumption, entertainment, passenger vehicles. |
| 141 | ### 5.6 Imports — VAT at 10% on CIF plus duty. |
| 142 | ### 5.7 Reverse charge — Non-resident services: self-assess 10%. |
| 143 | |
| 144 | --- |
| 145 | |
| 146 | ## Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed) |
| 147 | |
| 148 | ### 6.1 Vehicle costs — Default: 0%. Question: "Commercial vehicle for business?" |
| 149 | ### 6.2 Entertainment — Default: block. |
| 150 | ### 6.3 SaaS entities — Default: self-assess 10%. |
| 151 | ### 6.4 Cash withdrawals — Default: exclude. Question: "Purpose?" |
| 152 | ### 6.5 Rent — Default: no credit without VAT invoice. Question: "Does landlord charge VAT?" |
| 153 | |
| 154 | --- |
| 155 | |
| 156 | ## Section 7 — Excel working paper template |
| 157 | |
| 158 | Per vat-workflow-base Section 3, with Laos fields: Output 10%, Zero-rated, Exempt, Input domestic, Input imports, Net VAT. |
| 159 | |
| 160 | --- |
| 161 | |
| 162 | ## Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide |
| 163 | |
| 164 | BCEL and LDB exports CSV. LAK primary currency; USD/THB common for cross-border. Convert at Bank of Lao PDR official rate. Internal transfers between BCEL/LDB/JDB: exclude. |
| 165 | |
| 166 | --- |
| 167 | |
| 168 | ## Section 9 — Onboarding fallback |
| 169 | |
| 170 | ### 9.1 TIN — "What is your Tax Identification Number?" |
| 171 | ### 9.2 Filing period — Monthly. "Which month?" |
| 172 | ### 9.3 Industry — "What does the business do?" |
| 173 | ### 9.4 Exports — "Do you export?" |
| 174 | ### 9.5 Credit brought forward — Always ask. |
| 175 | |
| 176 | --- |
| 177 | |
| 178 | ## Section 10 — Reference material |
| 179 | |
| 180 | ### Sources |
| 181 | 1. Lao Tax Law (as amended). 2. Tax Department guidelines. 3. Rate increase to 10% effective 2024. |
| 182 | |
| 183 | ### Known gaps |
| 184 | 1. SEZ and concession enterprises refused. 2. Rate recently changed from 7% to 10% — verify for transitional periods. |
| 185 | |
| 186 | ### Change log |
| 187 | - v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to Malta v2.0 ten-section structure. |
| 188 | |
| 189 | --- |
| 190 | |
| 191 | ## Disclaimer |
| 192 | |
| 193 | This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. All outputs must be reviewed by a qualified professional before filing. |
| 194 | |
| 195 | The most up-to-date version is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com). |
| 196 |
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Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for a Laos VAT return for any client. Trigger on phrases like "Laos VAT", "Lao PDR tax", "Tax Department filing", or any request involving Laos VAT. MUST be loaded alongside vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Laos VAT work.
LAty-2025