Compare Vietnam Industry Codes 2018 vs 2025 (Decision 27 vs 36)
The Vietnam Industry Classification system is an essential legal tool for categorizing sectors, industries, and economic activities. It supports state management, statistical reporting, business registration, and the development of national databases. The previous classification system was issued under Decision No. 27/2018/QD-TTg and came into effect in 2018. However, given the rapid changes in V
1. General Introduction
The Vietnam Industry Classification system is an essential legal tool for categorizing sectors, industries, and economic activities. It supports state management, statistical reporting, business registration, and the development of national databases. The previous classification system was issued under Decision No. 27/2018/QD-TTg and came into effect in 2018. However, given the rapid changes in Vietnam’s economy, strong digital transformation, and deeper international integration, the 2018 system showed limitations in reflecting new industries, digital economic activities, and modern business models.
To address these limitations, Decision No. 36/2025/QD-TTg was issued and officially took effect on November 15, 2025. Its goal is to establish a consistent, standardized classification system that accurately reflects the actual economy, supports state management and enterprises, and integrates effectively with digital tools such as ChatIIP.
2. Purpose of the Comparison
Comparing the 2018 and 2025 Vietnam Industry Classification systems helps businesses, organizations, and government agencies understand the differences, ensuring correct application when declaring business sectors, registering businesses, reporting statistics, or building databases. This comparison also supports automated industry code lookup tools such as ChatIIP, which can suggest correct codes, streamline administrative procedures, and reduce legal risks for enterprises.
3. Classification Principles and Criteria
Both the 2018 and 2025 systems classify economic sectors based on production processes, input materials, and output products or services. However, the 2025 system has been updated to better accommodate high-tech industries, digital services, renewable energy, and emerging business models, whereas the 2018 system lacked full representation of these sectors.
The prioritization of classification criteria remains: first, the production or service provision process; second, the input materials used; and third, the characteristics and intended use of products or services. Adjustments in the 2025 system ensure more precise classification, reduce sector overlaps, and facilitate effective statistical data aggregation.
4. Structural Comparison of the Two Systems
The 2018 Vietnam Industry Classification system has a similar five-level hierarchical structure to the 2025 system, but the number of sectors at each level differs. Specifically, the 2018 system comprises 21 level-one sectors, 88 level-two industry groups, 242 level-three groups, with fewer detailed level-four and level-five categories compared to the 2025 system.
In contrast, the 2025 system expands to 22 level-one sectors, 87 level-two groups, and 259 level-three groups, with more detailed level-four and level-five industries. This expanded hierarchical structure allows for a more accurate representation of modern and emerging industries, enabling enterprises to select the correct codes for business registration and facilitating efficient statistical aggregation by government agencies.
5. Key Changes between the Two Systems
Compared to the 2018 system, the 2025 system includes several significant updates. First, one additional level-one sector was introduced to reflect the increasing presence of international activities and foreign organizations in Vietnam. Second, many level-two and level-three industry groups were reorganized, merged, or split, especially those related to information technology, digital services, renewable energy, and emerging economic sectors. Third, the number of level-four and level-five categories increased, allowing more detailed descriptions of modern economic activities and supporting enterprises in registering accurate and comprehensive business sectors.
These changes also enable digital platforms such as ChatIIP to integrate the updated classification fully, providing automatic code lookup, valid industry code suggestions, and streamlined administrative procedures for businesses. This comparison highlights the advancements of the 2025 system in meeting management, statistical, and business compliance needs.
6. Practical Application of the 2025 System Compared to 2018
In practice, the 2018 system remains usable for enterprises and regulatory authorities, but applying the 2025 system ensures greater accuracy, consistency, and compliance with current regulations. When registering a business or adding new business activities, the 2025 system provides more detailed codes, helping define the legal scope of business and ensuring accurate tax and reporting obligations.
Digital tools such as ChatIIP have fully integrated the 2025 classification, enabling users to search, select, and validate industry codes efficiently. This is particularly important for businesses operating in new, digital, or modern sectors, which were not fully represented in the 2018 system.
7. Benefits of Transitioning from the 2018 to 2025 System
Adopting the 2025 classification system in place of the 2018 system brings practical benefits. For government agencies, sectoral data become standardized, easier to aggregate and analyze, and support policy development and economic planning. For businesses, correct code selection reduces legal risks, saves time in registration and reporting, and ensures compliance. The 2025 system also aligns with international standards, facilitating research, data comparison, and economic integration. Furthermore, it reflects emerging, digital, and modern economic sectors more accurately.
8. Conclusion
Comparing the 2018 and 2025 Vietnam Industry Classification systems shows that the 2025 system represents an important advancement suitable for the current economic environment and management needs. The new system provides more detailed classification, integrates effectively with digital tools such as ChatIIP, supports accurate business registration and sector declaration, and improves statistical and economic data analysis. Transitioning from the 2018 to 2025 system is necessary to meet the requirements of the digital economy, international integration, and modern governance.
(1).png)