Cambodia makes the state bear VAT on six domestically produced basic foods from 2026 to the end of 2028

What changed in detail

Prakas No. 948 MEF.Prk.GDT, signed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on 17 November 2025 and published by the General Department of Taxation, makes the state bear the VAT on domestic supplies of domestically produced basic food. Article 1 states that purpose: to ease the daily cost of living. Article 2 sets its scope: supplies of domestically produced basic food by taxpayers under the self-assessment regime.

Article 3 lists six kinds of basic food:

1. livestock meat, fresh or fermented, salted or smoked;
2. eggs of all kinds, fresh or processed;
3. freshwater and saltwater fish of all kinds, including lobster, prawns, small shrimp, crab and shellfish, fresh or processed;
4. sugar of all kinds other than candy;
5. salt of all kinds;
6. fish sauce and soy sauce.

Under Article 4, the VAT on domestic supplies of these foods is borne by the state until the end of 2028, and meals supplied by restaurants are not covered. The Prakas applies from 1 January 2026 and repeals Prakas No. 171 of 20 March 2024 on the same subject.

The Prakas is published as a Khmer-language scan. The General Department of Taxation’s Prakas listing gives the same number and date.

What it means

The measure is in force in November 2026 and runs to the end of 2028. The food must be produced in Cambodia: imported meat, fish or sugar is not covered, so a supplier selling both needs to track origin by product line.

State-borne VAT is not the same as an exemption or a zero rate. The suppliers covered remain in the VAT system, so how they invoice and report these supplies follows the General Department of Taxation’s practice for state-borne VAT. Restaurants cannot apply it to meals, even where the ingredients would qualify.