Suddenly, he became the director of a tax-evading company.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper, Mr. Nghia Thanh (Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City) said that in mid-April 2025 he unexpectedly received a notice from the Thu Duc City tax team regarding the completion of his tax and invoice obligations.

Illustration photo: NGOC THANH

Specifically, Mr. Thanh became the legal representative of Loc Loc Wood Trading and Construction Co., Ltd. (Thu Duc City), which had sales revenue of over 60 billion VND on electronic invoices from 2022 to June 2024, but this was not declared in the value-added tax return.

The notice required Mr. Thanh to contact the tax authorities for clarification, otherwise he would be subject to "tax management measures and the transfer of tax-related case information, including a request for prosecution regarding violations of tax laws."

However, Mr. Thanh stated that he is not the registered owner of Loc Loc Wood Company and that his personal information may have been used by someone else to illegally register the company.

Mr. Thanh also stated that he had gone to work with the Thu Duc City Tax Department and "affirmed that he did not establish, work for, or operate any company, nor did he rent or lend any documents in the company's name, and had no contact information related to the company in question." The incident caused Mr. Thanh sleepless nights, forced him to take time off work to travel back and forth, and incurred significant expenses.

"Not to mention the impact on my mental and physical health, as well as that on my family. In general, it has affected many aspects of my life. I'm really worried because I've gotten myself into this for no reason," Mr. Thanh said.

In mid-April 2025, Mr. Thanh unexpectedly received a request to go to the tax office to fulfill the tax obligations of a company with which he had absolutely no connection.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper, a representative of the tax authority said that Loc Loc Wood Construction and Trading Company Limited was classified as a high-risk company by the Thu Duc City tax team because, after its establishment, it issued a series of invoices with high sales figures but did not submit tax returns.

Specifically, from 2022 to June 2024, this company issued electronic invoices with total revenue exceeding 60 billion VND.

After detecting signs of risk, the Thu Duc City tax team conducted an on-site inspection, but the business was not operating at its registered address.

Therefore, the tax authorities issued a notice of absconding to this company and also sent a notification letter inviting the company's legal representative, Mr. Tran Nghia Thanh, to come in for questioning.

The tax authorities also stated that they had only summoned Mr. Thanh to fulfill his tax obligations and invoice requirements, but had not yet calculated the tax or recorded the debt. Therefore, Mr. Thanh has not been listed as a tax debtor and has not been notified of a temporary travel ban.

However, Mr. Thanh needs to file a complaint with the police and the Department of Finance regarding the theft of his information to establish a "phantom" business and issue a large number of invoices, including a clear commitment, so that these agencies have a basis for resolving the matter.

Regarding Loc Loc Wood Company, after verification and finding that the business was not operating at its registered address, the tax authorities blocked invoice issuance and issued a warning on the system. The tax authorities then changed the business's status to 06 (not operating at the registered address) and forwarded the case to the police.

Recently, many cases have been discovered where individuals have been exploited to become directors or legal representatives of unfamiliar businesses, with some even being banned from leaving the country.

Therefore, many experts suggest that the tax authorities need to coordinate and verify the citizen identification number (VNeID) issued by the Ministry of Public Security to determine whether this individual actually exists.

To mitigate the risk of newly established businesses using illegal invoices, regulatory authorities need to improve regulations on the registration and approval of electronic invoice usage. This should include ensuring that before granting the right to use electronic invoices to newly established businesses, tax authorities have sufficient time to clarify the business's information, especially the information of the legal representative.

Furthermore, it is necessary to carefully verify the identity of the legal representative (identification code, biometrics, etc.) when granting licenses, ensuring that no one else's citizen identity card is illegally used to establish a business.

The personal identification information, bank account details, and phone number of the legal representative must also be linked to the tax identification number.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-dung-thanh-giam-doc-cong-ty-tron-thue-20250423230456154.htm