Proposal for individuals with 50 million VND in tax debt to be temporarily suspended from leaving the country

Mr. Hoang Thai Son, Director of Legal Department ( Ministry of Finance ). Photo: National Assembly Media

On the morning of December 20, Mr. Hoang Thai Son, Director of the Legal Department (Ministry of Finance) said that after receiving comments from the media and relevant agencies, in the latest draft decree, the Ministry of Finance has raised the proposed level for individuals and business owners with overdue tax debts of 120 days with a level of 50 million VND or more, will be temporarily suspended from leaving the country.

The amount of tax debt for individuals who are temporarily suspended from leaving the country has increased by 40 million VND compared to the draft in early December.

According to Mr. Son, nationwide there are about 81,000 individuals and business owners who owe taxes of 50 million VND or more. This level, according to Mr. Son, is equivalent to many countries and is appropriate according to international experience. He also affirmed that temporarily suspending the exit of tax debtors "is an effective measure in tax management". This measure is to ensure that people and business owners exercise their rights and obligations to pay taxes to the State.

According to the 2019 Tax Administration Law and Decree 126/2020, heads of tax and customs agencies have the right to decide to suspend exit from the country for individuals and business representatives who have not fulfilled their tax obligations. However, current regulations do not specify a specific debt threshold when applying this enforcement measure, meaning that even an overdue tax debt of 1 VND can result in temporary suspension of exit from the country.

The draft decree of the Ministry of Finance states that the exit ban will be applied immediately to taxpayers who are no longer operating at their registered business address. That is, the application will not need to follow the prescribed threshold. This is to recover tax debts to the state budget.

The tax authority shall notify the taxpayer of the temporary suspension of exit by electronic means. In case the notice cannot be sent by this means, the tax authority shall notify on the tax authority's electronic information page. After 30 days, if the taxpayer has not fulfilled his/her obligations, the authority shall send a document on the temporary suspension of exit to the immigration authority for implementation.

The measures of temporary suspension of exit applied by tax and customs authorities have tended to increase recently. Figures from the General Department of Taxation show that since the beginning of the year, over 6,500 cases of temporary suspension of exit due to tax debts have been reported, three times higher than last year. Authorities have collected VND1,341 billion from 2,116 taxpayers whose exit was temporarily suspended.

According to the Ministry of Finance, some countries such as China, Malaysia, the US... also apply travel restrictions to individuals with large and long-standing tax debts. On the other hand, this is also a positive measure to recover long-standing tax debts.

VN (synthesis)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/de-xuat-ca-nhan-no-thue-50-trieu-dong-bi-tam-hoan-xuat-canh-400986.html