On the morning of December 20th, the Office of the President held a press conference to announce the President's order promulgating the laws passed by the National Assembly at its 8th session.

These include the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Securities Law; the Accounting Law; the Independent Auditing Law; the State Budget Law; the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets; the Tax Management Law; the Personal Income Tax Law; the National Reserve Law; and the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

Responding to press inquiries regarding regulations on tax debt thresholds and debt periods that would result in temporary travel bans, Mr. Hoang Thai Son, Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance, stated that in the latest draft decree of the Government regulating tax debt thresholds and debt periods for cases subject to temporary travel bans, the Ministry of Finance proposes raising the overdue tax debt threshold for individuals and business owners to 50 million VND, an increase of 40 million VND compared to the draft from early December 2024.

This new proposed rate was developed by the Ministry of Finance based on feedback from the media and relevant agencies.

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In 2024, the General Department of Taxation issued 58,687 notices of temporary travel bans with a total outstanding tax amount of 80,512 billion VND. Photo: Thach Thao

Before implementing a temporary travel ban, the tax authorities will issue a notice urging tax payment; and apply measures such as deducting money from bank accounts. The tax authorities will also notify households and individuals beforehand before enforcing the temporary travel ban.

According to Mr. Son, there are still approximately 81,000 individuals and business owners nationwide who owe taxes of 50 million VND or more.

The Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance stated that the aforementioned amount of 50 million VND is consistent with international experience. Several countries, such as China, Malaysia, and the United States, also apply travel restrictions to individuals with large and long-standing tax debts.

According to Mr. Son, temporarily suspending the departure of tax debtors "is an effective measure in tax management." This measure aims to ensure that citizens and business owners fulfill their rights and obligations to pay taxes to the State.

According to data from the General Department of Taxation (published on December 19th), in 2024, the General Department of Taxation issued 58,687 notices of temporary travel bans with a total tax debt of VND 80,512 billion, thereby collecting VND 4,289 billion from 6,648 taxpayers.

In a draft proposal open for public comment in early December, the Ministry of Finance suggested that, starting January 1, 2025, individuals/household business owners with overdue tax debts exceeding 10 million VND (over 120 days) will be temporarily prohibited from leaving the country. For enterprises/cooperatives/cooperative unions subject to enforcement proceedings for overdue tax debts exceeding 100 million VND (over 120 days), the legal representative will also be temporarily prohibited from leaving the country.

Many believe that the debt thresholds of 10 million VND and 100 million VND are too low.

Regarding the Value Added Tax Law (amended), at its 8th session, the National Assembly requested the Government to urgently issue a decree on customs management for goods exported and imported through e-commerce channels, ensuring that import tax exemptions are not permitted for low-value goods.

First and foremost, the Prime Minister's Decision 78 of 2010 should be immediately terminated to provide the tax authorities with a legal basis and sanctions for managing tax collection from foreign e-commerce platforms selling goods in Vietnam.

Mr. Luu Duc Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance), said that the Government's resolution assigned the Ministry of Finance to submit a proposal to repeal Decision 78.

Specifically, on December 4th, the Ministry of Finance sent a document to the Ministry of Justice seeking their opinion on the repeal of Decision 78, following the proper procedures. On December 12th, the Ministry of Justice organized an appraisal council to review the repeal of Decision 78.

The Ministry of Finance is awaiting the assessment of the Ministry of Justice to complete the procedures, after which it will submit a proposal to the Prime Minister to revoke this decision.

The Ministry of Finance proposes that debts of 10-100 million VND will result in temporary travel bans. Is this threshold high or low?

The Ministry of Finance proposes that debts of 10-100 million VND will result in temporary travel bans. Is this threshold high or low?

The tax debt threshold of VND 10 million for individuals and VND 100 million for businesses is appropriate in Vietnam currently, but much lower than in many other countries. A mechanism is needed to monitor administrative agencies and prevent abuse of power in making decisions to temporarily suspend exit from the country.
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) proposes that individuals whose departure is temporarily suspended be allowed to pay taxes directly at the border crossing.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) proposes that individuals whose departure is temporarily suspended be allowed to pay taxes directly at the border crossing.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) proposed raising the tax debt threshold for temporary travel bans to 200 million VND for individuals and 1 billion VND for businesses, while also allowing those subject to temporary travel bans to pay taxes at border crossings.
Tax revenue collected from over 23,000 cases of temporary travel bans has been revealed.

Tax revenue collected from over 23,000 cases of temporary travel bans has been revealed.

According to data from the General Department of Taxation, since the beginning of the year, an average of 2,374 cases have been temporarily suspended from leaving the country each month due to tax arrears. Of the more than 50 trillion VND in tax arrears owed by those temporarily suspended from leaving the country, the tax authorities have only collected a small portion.