At the dialogue conference between Ho Chi Minh City leaders and Korean enterprises organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) and the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on March 25, Mr. Kim Nyoun Ho - Chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (KOCHAM) said that there were many issues that businesses suggested that needed to be resolved soon.
Samsung SEHC General Director - Mr. Kwon Choon Ki - (sitting in the middle) shared at the dialogue conference with Ho Chi Minh City leaders on March 25. (Photo: Phu Quoc)
In it, he said that the VAT refund procedure and tax refund for on-site export goods are the stories that many businesses complain about.
Regarding tax refunds, Mr. Kwon Choon Ki - General Director of Samsung Electronics HCM CE Complex (Samsung SEHC), said that the company is facing difficulties in not receiving value added tax refunds.
According to the General Director of Samsung SEHC, Samsung first established a TV manufacturing plant in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995 and has been operating stably in Vietnam for 30 years.
By 2025, Samsung Vietnam will have 6 manufacturing plants, 1 sales entity and 1 research and development center in Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park.
In particular, the Samsung SEHC factory in Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park has started producing household electronic products such as TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and exporting them to countries around the world since 2016. With a high export ratio of over 90%, the Samsung SEHC factory was approved by the Vietnamese Government to be converted into an export processing enterprise (EPE) from May 1, 2021.
However, after converting into an export processing enterprise, from June 2021 to September 2024, the total amount of value-added tax that Samsung SEHC has not yet refunded is about 22.9 million USD, equivalent to about 582.1 billion VND. This is causing the company to face difficulties in its business operations.
Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee: Ho Chi Minh City always creates the most favorable conditions for foreign enterprises, especially Korean enterprises, to operate stably in the city. (Photo: P. Quoc)
According to Mr. Kwon Choon Ki, the company has discussed this issue many times through meetings with the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs, the General Department of Taxation, and requested to resolve this issue many times. However, over the past 3 years, the company has not received any specific guidance on how to resolve the issue.
Responding at the conference, Mr. Giang Van Hien - Deputy Head of Tax Department Region II, said that he had received this issue from Samsung, and was coordinating with relevant agencies to resolve the problem.
The Ministry of Finance has issued a decision to urgently consider handling tax refunds for Samsung SEHC and businesses facing difficulties on this issue.
In mid-March 2025, tax authority leaders met with company representatives at the tax authority headquarters to discuss and complete the necessary procedures.
According to Mr. Giang Van Hien, the tax sector has recently recorded a situation where some businesses have taken advantage of the tax refund policy to buy and sell invoices, illegally profiting. Therefore, there must be a process of reviewing business operations to avoid the phenomenon of taking advantage of the tax refund policy.
Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan said that the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Korea has developed strongly over the past 30 years, especially the elevation of the relationship to "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" from December 2022, marking a new stage of development.
The friendly relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and South Korea has also achieved many successes. South Korea is one of Ho Chi Minh City's leading partners in trade, investment and tourism. Currently, there are more than 2,000 Korean enterprises and a community of more than 80,000 Koreans living and working in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh City always makes every effort to ensure a stable political and social environment and create the most favorable conditions for foreign enterprises, especially Korean enterprises, to operate stably, long-term and effectively in the city.
"HCMC is committed to listening to and sharing difficulties with Korean businesses. The city will implement many solutions to support businesses, attract investment and promote economic growth. The HCMC government always makes maximum efforts to ensure a stable political and social environment and create all favorable conditions for foreign businesses," Mr. Vo Van Hoan affirmed.
Mr. Shin Choong Il - Consul General of Korea in Ho Chi Minh City, said he also hopes that the conference will be a starting point for the remarkable development of both the city and the Korean business community, expressing his wish that the city government will continue to accompany and support Korean businesses.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, as of January 31, 2025, South Korea is the third largest investor in Ho Chi Minh City, with 2,286 projects and a total capital of 5.5 billion USD.
Mr. Kim Se Won, General Director of CJ Food Vietnam, reflected that CJ Group has been operating in Vietnam since 2001, with member companies in the fields of food, animal feed, logistics, entertainment and biotechnology.
In particular, the company has leased land and invested more than 2,650 billion VND to build a factory in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park and completed it in 2018, but has not yet been granted a land use right certificate, so it is not entitled to a VAT refund for the factory investment.
In 2020, the factory burned down and the company continued to face difficulties in deciding to reinvest because it did not have a land use rights certificate.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/gap-lanh-dao-tp-hcm-samsung-phan-nan-bi-cham-hoan-thue-582-ty-ar933684.html
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