The regulations on value-added tax refunds remove bottlenecks for businesses.
In particular, many "bottlenecks" in VAT refund policies for businesses have been removed. Specifically, the Law has abolished the regulation that "buyers are only entitled to a VAT refund when the seller has declared and paid the tax"; the abolition of this regulation contributes to shortening the VAT refund time for businesses. The Law restores the regulation that does not require declaration or calculation of tax on input goods that have not undergone or only undergone basic processing in the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product groups; and does not apply VAT to animal feed raw materials, to create conditions for businesses to reduce selling prices to support farmers.
According to Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang, the 2008 Value Added Tax Law stipulates that agricultural products, planted forests, livestock, aquaculture, and harvested seafood that have not been processed into other products or have only undergone basic processing by organizations and individuals who produce, harvest, or import them are exempt from value added tax. If sold to other businesses, cooperatives at the commercial stage, or to consumers, only the final consumers are subject to the 5% tax rate.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang stated that the regulation has led to many businesses having to buy and sell invoices through multiple channels, resulting in tax fraud.
To address this issue, in 2016, the National Assembly added a provision to the Law allowing businesses to exempt themselves from declaring and paying output value-added tax (VAT), but to declare and deduct input VAT for clearly identifiable expenses such as electricity, water, and transportation at the commercial stage; and when selling to consumers, they are ultimately still subject to the 5% VAT rate. This regulation still ensures the fundamental nature of VAT, but at the same time overcomes the problem of VAT refund fraud.
However, according to the Minister, when the Value Added Tax Law of 2024 removes the above provision, it will lead to difficulties. Therefore, it is necessary to regulate this in the 2016 Law. Amending the regulations on tax refund conditions and incorporating them into the Tax Administration Law is appropriate.
The Minister also stated that recently, the Ministry of Finance has received many suggestions from corporations and general companies such as the Vietnam Coffee Corporation, Vinafood 1, Vinafood 2, agricultural, forestry and fisheries associations, and even official opinions from the Ministry of Justice, arguing that tax declaration and payment are the responsibility of the seller; tax refunds are the right of the buyer, and the two responsibilities are separate. However, according to the new regulations, buyers who want a tax refund must prove that the seller has invoices and documents and has declared and paid taxes, which is "unreasonable," because buyers cannot verify the seller's tax obligations.
Source: https://vtv.vn/thao-go-chinh-sach-thue-gia-tri-gia-tang-cho-doanh-nghiep-100251212074748235.htm
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