What does the General Department of Taxation say?

Recently, the leaders of many large enterprises in Vietnam were suddenly suspended from leaving the country because of tax debts, which opened up a debate about the role of temporary suspension of departure in tax debt collection. In particular, there were cases where leaders of enterprises with very low tax debts, only a few hundred thousand to a few million VND, were also banned from leaving the country.

Some opinions say that strong measures are necessary for businesses that deliberately delay and refuse to pay taxes. However, many businesses are upset when their leaders are delayed in leaving the country when they only owe a small amount of tax.

Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Taxation, answered questions at the press conference. (Photo: DM/TBTC)

Regarding this issue, Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Taxation, affirmed that the law does not stipulate what constitutes a small or large tax debt.

The regulation on temporary suspension of exit for those who owe taxes has been in place for many years. Most recently, the 2020 Law on Tax Administration and the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens (effective from July 2020) also have regulations on temporary suspension of exit for those who owe taxes.

Mr. Minh said that according to current law, taxpayers with debts over 90 days will be forced to pay, regardless of whether the tax debt is small or large.

In addition, according to the regulations, to be subject to temporary exit suspension, it means that the taxpayer (including individuals and businesses) is subject to tax enforcement. For legal entities that are subject to tax enforcement, when the legal entity has not yet fulfilled its tax obligations, the legal entity's representative will be temporarily suspended from exit.

Commenting on opinions that the temporary suspension of exit from the country seems too "heavy-handed" for business leaders because many directors are just employees, the leader of the General Department of Taxation said that these opinions were noted during the process of drafting the Law on Tax Administration.

“The law has already stipulated that an individual is responsible for representing and managing a legal entity. When the legal entity owes taxes, that individual must be temporarily suspended from leaving the country until the legal entity fulfills its tax obligations,” said Mr. Minh.

Departure suspension is one of the tax debt collection measures, but it is only a small measure and not really the strongest measure. The measure that the tax authorities are applying the most is to stop using invoices. This measure is much stronger. Many large enterprises and systems will be affected immediately when they stop using invoices. It is a tool that the state equips the tax sector with to protect the interests of the budget.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-cuc-thue-bat-ke-no-thue-lon-hay-nho-deu-bi-tam-hoan-xuat-canh-post314209.html