The Tax Department of HCMC has recently announced a list of 198 businesses with tax debt, with the top being Xuyen Viet Oil Commercial and Transport Co. Ltd. (a debt of over VND1.5 trillion – US$61.5 million).
Those on this list are companies that have owed taxes for a long time and have not followed any tax collection methods. Therefore, they are now subject to such enforced tax recovery methods as deducting money from their accounts at the State Bank of Vietnam or commercial banks, credit organizations; freezing their accounts; stopping the validity of their business invoice; confiscating their money and assets being kept by other individuals or organizations. These method will end when the debt is fully repaid into the state budget.
The General Department of Taxation informed that the estimated tax debt until December 30, 2023 was VND163.6 trillion ($6.71 billion), an increase of 2.6 percent compared to November 30, 2023 and 10.7 percent compared to that time the previous year.
This is because several businesses encounter trouble in 2023, and their assets had already been used as mortgaged at banks. Others announced bankruptcy before paying that amount, making it even harder to recover tax debts. In addition, capital issues lead to the operation of real estate companies, resulting in increasing debts from land revenues. Moreover, the tax amounts extended under Decree 12/2023 and Decree 36/2023 have expired, but taxpayers are facing difficulties and cannot repay the debts timely.
In such a gloomy state, it is wise both to collect tax debt and to help troublesome businesses still survive through this financial pressure. For instance, when applying the invoice freezing method, if an affected enterprise continues its business, it has to buy single invoice books and submit 18 percent of the value of each invoice.
Deputy Director of the HCMC Tax Department Nguyen Tien Dung said that his department is going to strictly adopt enforced tax debt recovery measures, especially on those on the top positions of the list; yet it will still try to help each specific company to address current problems so that the company can obtain sufficient money to pay back the debt.
The General Department of Taxation shared that in 2024, as to the companies able to pay their tax debt, if the debt amount happens under 90 days, will contact them to kindly remind them to fulfill their tax duty and minimize new arisen debts.
Regarding those subject to enforced tax collection methods (more than 90 days in debt, expired tax payment extension, value-added tax and special consumption tax debts in the petroleum and real estate industries), the tax agencies are going to divide them into different groups for corresponding measures. The head of the General Department of Taxation asked that its departments in all localities carefully consider suitable enforce tax recovery methods to aid tax debtors to pay back successfully.
In addition, the tax sector is going to automize debt management and monitoring, debt notice delivery.
The General Department of Taxation informed that in 2023, it was able to collect VND41.6 trillion ($1.7 billion) of debt. The tax departments of Hai Phong City, Quang Nam Province, Hau Giang Province, Hanoi, Phu Tho Province, and Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province have excellently fulfilled their tax collection task.
In HCMC, until November 30, 2023, the Tax Department was able to collect VND23 trillion ($944 million) of debt, accounting for 88 percent compared to this time last year. It has noticed nearly 131,000 tax debtors with a concerned amount of VND4.84 trillion ($198.6 million). It proposed the HCMC People’s Committee to erase debt for about 19,700 taxpayers (organizations and businesses) with an amount of VND619.4 billion ($25.4 million).
