Businesspeople pack meeting hall about taxes, customs

About 700 people attended the hall where held a dialogue about the above-mentioned issues and voiced their opinions. Most opinions related to the application of global minimum tax, value-added tax refund, tax incentives, how to calculate personal income tax, and corporate income were heard at the event.

At the dialogue, a representative of Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company was upset because of the decision to collect taxes from the Can Tho City Tax Department, while the company said that it was not related to this amount of money. However, the Can Tho Tax Department decided to cancel the previous tax exemption policy, putting this company on the list of businesses with tax debt which was posted publicly on the department’s website.

Though the company has sent its petitions to these responsible agencies many times, it has not so far been resolved, said the representative. According to the representative, the company’s name on the tax debt list caused many difficulties for the company; for instance, the company could not participate in the bidding.

Responding to the company’s complaint, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Taxation Mai Son calmed down the company's frustration saying that the Can Tho Tax Department followed the Conclusion of the State Audit of Region 5. The Can Tho Tax Department has forwarded the Company's proposal that the company has paid dividends for the period 2011-2014 and asked for guidance from the People's Committee of Can Tho City.

The Can Tho City People's Committee also sent an official dispatch to the State Audit of Region 5, requesting not to collect land use fees for the years 2011-2014.

In response, the State Auditor Region 5 said that this is for the competent authority of Can Tho City to consider, decide and take responsibility according to the law. Deputy Director General of the General Department of Taxation Mai Son revealed that related agencies in localities are reviewing the implementation of the direction of the People's Committee of Can Tho City.

Some companies also raised questions about specialized testing. Dong Nai Province-headquartered Vietnam Precision Industry Joint Stock Company recommended that the customs sector should continue to improve and reduce specialized inspections in the coming time. Because the situation was difficult last year, businesses’ orders have sometimes reduced by up to 30 percent compared to the same period last year. The postponement and cancellation of orders make it increasingly difficult for businesses.

A representative of AK VINA Dong Nai Company also questioned the rate of customs inspection of goods. He gave an example that the company has a shipment of 10 containers. If all of them are screened, the company must pay high costs causing a financial burden for businesses. He added that currently, the company has to scan goods 2-3 times a month, with many containers each time, greatly increasing costs for the company.

Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Customs Hoang Viet Cuong acknowledged that many businesses are tolerating this. Right from 2019-2020, the Prime Minister assigned VCCI and the General Department of Customs to measure the satisfaction of the business community, including specialized inspections. At that time, the industry saw 7 problems in specialized inspection.

According to him, one of the seven problems in specialized inspection is that the number of specialized inspection items is large. Even one item must be subject to specialized inspection with many different contents. No list of goods for specialized inspection is specified and has specific codes. Specialized inspection without adequate standards and regulations, thereby causing problems for implementing agencies. Many overlapping documents on specialized testing result in complicated procedures and additional costs for businesses.

He revealed that the Vietnam Customs has worked with ministries and agencies on very specific problems. In the near future, thematic conferences between the Vietnam Customs, VCCI and specialized associations will be held to analyze each issue and a petition will be submitted to the Government.

Talking about customs screening, Mr. Hoang Viet Cuong said that customs authorities rely on a Customs Risk Management System (CRMS) which provides a fast and easy-to-use mechanism to exchange risk-related information directly between operational officials and risk analysis centers in compliance with the law. This system divides 211,000 businesses into 5 levels including priority businesses, high compliance businesses, medium, low, non-compliant businesses and 9 different classes. Risk assessment matrix works by presenting various risks as a chart, color-coded by severity such as high risks in red, moderate risks in yellow, and low risks in green.