VAT refund achieves positive results

The General Department of Taxation implements VAT refund for enterprises and residents. Photo: H.Anh

Solutions for VAT refunds are comprehensively executed

Accordingly, the General Department of Taxation has requested tax authorities at all levels to urgently complete the tax refund inspection for tax refund applications, and process tax refunds for taxpayers in a timely fashion and in line with the law, preventing prolonged backlog to cause concern for taxpayers.

The country’s top regulator has established a working team to work with tax authorities at all levels to process VAT refunds to grasp proposals on tax refunds, thereby reporting and advising the General Department of Taxation to assign units to provide solutions in VAT refund in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance.

The Tax man has organized dialogue conferences with 63 enterprises that have problems related to tax refunds and tax refund dossiers.

The General Department of Taxation has held an online training conferences in the first week of June for all tax departments and tax branches on new tax refund regulations, and IT applications in processing Tax refund dossiers in a transparent manner and in accordance with the law.

Positive results in VAT refund

The VAT refund in June in the country achieved positive results, especially after the promulgation of the Prime Minister’s Official Dispatch No. 470/CD-TTg and the guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance and General Department of Taxation.

Accordingly, the Tax man issued 1,338 decisions on VAT refunds with the refunded tax amount of VND13,567 billion, up 43% compared with the average of the first five months of 2023 and up 8% year-on-year.

In the first half of the year, the Tax authority issued 8,510 decisions and refunded VND 61,093 billion or 33% compared to the estimate on VAT refund in 2023 and 88.3% year-on-year.

Notably, in June, the tax sector issued decisions on Tax refunds for dossiers that have problems, thereby, reducing 188 dossiers with the refunded tax amount of VND5,810 billion (down 34%). The remaining amount has been processed by the tax man at all levels.

Some Tax departments have achieved positive results in tax refunds. For example, Hanoi Tax Department refunded VND3,058 billion, reaching 125% year-on-year; Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tax Department refunded VND2,391 billion, meeting 79% year-on-year; Binh Duong Tax Department refunded VND10,373, meeting 70%; Dong Nai Tax department refunded VND7,612 billion, reaching 69%, HCM city Tax department refunded VND2,396 billion, meeting 55% year-on-year.

Accelerating tax refund progress

On the basis of the achieved results on the management of VAT refunds in the first six months of 2023, especially the achievement in June thanks to the direction of the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 470/CD-TTg and the direction of the Minister of Finance in Official Dispatch No. 5427/BTC-VP, the General Department of Taxation requested heads of tax units to accelerate and coordinate in performing tax refund.

The General Department of Taxation directs provincial and municipal tax departments to report the results of the implementation of VAT refund in Official Letter No. 2099/TCT- KK dated May 26 and Official Letter 2426/TCT-KK dated June 15 before 16:00 every Friday.

Tax departments are requested to hold dialogues with associations and enterprises that their VAT refund dossiers have been backlogged for a long time to remove problems. In case of problems beyond the competence of the departments, they must promptly report them to the General Department of Taxation for guidance.

The departments should strengthen the dissemination of tax refund procedures so that enterprises can be proactive in preparing tax refund applications, creating favorable conditions for the receipt of dossiers, and avoiding dossiers that do not meet the requirements of procedures sent to the tax office. At the same time, promptly notify taxpayers of the progress and status of processing VAT refund dossiers in a transparent manner.

The General Department of Taxation also requires the tax departments to strengthen post-refund audit and examination for tax refund decisions subject to pre-tax refund and post-audit to promptly detect the use of illegal invoices or illegal use of invoices, profiteering in a tax refund, and strictly handle violations in accordance with the law.