At a recent online conference on the application of the Government’s Resolution 19/2015 and review of VAT refund in 2014 hosted by the General Department of Taxation, Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung requested the tax sector to strictly to control tax refund and address mistaken VAT refunds to prevent losses of State budget revenue and ensure equality for all businesses.
Minister Dung praised tax refund works in the past time, from the refund value to procedure streamline. Tax reimbursement procedures and documents are published at the single-window unit and posted on websites.
In 2014, the tax sector received 22,074 tax refund records (excluding overpaid refund from the State Budget) with a total claim value of VND98,970.2 billion. In addition, a total of 1,816 records with a combined claim value of VND8,746.5 billion were transferred from 2013 to 2014. Most tax departments decreased the refund value in 2013, except for localities with new big projects like Ha Tinh province (Formosa), Thai Nguyen province (Samsung) and Thanh Hoa province (Nghi Son Cement).
The General Department of Taxation explained that the change of 2-month refund period to 12-month refund period has reduced the proportion of refunds from 32.3 percent in 2013 to 17.4 percent in 2014.
The exclusion of VAT on unprocessed or simply processed cultivated products, livestock and seafood for commercial businesses and cooperatives in a bid to prevent VAT fraudulence emerged in 2013 in the Central Highlands and the Southwest region has reduced the amount of refund value for these beneficiaries, equalling just 47.82 percent of the value in 2013. In addition, some regulations on tax withholding and tax refund are made clearer to facilitate taxpayers and tax offices to ensure control tax control and refund conditions.
Nguyen Dai Tri, Deputy General Director of General Department of Taxation, said, in addition to reforming tax reimbursement procedures and facilitating business to pay taxes, the tax service sector has applied risk management in tax refund, determined risk factors and classified risk signs.
The tax sector has also applied cross-reference invoices to detect, prevent and settle illegal acts of invoice trading, tax evasion and tax refund appropriation. In 2014, the sector inspected 7,987 tax refund decisions arising from 2013 backwards with a total value of VND29,830 billion. After the inspection, inspectors issued 1,988 decisions to take back refunded tax. Specifically, they recollected VND342.9 billion of refunded tax, fined VND31.1 billion on administrative violations, and fined VND28.4 billion for delayed tax payment.
However, Minister Dung said human error is also a reason for taxpayers’ violations. Hence he proposed severe penalties on violating businesses, taxpayers and tax officers. The sector ensures 90 percent of records will be settled in time and tax payment procedures and processes will be announced on tax websites.
Le Hien
Vietnamese
