JICA Requested to Further Support Vietnam to Improve Tax Administration Capacity

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) recently held the 3rd Joint Coordinating Committee meeting within the framework of the JICA’s Project for Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness in Tax Administration through International Experiences. Attending the meeting were GDT Deputy General Director Vu Chi Hung; Senior Vice Director of Public Financial Management Takahashi; JICA representative in Vietnam Hiraoka Hisakazu; Project Chief Advisor Ota Hidetaka; and leaders of some GDT agencies.

Representatives of the General Department of Taxation and JICA at the event

As the head of the Joint Coordination Committee, GDT Deputy General Director Vu Chi Hung highly appreciated the support of Japan for the General Department of Taxation. Project components such as tax inspection, tax management of small and medium enterprises and individuals and tax debt management are useful content for the tax industry, in line with the objectives of the Vietnamese tax system development strategy. Especially in the context of deep integration, the development of the digital economy and the explosion of e-commerce, it is necessary for the tax sector to take prompt measures to enhance the compliance of taxpayers.

After nearly three years of implementation, the JICA Project has now been implemented effectively through close coordination of experts and related bodies to work out specific planning and implementation of practical activities for each component as well as through GDT and JICA exchanges. With the activities of each project component in the first six months of this year, the two sides are expected to continue to have more achievements in the coming time.

At the meeting, leaders of the working groups reported on the implementation of components. Regarding the tax inspection component in the first six months of the year, the two sides agreed on the content of the 2023 Action Plan like probes into companies with e-commerce business on various platforms; analyses on inspection and information collection into transfer prices; and project evaluation index.

For Component 2 on tax management of SMEs and individuals, the working groups deployed taxpayer management survey teams by collecting information, and directly organizing delegations to study and research at JICA Center, Tax Professional School, Tokyo Tax Agency and Asaka Tax Agency. For the component on debt management and tax debt enforcement, the working groups hosted two training seminars on tax debt management, new debt enforcement and international experience sharing in debt management and debt enforcement in northern and southern regions; and organized a workshop on the management of small tax liabilities and coordination with stakeholders.

At the meeting, leaders of the working groups highly appreciated the support and experience of Japanese experts who actively assisted Vietnam's tax administration. In the coming time, based on the approved plans, the working groups will carry out planned activities to improve the capacity of tax officials attending workshops on important and practical topics on tax administration and provide a lot of useful information and valuable experience in developing tax legal documents.

GDT Deputy General Director Vu Chi Hung requested that, in the coming time, the ODA Project Management Board, in collaboration with specialized GDT agencies as the main beneficiaries of the project, will actively participate in project activities, promptly coordinate and exchange with experts to propose contents that need support and forms of support such as seminars, surveys and consultations on construction and development of documents and processes to ensure that the project closely follows and effectively supports the professional work of GDT agencies, thus helping the implementation of the overall tax system development strategy. The General Department of Taxation also hoped that JICA will continue to coordinate with the ODA Project Management Board to review their contents and issues of concern to work out suitable training plans for the coming years.

By Hien Kien, Vietnam Business Forum