Can Tho Tax Department forced to remove information about businesses owing money

Can Tho Tax Department was forced by the court to remove information about the business's debt - Photo: CHI HANH

On August 27, Can Tho People's Court held a first-instance trial of an administrative case of administrative decision complaint between the plaintiff, Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company, the defendant, the Tax Department and the Director of Can Tho Tax Department.

The plaintiff requests the court to annul the 2022 decision of the Can Tho Tax Department on adjusting the decision of the Can Tho Tax Department itself on exempting land rent for Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company.

At the same time, cancel the notice and document of land rent collection and late payment penalty of more than 2.3 billion VND. Declare that Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company does not owe taxes or land rent. Remove information about land rent debt on the centralized tax management system.

At court, the plaintiff said that the printing enterprise was previously 97% state-owned. The exemption of land rent was permitted by competent authorities, specifically the People's Committee of the former Can Tho province, and the Can Tho Tax Department also issued a decision to exempt land rent for 3 years.

Currently, the enterprise has been 100% equitized. The application of measures to publicly disclose debt and put debt information on the system in the past has caused a lot of damage when it is not considered for competition or participation in bidding.

The representative of Can Tho Tax Department said that based on the conclusion of the State Audit, they will collect and fine late payment of land rent for Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company. At the same time, they maintained their viewpoint and did not participate in the debate.

According to the trial panel, the Can Tho Tax Department's collection of taxes and land use fees from enterprises according to the conclusion of the State Audit is in accordance with legal regulations.

However, in the audit conclusion No. 52 of the State Audit, it only stated that the exemption of 3 years of land rent for enterprises by the People's Committee of the former Can Tho province was not in accordance with regulations. The audit also stated clearly in the conclusion that this exemption is difficult to collect due to the divestment of state capital.

On the other hand, the audit conclusion does not have any item stating that land use fees must be collected, but only requires the Can Tho Tax Department to review, inspect and report the case of land rent exemption of Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company.

In addition, the audit conclusion was issued in 2019, but it was not until 2022 that the Can Tho Tax Department issued decisions on tax collection and late payment penalties. The 3-year delay in implementing the audit recommendation was the fault of the Tax Department. At this time, the enterprise had divested all state capital.

Therefore, the collection of land rent and late payment penalty against Can Tho General Printing Joint Stock Company is not in accordance with the law. The Court accepts all the content of the plaintiff.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuc-thue-can-tho-bi-buoc-go-thong-tin-doanh-nghiep-no-tien-20240827160854127.htm