On the morning of December 20, the Office of the President held a press conference to announce the President's order promulgating the laws passed by the National Assembly at the 8th session.

These are the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Securities Law; the Accounting Law; the Law on Independent Auditing; the State Budget Law; the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets; the Tax Management Law; the Law on Personal Income Tax; the Law on National Reserves; and the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Responding to the press about the regulations on tax debt thresholds and debt periods that will result in temporary suspension of exit, Mr. Hoang Thai Son, Director of the Legal Department - Ministry of Finance, said that in the latest draft decree of the Government regulating tax debt thresholds and debt periods for cases of temporary suspension of exit, the Ministry of Finance proposed to increase the overdue tax debt level of 120 days for individuals and business owners to 50 million VND, an increase of 40 million VND compared to the draft in early December 2024.

This new proposed level was received by the Ministry of Finance after receiving comments from the media and relevant agencies.

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In 2024, the General Department of Taxation issued 58,687 notices of temporary suspension of exit with a total tax debt of VND80,512 billion. Photo: Thach Thao

Before applying the temporary exit suspension measure, the tax authority will issue a document urging tax payment; apply measures such as deducting money from the account. The tax authority will also notify households and individuals in advance before enforcing the temporary exit suspension.

According to Mr. Son, nationwide there are about 81,000 individuals and business owners who owe taxes of 50 million VND or more.

The Director of the Legal Department - Ministry of Finance said that the above VND50 million level is consistent with international experience. Some countries such as China, Malaysia, the US... also apply travel restriction policies for individuals with large tax debts and long debt periods.

According to Mr. Son, temporarily suspending the exit of tax debtors "is an effective measure in tax management". This measure ensures that people and business owners exercise their rights and obligations to pay taxes to the State.

According to data from the General Department of Taxation (announced on December 19), in 2024, the General Department of Taxation issued 58,687 notices of temporary suspension of exit with a total tax debt of VND 80,512 billion, thereby collecting VND 4,289 billion from 6,648 taxpayers.

In the draft soliciting public comments in early December, the Ministry of Finance proposed: From January 1, 2025, individuals/business owners with overdue tax debts of VND10 million or more for more than 120 days will be temporarily suspended from leaving the country. Enterprises/cooperatives/cooperative unions that are forced to enforce overdue tax debts of VND100 million or more for more than 120 days will have their legal representatives temporarily suspended from leaving the country.

Many opinions say that the debt threshold of 10 million VND and 100 million VND is low.

Regarding the Law on Value Added Tax (amended), at the 8th session, the National Assembly requested the Government to urgently issue a decree on customs management of exported and imported goods traded via e-commerce channels, ensuring that import tax exemptions are not allowed for small-value goods.

In the immediate future, immediately terminate the validity of Decision 78/2010 of the Prime Minister, creating a basis for tax authorities to have a legal basis and sanctions to manage tax collection for foreign e-commerce platforms selling goods to Vietnam.

Mr. Luu Duc Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance) said that the Government's resolution assigned the Ministry of Finance to consider abolishing Decision 78.

Specifically, on December 4, the Ministry of Finance sent a document requesting the opinion of the Ministry of Justice on the abolition of Decision 78 in accordance with the correct procedures and order. On December 12, the Ministry of Justice organized a review council on the abolition of Decision 78.

The Ministry of Finance is waiting for the appraisal opinion of the Ministry of Justice to complete the procedure, then submit to the Prime Minister to cancel this decision.

Ministry of Finance proposes temporary suspension of exit for debt of 10-100 million, high or low threshold?

Ministry of Finance proposes temporary suspension of exit for debt of 10-100 million, high or low threshold?

The tax debt threshold of VND10 million for individuals and VND100 million for businesses is appropriate in Vietnam today but much lower than in many other countries. There needs to be a mechanism to monitor administrative agencies to avoid abuse of power in deciding to temporarily suspend exit.
VCCI proposes that people whose exit is suspended be allowed to pay taxes right at the border gate.

VCCI proposes that people whose exit is suspended be allowed to pay taxes right at the border gate.

VCCI proposed raising the tax debt threshold for temporary exit suspension to VND200 million for individuals and VND1 billion for businesses, and allowing people with temporary exit suspension to pay taxes at the border gate.
Revealing the amount of tax collected from more than 23,000 cases of temporary exit suspension

Revealing the amount of tax collected from more than 23,000 cases of temporary exit suspension

According to data from the General Department of Taxation, since the beginning of the year, there have been an average of 2,374 cases of temporary exit suspension each month due to tax debts. Of the more than 50 trillion VND in tax debts of cases of temporary exit suspension, tax authorities have only collected a small portion.