Businesses cannot do wrong, tax officials must take responsibility

On the afternoon of June 17, National Assembly delegates discussed in groups many important contents, including the draft Law on VAT (amended).

Whoever does wrong must take responsibility.

Clarifying some issues raised by delegates, related to the issue of removing the regulation on exemption of value-added tax for imported goods of small value, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc explained why this regulation was included in the Law.

According to the Minister, previously, when implementing the International Convention on Harmonization and Simplification of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention) dated May 18, 1973, which Vietnam signed, the law stipulated that if the minimum value or the minimum amount of customs duty and other taxes were below a small level, no customs duty and other taxes would be collected. However, Decree 134 of 2016 and Decision 78 of the Prime Minister required the collection of this tax.

The Minister also cited examples, currently, some countries such as the EU have abolished the regulation of VAT exemption for shipments valued at 22 Euros or less, the UK has also abolished the regulation on VAT for imported goods valued at 135 pounds or less starting from January 1, 2021. Meanwhile, Thailand has started to collect 7% VAT on all imported goods regardless (from May 2024).

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc.

Regarding the regulations on prohibited acts for tax authorities in implementing value added tax and responsible acts of tax authorities, tax officers and enterprises, according to the Minister of Finance, after receiving comments from the National Assembly Standing Committee, the drafting agency has included this regulation in the Law.

“The Law also stipulates invoices and the invoice regime, but when it was issued, the National Assembly Standing Committee commented that the new invoice regulations were still general, and value-added tax can also be said to be a new tax, with its own specific characteristics, so a system of invoices and documents with specific regulations must be issued,” said the Minister.

According to Mr. Phuc, the responsibilities of taxpayers, businesses, and tax authorities, tax officials, and civil servants must also be clearly defined according to the principle that "whoever does wrong must take responsibility".

“It cannot be said that if a business makes a mistake, the tax official must bear the responsibility. If a business makes a mistake and the tax official must bear the responsibility, the tax authority must be given the right to investigate and verify,” the Minister said, emphasizing that there must be regulations on functions, tasks, scope of work, and limits of responsibility in order to be able to act strongly and ensure budget revenue.

Minister Phuc stated that currently in the tax industry, there is a situation of invoice fraud to fraudulently claim tax refunds and the police have prosecuted many cases. It is necessary to clarify so that those who commit fraud must be held responsible.

“If the tax authority checks the documents and they are incorrect, the tax authority and the inspector must take responsibility, and the person who creates evidence, fake documents, or incorrect documents must also take responsibility. This must be similar, we cannot let one person blame the other, it is very difficult to do,” Mr. Phoc said, expressing his hope that the Finance and Budget Committee and National Assembly deputies will support so that when regulations and laws are issued, they will have a longer lifespan.

How to calculate VAT for business households?

Regarding the collection of value added tax (VAT) for business households or individuals with revenue under 100 million VND/year, according to the Minister, if calculated in 5 years with a depreciation rate of about 5%, it is clear that in just 5 or 10 years, the tax rate regulations will be outdated.

The Minister believes that we should boldly assign the Government to regulate this threshold so that when there are fluctuations, the Government will adjust it appropriately.

“Here I want to emphasize the issue of decentralization. When the currency depreciates, and when the level is not suitable and the law has not been amended, the Government will issue appropriate regulations. If we only have a rigid regulation that every 100 million VND/year is exempt from tax and when income increases, we start collecting taxes again, which will easily lead to disagreement among people and businesses,” the Minister analyzed and proposed that it would be more reasonable to authorize the Government to decide this issue.

In addition, the Minister also emphasized that tax is a regulatory tool, and experience in developed countries has shown that tax tools are used very flexibly, and can almost authorize the president, represented by the Ministry of Finance, to immediately raise tax rates when imported goods affect domestic production .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/bo-truong-tai-chinh-khong-the-dn-lam-sai-cong-chuc-thue-phai-chiu-a668812.html