Accelerate reform and simplify tax procedures

Workshop to collect opinions on plans to reduce and simplify administrative procedures (TTHC) - Photo: VGP/HT

This is the content discussed at the Workshop to collect opinions on the plan to reduce and simplify tax administrative procedures organized by the Tax Department (Ministry of Finance) on the afternoon of April 21, in Hanoi.

Closely follow the Government 's reform policy , ensuring substance

In recent years, tax administrative reform has become a priority focus of the Tax sector. In the spirit of strictly implementing the Government's directives, especially Official Dispatch No. 22/CD-TTg dated March 9, 2025 and Resolution No. 66/NQ-CP dated March 26, 2025, Tax Departments at all levels have proactively and resolutely taken action.

Deputy Director of the Tax Department Dang Ngoc Minh speaks at the Workshop - Photo: VGP/HT

Deputy Director of the Tax Department Dang Ngoc Minh affirmed: The tax sector identifies tax administrative reform as a key political task. Therefore, the Tax Department has synchronously deployed many solutions, with a spirit of urgency and seriousness.

Firstly, the tax sector has reduced procedures from 304 to 219, of which 134 procedures have reached the level of full online public services.

Second, to continue reform, the Tax Department will promote electronicization and automation; at the same time, improve connectivity between agencies to shorten the time for processing records.

Third, it will propose amendments to relevant legal documents to perfect the institution, in parallel with communicating and collecting opinions from people and businesses for improvement.

Deputy Director Dang Ngoc Minh emphasized: Tax administrative procedure reform is no longer an option, but an inevitable requirement. The tax sector aims to reduce at least 30% of procedure processing time and compliance costs for businesses, while increasing the rate of procedures performed electronically to 100% in the 2025-2026 period.

Accordingly, the tax sector focuses on implementing many solutions such as: Reviewing and standardizing procedures; digitizing the process of receiving and processing records; simplifying record components and forms and promoting data connectivity between agencies.

"The tax sector will organize regular consultations and update feedback for continuous improvement," the Tax Department leader affirmed.

The representative of the Administrative Procedure Control Department - Government Office highly appreciated the proactive spirit of the Ministry of Finance - a Ministry with the largest number of administrative procedures among ministries and sectors. The Ministry of Finance's early implementation of a comprehensive review of tax procedures is a clear demonstration of its determination to reform.

Accepting opinions, promoting reform, aiming at modernization and service

At the workshop, delegates contributed many practical ideas, contributing to perfecting the reform plan in the spirit of Resolution 66/NQ-CP.

From the perspective of the business community representative, Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy General Secretary, Head of the Legal Department (VCCI), acknowledged that the tax sector is one of the agencies that has reformed most strongly and systematically. According to him, the recent reform results are very commendable, but there are still gaps that need to be improved.

Firstly, there is still a situation where some small and medium enterprises have difficulty in carrying out tax refund procedures, so it is necessary to further streamline the process.

Second, there needs to be a mechanism for faster response and problem resolution, especially when businesses stop operating or encounter capital difficulties.

Third, there needs to be increased transparency and more user surveys to assess the real effectiveness of reforms.

"In general, we appreciate the tax industry's efforts in reforming procedures. Many procedures that used to take days can now be done in just a few minutes on the phone," said Mr. Dau Anh Tuan.

Expert Nguyen Thi Cuc, Chairwoman of Vietnam Tax Consultants Association - Photo: VGP/HT

Sharing the same view, expert Nguyen Thi Cuc, President of the Vietnam Tax Consultants Association, said: The tax sector is one of the sectors with the strongest administrative reform. "However, better communication is needed so that people understand the true nature of the reform, avoiding the situation where the good things are not known, while the difficulties are reflected more," Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc noted.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu - Head of Tax Affairs Department, Tax Department (Ministry of Finance) - Photo: VGP/HT

Emphasizing the role of technology, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu - Head of Tax Affairs Department, Tax Department (Ministry of Finance) said: "The tax sector has applied smart technology to handle the entire electronic tax payment process. However, there are still some procedures that need to be completed, such as tax refunds or tax registration. Therefore, the sector is continuing to review, simplify the dossier components and build standard procedures in the digital environment".

During the review, the Tax Department discovered that many procedures had similar content but applied to different subjects. Therefore, the proposed solution was to design a common procedure, then the system would suggest appropriate documents based on the taxpayer's information.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu, the tax sector will implement administrative procedures in the direction of "one form - many subjects", to avoid overlap and make it easier for taxpayers to access. Some contents need strong reform such as simplifying related information between financial reports and tax settlement records. In addition, some electronic tax processing procedures still lack data connectivity and need to be improved to further facilitate taxpayers.

Transparency of tax data and application of artificial intelligence help analyze, forecast, support businesses in compliance and avoid errors.

"Tax administrative procedure reform needs to start from the root, which is the institution. If the Tax Administration Law is not amended, efforts to cut down on forms or documents will not bring sustainable results," Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu emphasized.

The representative of the Department of Administrative Procedure Control (Government Office) emphasized: The Government's goal is not only to reduce the number of procedures, but also to reduce compliance time and costs.

Therefore, the "merging" of similar procedures must be substantial, not just a technical formality. If only changing the form without reducing time or costs, it will not be considered a true reform.

In addition, it is necessary to count and measure the cost of complying with specific administrative procedures (for example, how many hours, how much money) as a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of reforms.

Receiving the opinions exchanged, the leaders of the Tax Department (Ministry of Finance) affirmed: With a core role, the leaders of the tax sector are committed to continuing to improve institutions, promote digitalization, improve service quality, thereby contributing to building a modern, transparent and effective administration.

"The reform will not stop at numbers or reports, but must be quantified by the satisfaction of people and businesses. The proposed contents at the workshop will be compiled, reviewed and edited appropriately to submit to competent authorities for consideration and issuance of corresponding legal documents, ensuring the spirit of Resolution 66/NQ-CP: reducing costs, reducing time, increasing efficiency", the leader of the Tax Department emphasized.

Huy Thang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/tang-toc-cai-cach-don-gian-thu-tuc-thue-10225042119060084.htm