Is using tax identification numbers of other persons for inaccurate declaration of tax liabilities a prohibited act in tax administration in Vietnam?

Is using tax identification numbers of other persons for inaccurate declaration of tax liabilities a prohibited act in tax administration in Vietnam?

According to Article 6 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, the provisions are as follows:

Prohibited acts in tax administration

1. Collusion, entanglement, or concealment between taxpayers and tax management officials or tax authorities to transfer pricing or evade tax.

2. Harassing or causing inconvenience for taxpayers.

3. Taking advantage to misappropriate or illegally use tax money.

4. Intentionally failing to declare or inaccurately, insufficiently, and promptly declaring the tax amount due.

5. Obstructing tax management officials in the execution of their duties.

6. Using another taxpayer's tax identification number to commit violations of the law or allowing others to use one's tax identification number against the law.

7. Selling goods or providing services without issuing invoices as per the law, using illegal invoices and using invoices illegally.

8. Distorting, using for wrong purposes, unauthorized access, or destroying taxpayer information systems.

The act of using another taxpayer's tax identification number to commit violations of the law or allowing others to use one's tax identification number against the law is one of the prohibited actions.

Therefore, if a company fraudulently uses another company's employee's tax identification number for fake tax declaration, it is considered a prohibited act in tax administration.

Is using tax identification numbers of other persons for inaccurate declaration of tax liabilities a prohibited act in tax administration in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

How is a personal tax identification number issued in Vietnam?

Based on the provisions of Clause 3, Article 30 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, the regulation is as follows:

Subjects of taxpayer registration and issuance of tax identification numbers

...

3. The issuance of tax identification numbers is regulated as follows:

a) Businesses, economic organizations, and other organizations are issued 01 unique tax identification number to be used throughout their operational period from taxpayer registration until the termination of the tax identification number. Taxpayers with branches, representative offices, or dependent units directly fulfilling tax obligations are issued dependent tax identification numbers. In cases where businesses, organizations, branches, representative offices, and dependent units register taxpayers under the integrated one-stop-shop mechanism along with business registration, cooperative registration, or commercial registration, the number on the business registration certificate, cooperative registration certificate, or commercial registration certificate serves as the tax identification number;

b) Individuals are issued 01 unique tax identification number to be used throughout the individual's lifetime*. Dependents of individuals are issued tax identification numbers to provide personal income tax exemption for the taxpayer. The tax identification number issued to a dependent simultaneously becomes the individual's tax identification number when the dependent incurs obligations to the state budget;*

c) Enterprises, organizations, and individuals responsible for withholding and paying tax on behalf of others are issued substitute tax identification numbers to declare, pay taxes on behalf of the taxpayers;

d) Issued tax identification numbers must not be reused to issue to other taxpayers;

đ) Tax identification numbers of businesses, economic organizations, and other organizations after converting types, selling, gifting, donating, or bequeathing are retained;

e) Tax identification numbers issued to households, business households, and individual businesses are the tax identification numbers of the representative individual of the household, business household, individual business.

...

As such, individuals are issued 01 unique tax identification number to use throughout their lifetime as per the above regulation.

How to use tax identification numbers in accordance with the law in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 35 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, the usage of tax identification numbers as regulated by the law is outlined as follows:

- Taxpayers must record the issued tax identification number on invoices, documentation, and when conducting business transactions; opening deposit accounts at commercial banks, other credit institutions; tax declaration, tax payment, tax exemption, tax reduction, tax refund, non-tax collection, custom declaration registration, and any other tax-related transactions for all obligations payable to the state budget, including when the taxpayer operates across different regions.

- Taxpayers must provide their tax identification number to relevant institutions or record it on documentation when executing administrative procedures under the interconnected one-stop-shop mechanism with tax management agencies.

- Tax management agencies, the State Treasury, commercial banks cooperating in state budget collection, and organizations authorized by tax agencies to collect taxes must use taxpayers' tax identification numbers in tax administration and collection for the state budget.

- Commercial banks, other credit institutions must record the tax identification number in account opening documentation and transaction documents via taxpayers' accounts.

- Other organizations and individuals participating in tax administration must use the issued tax identification number when providing information related to determining tax obligations.

- When Vietnamese entities pay foreign entities or individuals engaging in cross-border business based on digital intermediary platforms not physically present in Vietnam, they must use the tax identification number issued to these entities or individuals for withholding and replacement payment.

- When a personal identification number is issued to all citizens, it is used in place of the tax identification number.