Tax identification number with 13 digits and hyphen in Vietnam: What is it used for?

What is the purpose of using the 13-digit tax identification number with a hyphen in Vietnam?

The tax identification number is a sequence of 10 or 13 digits and other characters issued by the tax authority to the taxpayer for tax administration, as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 3 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019.

The use of the tax identification number must comply with the provisions of the law (Clause 1, Article 7 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019).

Additionally, the structure of the tax identification number is regulated in Clause 2, Article 30 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019 and is further guided by Clause 1, Article 5 of Circular 105/2020/TT-BTC, as follows:

N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8N9N10 - N11N12N13

Where:

- The first two digits N1N2 are the area code of the tax identification number.

- The seven digits N3 to N9 are defined by a determined structure, incrementing from 0000001 to 9999999.

- The digit N10 is the check digit.

- Additionally, the three digits N11N12N13 are the serial numbers from 001 to 999.

- The hyphen (-) is used to separate the first group of 10 digits and the last group of 3 digits.

Therefore, according to the above-mentioned regulations, the 13-digit tax identification number with a hyphen (-) separates the first 10 digits from the last 3 digits and is used for dependent units and other subjects.

Does the tax identification number appear in the Certificate of taxpayer registration in Vietnam?

According to the regulation in Clause 1, Article 34 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019:

Issuance of Certificate of taxpayer registration

1. The tax authority issues the Certificate of taxpayer registration to the taxpayer within 03 working days from the day of receiving the complete taxpayer registration dossier of the taxpayer as prescribed. The information on the Certificate of taxpayer registration includes:

a) Name of the taxpayer;

b) Tax identification number;

c) Number, date, month, and year of the business registration certificate or the establishment and operation license or the investment registration certificate for business organizations and individuals; number, date, month, and year of the establishment decision for organizations not subject to business registration; information on identity card, citizen identification card, or passport for individuals not subject to business registration;

d) The tax authority managing directly.

2. The tax authority notifies the tax identification number to the taxpayer in place of the Certificate of taxpayer registration in the following cases:

a) Individuals authorize organizations, individuals paying income to register taxpayer registration on behalf of the individual and the individual's dependents;

b) Individuals register for taxpayer registration through their tax declaration dossiers;

c) Organizations, individuals register to deduct and pay taxes on behalf of foreign entities;

d) Individuals register for their dependents' taxpayer registration.

3. In case of loss, tear, damage, or burning of the Certificate of taxpayer registration or the tax identification number notice, the tax authority re-issues it within 02 working days from the day of receiving the complete request dossier from the taxpayer as prescribed.

Therefore, according to the above regulations, the content of the Certificate of taxpayer registration must include the tax identification number of the issued unit.

What is the purpose of using the 13-digit tax identification number with a hyphen in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Vietnam: How to use the tax identification number in conformity with the law?

According to the regulation in Article 35 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019:

- The taxpayer must record the tax identification number on invoices, documents, and records when conducting business transactions; open deposit accounts at commercial banks, other credit institutions; declare taxes, pay taxes, request tax exemptions, reductions, refunds, non-collection of taxes, register customs declaration forms, and perform other tax-related transactions for all obligations to the state budget, even if the taxpayer operates production and business activities in different localities.

- The taxpayer must provide the tax identification number to relevant agencies and organizations or record the tax identification number on the dossier when performing administrative procedures under the one-stop-shop mechanism coordinated with the tax management agency.

- The tax management agency, State Treasury, commercial banks that coordinate state budget collection, and organizations authorized by the tax authority to collect taxes must use the taxpayer's tax identification number in tax management and tax collection into the state budget.

- Commercial banks and other credit institutions must record the tax identification number on account opening documents and transaction vouchers through the taxpayer's account.

- Other organizations and individuals involved in tax management must use the issued tax identification number of the taxpayer when providing information related to determining tax obligations.

- When a Vietnam-based entity pays money to organizations or individuals engaged in cross-border business activities based on a digital intermediary platform not present in Vietnam, they must use the tax identification number issued to these organizations or individuals to withhold and pay on their behalf.

- When a personal identification number is issued to all residents, the personal identification number will replace the tax identification number.