Vietnam: Are taxpayers operating businesses in areas with available information technology infrastructure required to declare and pay taxes online?

Vietnam: Are taxpayers operating businesses in areas with available information technology infrastructure required to declare and pay taxes online?

Based on Article 17 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration regulating the responsibilities of taxpayers as follows:

Responsibilities of Taxpayers

1. Conduct taxpayer registration, and use tax identification numbers as prescribed by law.

2. Accurately, honestly, and fully declare taxes and submit tax dossiers on time; be legally responsible for the accuracy, honesty, and completeness of the tax dossiers.

3. Pay taxes, late payment fines, and penalties fully, timely, and at the correct location.

4. Comply with accounting, statistical policies and manage, use invoices, and documents as prescribed by law.

5. Accurately, honestly, and fully log activities that incur tax obligations, tax deductions, and transactions that require tax information declaration.

6. Prepare and deliver invoices, documents to buyers according to the exact quantity, type, and actual payment value when selling goods or services as prescribed by law.

7. Provide accurate, complete, and prompt information and documents related to the determination of tax obligations, including information about investment values; account numbers and transaction contents of accounts opened at commercial banks, other credit institutions; explain tax calculations, declarations, and payments upon request from tax management agencies.

8. Comply with decisions, notifications, and requirements of tax management agencies, and tax officials as prescribed by law.

9. Be responsible for fulfilling tax obligations as prescribed by law in case the legal representative or authorized representative performs tax procedures incorrectly on behalf of the taxpayer.

10. Taxpayers operating businesses in areas with available information technology infrastructure are required to declare, pay taxes, and interact with tax authorities through electronic means as prescribed by law.

11. Based on the actual situation and information technology equipment conditions, the Government of Vietnam specifies in detail cases where taxpayers are not required to submit documents in tax declaration, payment dossier, tax refund dossiers, and other tax dossiers that state management agencies already possess.

12. Build, manage, and operate technical infrastructure systems to ensure electronic transactions with tax management agencies, and apply information connectivity related to fulfilling tax obligations with tax management agencies.

13. Taxpayers with associated transactions are obligated to prepare, store, declare, and provide information dossiers about taxpayers and their associated parties, including information about associated parties residing in countries, territories outside Vietnam as regulated by the Government of Vietnam.

Thus, according to the above regulations, taxpayers operating businesses in areas with available information technology infrastructure are not required but must declare and pay taxes online.

Vietnam: Are taxpayers operating businesses in areas with available information technology infrastructure required to declare and pay taxes online? (Image from the Internet)

Is the information of taxpayers protected by the tax authority in Vietnam?

Based on Article 18 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration regulating the duties of tax management agencies as follows:

Duties of Tax Management Agencies

1. Organize the management of tax collection and other state budget revenues following the provisions of tax law and other related legal provisions.

2. Propagate, disseminate, and guide tax law; make tax procedures public at headquarters, the website of tax management agencies, and on mass media.

3. Explain and provide information related to determining tax obligations for taxpayers; tax agencies are responsible for making public the tax amounts payable by business households and individual businesses in communes, wards, commune-level towns.

4. Protect the information of taxpayers, except for information provided to competent authorities or publicly announced following legal regulations.

5. Implement tax exemption; tax reduction; tax debt cancellation, late payment fines, penalties; exemption of late payment fines, penalties; not calculating late payment; tax payment postponement; installment tax debt payment; tax debt suspension without collection; handling excess tax, late payment fines, penalties submitted; refund tax according to this Law and other related legal provisions.

6. Confirm the fulfillment of tax obligations by taxpayers upon request according to law.

7. Resolve complaints, denunciations related to the implementation of tax law under jurisdiction.

8. Deliver minutes, conclusions, decisions on tax handling after tax inspection, and tax audits to taxpayers and explain when requested.

9. Compensate taxpayers for damage according to the State's regulations on compensation.

10. Expert evaluation to determine taxpayers' payable tax amounts upon the requisition or request of competent state agencies.

11. Build and organize electronic information systems and apply information technology to conduct electronic transactions in tax field.

The protection of taxpayer information is one of the responsibilities of the tax authority.

Therefore, taxpayer information will be protected by the tax authority.

When taxpayers pay electronically in Vietnam, is the commercial bank required to provide support?

Based on Article 27 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration regulating the duties and powers of commercial banks as follows:

- When participating in the coordination of tax collection and collection of other state budget revenues, commercial banks have the following responsibilities:

+ Coordinate with tax management agencies, and the State Treasury in implementing electronic tax payments and electronic tax refunds for taxpayers; handle, and reconcile data on electronic tax payments, and electronic tax refunds;

+ Transmit, receive electronic tax payment documents, and transfer payments for state budget revenues to the State Treasury fully, accurately, and promptly following legal conformity;

+ Support taxpayers in the process of making electronic tax payments;

+ Protect taxpayer information, and customs declaimants' information as prescribed by law.

- Provide information on account numbers according to taxpayers' tax identification numbers when accounts are opened.

- Deduct, and pay tax obligations payable under tax law of organizations, and individuals abroad conducting e-commerce business activities generating income from Vietnam.

- Deduct money to pay taxes from taxpayers' accounts, and freeze taxpayers' accounts under enforcement of administrative decisions on tax management upon request from tax management agencies.

- In cases where taxpayers have guarantees for taxes, late payment fines, penalties, and other state budget revenues as stipulated by this Law but fail to pay on time, the guaranteeing bank must be responsible for paying taxes, late payment fines, penalties, and other state budget revenues for the taxpayer within the guarantee scope.

- the Government of Vietnam provides detailed regulations for this Article.

Thus, according to the above regulations, the responsibility of commercial banks includes providing support to taxpayers during the process of making electronic tax payments.