Vietnam: Is there a penalty for late submission of tax declarations by 1 day?

What is a tax return?

Based on Clause 7 Article 3 of the Tax Administration Law 2019, it is defined as follows:

Explanation of Terms

In this Law, the following terms are understood as follows:

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5. Tax identification number is a series of 10 or 13 digits and other characters issued by the tax authority to the taxpayer for tax management purposes.

6. Tax period is the duration for determining the amount of tax payable to the state budget as per the tax laws.

7. Tax return is a form prescribed by the Minister of Finance, which taxpayers use to declare information to determine the amount of tax payable.

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Thus, according to legal provisions, a tax return is a form prescribed by the Minister of Finance, which taxpayers use to declare information to determine the amount of tax payable.

Vietnam: Is there an administrative penalty for late tax return submission by 1 day?

Based on Article 13 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, it is stipulated as follows:

Penalty for violations of tax return submission deadlines

1. Warning for late submission of tax returns from 01 day to 05 days with mitigating circumstances.

2. Fine from 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for late submission of tax returns from 01 day to 30 days, except for the case specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Fine from 5,000,000 VND to 8,000,000 VND for late submission of tax returns from 31 days to 60 days.

4. Fine from 8,000,000 VND to 15,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

a) Late submission of tax returns from 61 days to 90 days;

b) Late submission of tax returns from 91 days or more without incurring payable tax;

c) Failure to submit tax returns without incurring payable tax;

d) Failure to submit the annexes as required for tax management in relation to enterprises with related party transactions along with the corporate income tax finalization return.

5. Fine from 15,000,000 VND to 25,000,000 VND for late submission of tax returns over 90 days from the deadline, with incurred payable tax, and the taxpayer has fully paid the tax amount and late payment interest to the state budget before the tax authority announces the tax inspection or auditing decision or before the tax authority creates the record of the tax return late submission act as stipulated in Clause 11 Article 143 of the Tax Administration Law.

In cases where the fine according to this clause exceeds the payable tax on the tax return, the maximum fine shall equal the payable tax but not less than the average range of fines specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

6. Remedial measures:

a) Mandatory full payment of late tax payment to the state budget for violations specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article if the late tax return submission leads to a delay in tax payment;

b) Mandatory submission of tax returns and accompanying annexes for the acts specified in Points c and d Clause 4 of this Article.

Thus, submitting a tax return 1 day late with mitigating circumstances does not incur an administrative penalty.

Submitting a tax return 1 day late without mitigating circumstances results in a fine for the organization ranging from 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND.

Note: The aforementioned fines apply to organizations. The fine for individuals is half the fine for organizations.

For taxpayers who are households or businesses, the fine applies as for individuals.

Vietnam: Is there an administrative penalty for late tax return submission by 1 day? (Image from the Internet)

Which tax return form is used for taxes declared and paid monthly or quarterly in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 1 Article 43 of the Tax Administration Law 2019, the tax return documentation is regulated as follows:

Tax return documentation

1. Tax return documentation for taxes declared and paid monthly is a monthly tax return.

2. Tax return documentation for taxes declared and paid quarterly is a quarterly tax return.

3. Tax return documentation for taxes with an annual tax period includes:

a) Annual tax return documentation including the annual tax return and other relevant documents to determine the payable tax amount;

b) Year-end tax finalization documentation including the annual tax finalization return, annual financial statements, related party transaction declaration; and other relevant documents for tax finalization.

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Thus, the tax return documentation for taxes declared and paid monthly is a monthly tax return, and for quarterly is a quarterly tax return.