Vietnam: Shall a physical dossier be submitted by post when there is an error of the technical infrastructure system by the deadline?

Vietnam: Shall a physical dossier be submitted by post when there is an error of the technical infrastructure system by the deadline?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 9 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC, the regulations are as follows:

Handling issues during e-tax transactions

1. In the event that e-transactions cannot be performed due to errors in the taxpayer's technical infrastructure, the taxpayer must rectify the issue themselves.

If the tax dossier submission deadline is due and the taxpayer's technical infrastructure system has not been rectified, the taxpayer may transact with the tax authority via the method of submitting paper documents directly at the tax authority or through postal mail, and pay taxes directly at banks or State Treasury (KBNN) as stipulated in Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP and the implementing documents.

2. If e-transactions cannot be performed due to errors in the technical infrastructure of banks or intermediary payment service providers, the bank or intermediary payment service provider must inform the taxpayer and coordinate with the General Department of Taxation to receive prompt support and quickly resolve the issue; taxpayers are entitled to pay through another bank/intermediary payment service provider or directly at banks/KBNN as stipulated in Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP and the implementing documents.

If errors in the infrastructure of a bank or intermediary payment service provider cause discrepancies in the taxpayer's National State Budget (NSNN) payment documents (such as the payment date, tax amount, the taxpayer's tax code, tax payment account, KBNN account, tax authority information, information recorded by the bank) or if the bank or intermediary payment service provider transfers funds to NSNN not in accordance with the legal deadlines affecting taxpayers' rights, actions must be taken as regulated in Article 27 of the Law on Tax Administration, Article 30 of Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP, and guiding documents of the Law on Tax Administration.

Therefore, there are currently many methods available should online systems be faulty. Specifically, if the tax dossier submission deadline is due and the taxpayer's technical infrastructure issues have not been rectified, taxpayers can transact with tax authorities by submitting paper documents directly at the tax office or via postal services, and pay taxes directly at banks or KBNN according to the aforementioned regulations.

Vietnam: Shall a physical dossier be submitted by post when there is an error of the technical infrastructure system by the deadline? (Image from the Internet)

Is an overpaid fine considered an e-document in e-tax transactions in Vietnam?

According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 6 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC, which guides e-transactions in the field of taxation issued by the Minister of Finance, the regulation is as follows:

e-documents in e-tax transactions

1. e-documents include:

a) e-tax dossiers: taxpayer registration dossiers; tax declaration dossiers; confirmations of tax obligations; review of tax payment information; procedures for offsetting tax, late payment charges, overpaid fines; tax refund dossiers; tax reduction or exemption dossiers; exemption from late payment charges; non-calculation of late payment charges; debt tax warehousing dossiers; dossiers for tax debt write-offs, late payment charges, fines; tax payment extensions; installment of tax debt payment, and other tax dossiers and documents in e-form as stipulated by the Law on Tax Administration and related guiding documents.

b) e-NSNN payment documents: NSNN payment documents as prescribed in Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP dated January 20, 2020, by the Government of Vietnam regarding administrative procedures in the field of State Treasury (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP) in e-form. In cases where tax payments are made electronically through a bank or intermediary payment service provider, the NSNN payment document must be the transaction document of the bank or intermediary payment service provider ensuring all required information on the NSNN payment document form is included.

c) Notices, decisions, and other documents from tax authorities in e-form.

d) The e-documents referred to in this clause must be electronically signed as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular. In cases where e-tax dossiers include accompanying paper documents, they must be converted into e-form as regulated by the Law on e-Transactions and Decree No. 165/2018/ND-CP dated December 24, 2018, by the Government of Vietnam on e-transactions in financial activities (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 165/2018/ND-CP).

Thus, we can see that e-documents include e-tax dossiers: taxpayer registration dossiers; tax declaration dossiers; confirmation of tax obligations; review of tax payment information; procedures for offsetting overpaid fines and other types...

Therefore, overpaid fines are still considered e-documents under the regulations.

What are regulations on registration for using digital certificates and mobile phone numbers to conduct e-transactions in the field of taxation in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 7 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC, the regulations on registration for using digital certificates and mobile phone numbers to conduct e-transactions in the field of taxation are as follows:

- Taxpayers are required to register one or more digital certificates to conduct e-tax transactions and can use multiple digital certificates for a single tax administrative procedure.

- Before using digital certificates for e-tax transactions, taxpayers must register their digital certificates with the tax authority.

- Individuals specified in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article are required to register a unique mobile phone number to receive authentication codes for each e-transaction via “text message” with the tax authority.

- Taxpayers as specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article must register a unique mobile phone number of an individual or an individual as the legal representative of the organization to receive authentication codes via “text message” when submitting the first e-taxpayer registration dossier to the tax authority.