Vietnam: Shall offence notices in taxation be signed by the violators?

Vietnam: Shall offence notices in taxation be signed by the violators?

Pursuant to Clause 5, Article 12 of Decree 118/2021/ND-CP, the regulation is as follows:

issuing an offence notice

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5. Signing the offence notice:

a) The offence notice must be made in at least 02 copies, and must be signed by the person issuing the report and the violator or the representative of the violating organization, except in cases where the report is made according to the provisions at Clause 7, Article 58 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations; in cases where the violator cannot sign, they may use a fingerprint; if there are witnesses, translators, victims, or representatives of the damaged organization, they must also sign the report; if the report consists of multiple pages, each page must be signed;

b) In cases where the violator, the representative of the violating organization is not present at the place of violation or intentionally avoids or for objective reasons cannot sign or use a fingerprint on the report or is present but refuses to sign or use a fingerprint on the report, or in cases where the administrative violation object cannot be determined, the report must have the signature of the representative of the local government at the place where the violation occurred or at least one witness confirming that the individual or organization violated the law does not sign the report; if there is no signature of the local government representative or the witness, the reason must be clearly stated in the report.

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Thus, according to the above regulation, the offence notice in taxation is required to have the signature of the violator; if the violator cannot sign, they may use a fingerprint, except in cases where the offence notice is made and sent by electronic means to the authority of the person competent to sanction, individual, or organization violating the conditions concerning infrastructure, technology, or information.

Vietnam: Shall offence notices in taxation be signed by the violators? (Image from the Internet)

What is the time limit for issuing an offence notice in taxation in Vietnam?

According to Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree 118/2021/ND-CP, the time limit for issuing an offence notice in taxation is determined as follows:

- The offence notice is made within 02 working days from the date of discovering the administrative violation;

- In cases where the incident has many complicated details or a wide scope affecting the legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations, the offence notice is made within 05 working days from the date of discovering the administrative violation;

- In cases where the administrative violation is discovered through technical or professional means or devices, or requires determining the value of evidence, means, expert assessment, testing, or verification of related details, the offence notice is made within 03 working days from the date of identifying the violator through technical or professional means, receiving results determining the value of evidence, means, expert assessment, testing, or verification of related details;

- In cases where the administrative violation occurs on an aircraft, ship, or train, the person with the authority to make an offence notice or the aircraft commander, ship captain, train conductor is responsible for issuing the report and transferring it to the person with authority to sanction the administrative violation within 02 working days from the date the aircraft, ship, or train returns to the airport, port, or station;

- In cases where an incident involves multiple different administrative violations, including violations discovered by technical or professional means or requiring determination of the value of evidence, means, expert assessment, testing, or verification of related details, the offence notice is made for the violations in that incident within 03 working days from the date of identifying the violator through technical or professional means or receiving the complete results determining the value of evidence, means, expert assessment, testing, or verification of related details.

Which agency has authority to issue offence notices in taxation in Vietnam?

According to Clause 1, Article 36 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, the regulation regarding the authority to issue offence notices in taxation is as follows:

issuing offence notices in Taxation, Invoices

1. Authority to issue offence notices in taxation, invoices

Persons with sanctioning authority as provided in Articles 32, 33, 34 of this Decree or those performing public duties within a state administrative agency who discover acts of administrative violations in taxation, invoices have the authority to issue offence notices.

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In addition, based on Articles 32, 33, 34 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, the agencies having authority to issue offence notices in taxation include:

- Within the tax authority: tax officials performing duties, Head of the Tax Team, Head of the Tax Sub-department, Director of the Tax Department, Director-General of the General Department of Taxation.

- Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels: Chairperson of the district-level People's Committee, Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee.

- Inspectors: inspectors, individuals assigned to perform specialized inspection duties while performing public duties; Chief Inspector of the Department of Finance, Head of the Tax Department Inspection Team, Head of the General Department of Taxation Inspection Team performing specialized inspection functions; Head of the Ministry of Finance Inspection Team performing specialized inspection functions; Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Finance.