What are regulations on impoundment of items relevant to tax evasion in Vietnam?

What are regulations on impoundment of items relevant to tax evasion in Vietnam?

According to Article 122 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, specific regulations on impoundment of items relevant to tax evasion are as follows:

- The head of the tax administration agency or the head of the tax inspection team decides to temporarily impound documents and items relevant to tax evasion.

- The seizure of documents and items relevant to tax evasion is applied when it is necessary to verify circumstances as a basis for decision-making or to immediately prevent the evasion.

- During a tax inspection, if the inspected entity shows signs of dispersing or destroying documents and items relevant to tax evasion, the head of the tax inspection team performing the duty has the right to temporarily impound those documents and items. Within 24 hours from the time of seizure, the head of the tax inspection team must report to the head of the tax administration agency to issue a seizure decision; within 8 working hours from receiving the report, the authorized person must consider and issue a seizure decision. If the authorized person disagrees with the seizure, the head of the tax inspection team must return the documents and items within 8 working hours from the time of disagreement.

- When temporarily seizing documents and items relevant to tax evasion, the head of the tax inspection team must prepare a seizure report. The report must clearly state the name, quantity, and type of impounded documents and items; the signature of the person executing the seizure, and the current manager of the violating documents and items. The person issuing the seizure decision is responsible for preserving the impounded documents and items and is liable under the law if they are lost, sold, exchanged, or damaged.

+ In case the documents and items need to be sealed, the sealing must be done in the presence of the person possessing the documents and items; if absent, it must be done before family representatives, organization representatives, and local governmental representatives, and witnesses.

- Items such as Vietnamese currency, foreign currencies, gold, silver, precious stones, and metals subject to special management must be preserved in accordance with the law; items that are goods or easily perishable items must be recorded, and immediately sold to prevent loss; the proceeds must be deposited into a custody account at the State Treasury to ensure full payment of taxes, late payment interest, and fines.

- Within 10 working days from the date of seizure, the person issuing the seizure decision must handle the impounded documents and items according to the measures in the handling decision or return them to individuals or organizations if non-confiscation measures do not apply to the impounded items. The seizure duration may be extended for complex cases requiring verification but should not exceed 60 days from the date of seizure. The extension must be decided by the person with authority as outlined in Clause 1 of this Article.

- The tax administration agency must provide one copy of the seizure decision, the seizure report, and the item handling decision to the organization or individual whose documents and items are impounded.

What are regulations on impoundment of items relevant to tax evasion in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are regulations on search of premises for documents and items relevant to tax evasion in Vietnam?

According to Article 123 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, specific regulations on search of premises for documents and items relevant to tax evasion are as follows:

- The head of the tax administration agency decides to search places where documents and items relevant to tax evasion are stored. If the storage location is a residence, written consent from authorized individuals as stipulated by law is required.

- Searching a place for storing documents and items is conducted when there is a basis for suspecting storage of documents and items relevant to tax evasion.

- When searching a storage place, the owner of the place being searched and a witness must be present. If the owner is absent and the search cannot be delayed, a local government representative and two witnesses must be present.

- Searching places relevant to tax evasion documents and items is not permitted at night, during holidays, or when the owner has family events, except in cases of caught-in-the-act offenses, and the reason must be clearly stated in the report.

- All cases of searching places for documents and items relevant to tax evasion must have a written decision and a report. The decision and report must be given to the owner of the searched place with one copy.

Which entity has the authority to collect information about tax evasion in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 121 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, specific regulations on collecting information about tax evasion are as follows:

Collecting information about tax evasion

1. The head of the tax administration agency has the authority to collect agencies, organizations, and individuals with information about tax evasion to provide information in writing or to respond directly.

2. If the information is collected in writing, the agency, organization, or individual is responsible for providing accurate and truthful information as collected by content, deadline, and address; if unable to provide, a written explanation with reasons must be provided.

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According to the above regulation, the authority to collect information about tax evasion lies with the head of the tax administration agency.