What is electronic tax refund in Vietnam?

What is electronic tax refund in Vietnam?

Currently, there is no regulation defining what an electronic tax refund is; however, according to Article 70 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, the cases for tax refunds are stipulated as follows:

Cases for Tax Refund

1. The tax administration agency shall refund tax to organizations and individuals eligible for a tax refund under the provisions of tax law.

2. The tax administration agency shall refund the overpaid tax amount to the taxpayer if the amount paid to the state budget exceeds the amount payable to the state budget, as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 60 of this Law.

Thus, it can be inferred that an electronic tax refund is the process by which the state budget reimburses the overpaid tax amount to businesses, organizations, or individuals through the General Department of Taxation’s electronic tax system.

This process saves time and effort compared to traditional tax refunds. Taxpayers can prepare and submit tax refund applications, attach documents, supplement information, and receive processing notifications for tax refund applications online.

What is electronic tax refund in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

How does the tax authority receive and process electronic tax refund applications in Vietnam?

According to Article 27 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC, the reception of electronic tax refund applications is regulated as follows:

- The taxpayer prepares and submits the tax refund application dossier to the tax authority as follows:

+ If the tax refund application dossier consists of a tax refund application document and accompanying materials, the taxpayer shall prepare and submit the tax refund application dossier to the tax authority as stipulated in point a, Clause 5, Article 4 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC.

+ If the taxpayer requests a tax refund on the tax declaration dossier and does not have to submit a tax refund application document, the preparation and submission of the electronic tax refund application shall be done concurrently with the preparation and submission of the electronic tax declaration dossier as stipulated in Article 16 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC.

- Electronic tax refund application receipt notification

+ If the tax refund application dossier consists of a tax refund application document and accompanying materials:

Within 15 minutes from the time of receiving the taxpayer's electronic tax refund application, the electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation shall send a Receipt Notification for the electronic tax refund application (according to form No. 01/TB-HT issued together with the Circular of the Minister of Finance guiding the implementation of several articles of the [Law on Tax Administration 2019](https://lawnet.vn/vb/Luat-quan-ly-thue-2019-5EA0B.html)) to the taxpayer as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 5 of [Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC](https://lawnet.vn/vb/Thong-tu-19-2021-TT-BTC-huong-dan-giao-dich-dien-tu-trong-linh-vuc-thue-7284C.html#dieu_5).

+ If the taxpayer requests a tax refund on the tax declaration dossier:

The electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation shall receive the tax declaration dossier as stipulated in Article 16 of [Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC](https://lawnet.vn/vb/Thong-tu-19-2021-TT-BTC-huong-dan-giao-dich-dien-tu-trong-linh-vuc-thue-7284C.html#dieu_16).Immediately after sending an Acceptance Notification for the electronic tax declaration dossier, the electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation shall send a Receipt Notification for the electronic tax refund application (according to form No. 01/TB-HT issued together with the Circular of the Minister of Finance guiding the implementation of several articles of the [Law on Tax Administration 2019](https://lawnet.vn/vb/Luat-quan-ly-thue-2019-5EA0B.html)) to the taxpayer by electronic means.

How does the tax authority process and return the results of the electronic tax refund application in Vietnam?

Based on Article 28 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC, the tax authority processes and returns the results of the electronic tax refund application as follows:

Processing the tax refund application:

Acceptance Notification for the electronic tax refund application

- If the tax refund application dossier consists of a tax refund application document and accompanying materials:

+ Within 03 (three) working days from the date recorded on the Receipt Notification for the electronic tax refund application, the tax authority shall send an Acceptance/Non-Acceptance Notification for the electronic tax refund application.

+ If the taxpayer requests a tax refund on the tax declaration dossier:

The electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation shall send an Acceptance/Non-Acceptance Notification for the electronic tax declaration dossier as stipulated in Article 16 of this Circular. The Acceptance/Non-Acceptance Notification for the electronic tax refund application shall be carried out as stipulated.

- The time limit for processing the tax refund application as stipulated starts from the date recorded on the Acceptance Notification for the electronic tax refund application.

- The tax authority is responsible for processing the tax refund application dossier received by electronic means.

- If additional information or documents are needed during the processing of the tax refund application, the tax authority shall send a Request for Explanation, Information, and Supplementary Documents.

+ If the taxpayer has provided an explanation and supplementary documents but still cannot prove that the declared tax amount is correct, or if the taxpayer fails to provide an explanation or supplementary documents within the requested time limit, the tax authority shall send a Notification of Transferring the Tax refund application to Pre-Refund Audit.

+ The electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation receives the explanation, supplementary documents, or the request to cancel the tax refund application dossier from the taxpayer for the electronically submitted tax refund application.

Returning the results of the tax refund application processing:

The tax authority sends the results of the tax refund application processing received by electronic means (including notifications, decisions related to the tax refund processing and the result of the tax refund from the tax authority) to the taxpayer as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular 19/2021/TT-BTC.

Transmitting and Receiving State Budget Refund Information to/from the Treasury and State Budget Refund Accounting:

- Immediately after the issuance of the State Budget Revenue Refund Order or the Refund Order cum Offset State Budget Revenue, the tax authority sends the State Budget Revenue Refund Order or the Refund Order cum Offset State Budget Revenue to the Treasury by electronic means.

- The Treasury performs refund accounting, offset State Budget revenue accounting, and tax refund payment to the taxpayer based on the information provided by the tax authority according to current regulations.

- The transmission and receipt of refund accounting and offset State Budget revenue accounting information between the tax authority and the Treasury shall be conducted following current regulations on information exchange between the Treasury and the tax authority.

- In cases where the tax authority and the Treasury have not yet executed the electronic transmission of refund information, the tax authority shall send paper documents to the corresponding Treasury level for processing the refund to the taxpayer.