What services does a tax agent provide to taxpayers under a contract in Vietnam?

What services does a tax agent provide to taxpayers under a contract in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 104 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019, the provisions for providing tax procedures services are as follows:

Provision of services for tax procedures

1. Services provided by a tax agent to taxpayers under a contract include:

a) Procedures for taxpayer registration, tax declaration, tax payment, tax finalization, preparation of dossiers for tax exemption, tax reduction, tax refund, and other tax-related procedures on behalf of taxpayers;

b) Tax consultation services;

c) Accounting services for micro-sized enterprises as prescribed in Article 150 of this Law. Micro-sized enterprises are defined according to the provisions of law on support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. Tax agents have the following rights and obligations:

a) Provide services to taxpayers according to the agreements in the contract;

b) Comply with the provisions of this Law, tax legislation, and other relevant legal regulations during the exercise of tax procedures service practice;

c) Be responsible before the law and before the taxpayers for the contents of the services provided.

3. The Minister of Finance shall regulate the management of business activities of providing tax procedures services.

Thus, the services provided by a tax agent to taxpayers under a contract include:

- Procedures for taxpayer registration, tax declaration, tax payment, tax finalization, preparation of dossiers for tax exemption, tax reduction, tax refund, and other tax-related procedures on behalf of taxpayers;- Tax consultation services;- Accounting services for micro-sized enterprises as prescribed in Article 150 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019.

Micro-sized enterprises are defined according to the provisions of the law on support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

What services does a tax agent provide to taxpayers under a contract in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

What contents must be included in the service contract between a tax agent and a taxpayer in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 23 of Circular 10/2021/TT-BTC, regulations on services provided by a tax agent to taxpayers are as follows:

Services provided by the tax agent to taxpayers

1. Each service specified in Article 104 of the Law on Tax Administration provided by the tax agent must be clearly stated in the contract signed with the taxpayer.

2. The service contract between the tax agent and the taxpayer must specify the scope and duration of service provision; the scope of tax procedure duties authorized, and the period for which such authorization is granted.

In case the service contract for tax procedures remains valid but the tax agent is suspended from providing tax procedure services or has had its business eligibility certificate for tax procedure services revoked, the tax agent must immediately notify the taxpayer to take measures to suspend or terminate the service contract.

Thus, the service contract between a tax agent and a taxpayer must indicate the scope and duration of service provision; the scope of authorized tax procedure duties, and the period for which such authorization is granted.

If the service contract for tax procedures is still valid but the tax agent is suspended from providing tax procedure services or has had its business eligibility certificate for tax procedure services revoked, the tax agent must immediately notify the taxpayer to implement measures to suspend or terminate the service contract.

What are responsibilities of a tax agent in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 24 of Circular 10/2021/TT-BTC which outlines the responsibilities of a tax agent:

- Conduct business activities within the scope specified in the certificate of eligibility for providing tax procedure services granted by the Tax Department.

- Maintain and ensure the conditions for the issuance of the certificate of eligibility for tax procedure services throughout their operation.

- Recruit and manage tax agent staff conformably.

- Comply with tax laws, laws on corporate accounting, and other relevant legal provisions when performing services under the contract signed with the taxpayer.

- Do not collude with tax officials or taxpayers to violate tax legislation. If a tax agent assists a taxpayer in conducting tax evasion, under-declaration of tax, or commits tax procedural violations, the taxpayer must still be liable before the law for such violations; the tax agent must share liability and compensate the taxpayer as per the contract signed with the taxpayer.

- Comply with regulations on inspections related to the practice of providing tax procedures services; on behalf of the taxpayer, provide and explain information and documents at the request of tax authorities within the scope of the contract with the taxpayer to verify the accuracy of the tax declaration, tax payment, tax exemption, tax reduction, tax refund dossiers of the taxpayer.

- Keep the information confidential for the taxpayers using the services of the tax agent.

- Send notices and reports to the Tax Department through the electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation:

+ Within 5 working days from the date of any changes in tax agent staff information, send a notice of change according to Form 2.8 in the Appendix issued with Circular 10/2021/TT-BTC;

+ No later than January 15 each year, send a report on tax agent operations using Form 2.9 in the Appendix issued with Circular 10/2021/TT-BTC.

The report information is calculated from January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year.