Which agencies are the tax authorities in Vietnam?

Which agencies are the tax authorities in Vietnam?

According to clause 2, Article 2 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, the tax authorities includes:

- Tax agencies, which consist of the General Department of Taxation, Department of Taxation, Sub-department of Taxation, and Regional Taxation Sub-department;

- Customs agencies, which consist of the General Department of Customs, Department of Customs, Post-clearance Audit Department, and Sub-department of Customs.

Which agencies are the tax authorities in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are the duties and powers of the tax authorities in Vietnam?

According to Article 18 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, the duties of the tax authorities in Vietnam include:

- Organizing the implementation of tax collection management and other revenues belonging to the state budget as prescribed by tax laws and other relevant laws.

- Propagating, disseminating, and guiding tax laws; openly posting tax procedures at the headquarters, websites of tax agencies, and on public media.

- Explaining and providing information related to determining tax obligations for taxpayers; tax agencies are responsible for openly posting the payable tax amounts of business households and individual businesspersons in the commune, ward, or commune-level town.

- Keeping taxpayer information confidential except for information provided to competent authorities or information disclosed publicly as per legal regulations.

- Implementing tax exemption; tax reduction; debt cancellation of tax, late payment interest, fines; waiving late payment interest, fines; not calculating late payment interest; extending the tax payment deadline; gradually repaying tax debts; freezing tax debts, not collecting tax; handling overpaid tax, late payment interest, fines; and tax refund as provided by this Law and other relevant laws.

- Certifying taxpayer’s tax obligation fulfillment upon request as per legal regulations.

- Resolving complaints and denunciations related to the implementation of tax laws within their authority.

- Delivering tax inspection and audit records, conclusions, and handling decisions to taxpayers and explaining upon request.

- Compensating for damages to taxpayers according to the laws on state compensation responsibility.

- Appraising to determine the payable tax amount of taxpayers upon the solicitation or request of competent state authorities.

- Developing and organizing the electronic information system and applying information technology to implement electronic transactions in the tax domain.

According to Article 19 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, the powers of the tax authorities include:

- Requesting taxpayers to provide information and documents related to determining tax obligations, including investment value information; account numbers, and transaction content of accounts opened at commercial banks and other credit institutions, and explaining tax calculation, declaration, and payment.

- Requiring organizations and individuals related to providing information and documents related to determining tax obligations and cooperating with the tax administration to implement tax laws.

- Inspecting and auditing taxes as prescribed by law.

- Imposing tax.

- Forcing the execution of administrative decisions on tax management.

- Sanctioning administrative violations regarding tax management within authority; publicly disclosing tax law violations on public media.

- Applying preventive measures and ensuring administrative violation sanctions in tax management comply with legal regulations.

- Delegating tax collection for some types of taxes to agencies, organizations, or individuals as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam.

- Applying the advance pricing agreement mechanism for tax assessment with taxpayers, with foreign tax authorities, and territorial tax authorities with which Vietnam has signed agreements to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion regarding income taxes.

- Purchasing information, documents, and data from domestic and foreign providers to serve tax management; paying the cost of tax collection authorization from collected tax amounts or from the tax administration's budget as regulated by the Government of Vietnam.

What are the principles of tax administration in Vietnam?

According to Article 5 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, the principles of tax administration are as follows:

- All organizations, households, business households, and individuals have the obligation to pay taxes as prescribed by law.

- Tax administration agencies and other state agencies assigned the task of managing collection implement tax administration as provided by this Law and other relevant laws, ensuring openness, transparency, and equality, and protecting the legal rights and interests of taxpayers.

- Agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for participating in tax administration as prescribed by law.

- Reforming administrative procedures and applying modern information technology in tax management; applying tax administration principles according to international practice, including the principle that the substance of operations and transactions determines tax obligations, risk management principle in tax administration, and other principles suitable to Vietnam’s conditions.

- Applying preferential measures during tax procedures for export and import goods as prescribed by customs law and regulations of the Government of Vietnam.