Which enterprise groups will the General Department of Taxation of Vietnam focus on inspecting and auditing in 2025?

Which enterprise groups will the General Department of Taxation of Vietnam focus on inspecting and auditing in 2025?

On October 23, 2024, the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam issued Official Dispatch 2220/TTCP-KHTH 2024 regarding the orientation for the 2025 Inspection Program.

Based on the appendix attached to the Orientation for the 2025 Inspection Program issued with Official Dispatch 2220/TTCP-KHTH 2024, it is stipulated that the General Department of Taxation of Vietnam under the Ministry of Finance is directed to focus on inspecting and auditing the following 09 groups of enterprises:

(1) Enterprises in sectors or fields with high revenue potential or risks, such as: Oil and gas; petroleum; electricity; telecommunications; banking; insurance; securities; financial leasing; pharmaceuticals; real estate; construction; trading and manufacturing of gold, silver, precious stones; entertainment activities; advertising communication; e-commerce, etc.;

(2) Large-scale enterprises that have not been inspected or audited for many years;

(3) Enterprises involved in capital transfer, brand transfer, and project transfer;

(4) Enterprises issuing securities to pay dividends in shares or paying bonus shares;

(5) Enterprises with related-party transactions, transfer pricing, businesses incurring multi-year losses, or having lower performance than peers within the same industry or field;

(6) Enterprises with high invoice risks;

(7) Enterprises with signs of fraud, tax refund risks, or benefiting from tax exemptions and reductions;

(8) Enterprises with tax reduction dossiers arising from Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements;

(9) Enterprises with suspicious transaction information provided by banking inspection and supervision agencies, or customs authorities.

Which enterprise groups will the General Department of Taxation of Vietnam focus on inspecting and auditing in 2025? (Image from the Internet)

How long does the tax inspection last in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 115 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, the tax inspection period is regulated as follows:

Tax Inspection Period

1. The period of tax inspection is in accordance with the Law on Inspection. The duration of an inspection is calculated as the time conducted at the taxpayer's headquarters from the date of announcement of the inspection decision to the date of completion at the taxpayer's headquarters.

2. If necessary, the issuer of the tax inspection decision may extend the inspection period in accordance with the Law on Inspection. The extension of the tax inspection duration is decided by the inspection decision issuer.

Referencing Article 47 of the 2022 Inspection Law, it is regulated on inspection period as follows:

Inspection Period

1. The duration to conduct an inspection is regulated as follows:

a) Inspections by the Government Inspectorate must not exceed 60 days; in complex cases, it may be extended once for no more than 30 days; in particularly complex cases, it may be extended a second time for no more than 30 days;

b) Inspections by ministry, general department, department, provincial inspectorates must not exceed 45 days; in complex cases, they may be extended once for no more than 30 days;

c) Inspections by local or district inspectorates must not exceed 30 days; in complex cases or in mountainous, border, island areas or remote locations with difficult access, they may be extended once for no more than 15 days.

2. The suspension period of the inspection as regulated at Article 70 of this Law does not count towards the inspection period.

Thus, the specific tax inspection period is as follows:

- Inspections conducted by the Government Inspectorate must not exceed 60 days; in complex cases, they may be extended once for no more than 30 days; in particularly complex cases, they may be extended a second time for no more than 30 days.

- Inspections conducted by ministry, general department, department, or provincial inspectorates must not exceed 45 days; in complex cases, they may be extended once for no more than 30 days.

- Inspections conducted by local or district inspectorates must not exceed 30 days; in complex cases, or in mountainous, border, island areas, or remote locations with difficult access, they may be extended once for no more than 15 days.

Note: The duration of an inspection is calculated as the time conducted at the taxpayer's headquarters from the date of announcement of the inspection decision to the date of completion at the taxpayer's headquarters.

Vietnam: What should the tax inspection conclusion include?

Based on Article 119 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, the tax inspection conclusion should include the following contents:

- No later than 15 days after receiving the tax inspection result report, except in cases where the inspection conclusion content depends on the expert conclusion of a competent agency or organization, the issuer of the tax inspection decision must issue a written tax inspection conclusion. This conclusion should include the following main contents:

+ Evaluation of compliance with tax laws by the subject of inspection within the tax inspection content;

+ Conclusion on content inspected for taxes;

+ Clearly determine the nature, degree of violations, causes, and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals with violations;

+ Take actions within authority or recommend that competent individuals handle administrative violations according to the law.

- During the issuance of written conclusions, decision on handling, the issuer of the inspection decision has the right to request the head of the inspection team, team members to report, or request subjects of inspection to explain further necessary matters for issuing conclusions and processing decisions.