Do customs officers on duty have right to enforce the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business for violations in Vietnam?

Do customs officers on duty have right to enforce the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business for violations in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 32 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP regulating authority to impose tax or invoice-related administrative penalties of tax authorities as follows:

1. Customs officers on duty shall be vested with the authority to impose penalties in the form of cautions.

2. Tax team leaders shall, within their assigned duties and responsibilities, have the following authority:

a) Imposing penalties in the form of cautions;

b) Imposing the fine of up to VND 5,000,000 for acts prescribed in clause 2 of Article 10; clause 2, 3 and 4 of Article 11; clause 1 of Article 14; point a, b, c and dd of clause 1 of Article 15; clause 1 of Article 20; clause 2 and 3 of Article 21; clause 1 and point c and d of clause 2 of Article 23; clause 2 and 3 of Article 24; clause 2 of Article 25; clause 2 of Article 26; point a and c of clause 2 of Article 27; point a of clause 2 and clause 3 of Article 29; clause 1 of Article 30 herein.

3. Directors of Taxation Sub-departments shall, within their remit, have the following authority:

a) Imposing penalties in the form of cautions;

b) Imposing the fine of up to VND 50,000,000 for the acts prescribed in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III herein;

c) Imposing fines for the acts prescribed in Article 16, 17 and 18 herein;

d) Enforcing the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business as a penalty for the acts prescribed in Article 21 herein;

dd) Applying remedies stipulated herein.

4. Directors of Taxation Departments shall, within their remit, have the following authority:

a) Imposing penalties in the form of cautions;

b) Imposing the fine of up to VND 140,000,000 for the acts prescribed in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III herein;

c) Imposing fines for the acts prescribed in Article 16, 17 and 18 herein;

d) Enforcing the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business as a penalty for the acts prescribed in Article 21 herein;

dd) Applying remedies stipulated herein.

5. General Director of the General Department of Taxation shall be accorded the following authority:

a) Imposing penalties in the form of cautions;

b) Imposing the fine of up to VND 200,000,000 for the acts prescribed in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III herein;

c) Imposing fines for the acts prescribed in Article 16, 17 and 18 herein;

d) Enforcing the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business as a penalty for the acts prescribed in Article 21 herein;

dd) Applying remedies stipulated herein.

Thus, customs officers on duty do not have the authority to suspend invoice printing activities for a limited time for the acts specified in Article 21 of the Decree above. The authority to suspend invoice printing activities for a period of time belongs to the Director of the Tax Department, the Director of the Tax Department, and the General Director of the General Department of Taxation in Vietnam.

In the above case, during the tax inspection process of the company's headquarters, a member of the inspection team who is a tax officer made a record of the decision to suspend the enterprise's invoice printing activities, which was not within the authority according to legal regulations in Vietnam.

Do customs officers on duty have right to enforce the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business for violations in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Does the Chairman of the People's Committee have authority to impose administrative sanctions on tax violations in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 33 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP stipulating authority to impose penalties for tax or invoice-related administrative violations of the Chairpersons of all-level People’s Committees as follows:

1. The Chairman/Chairwoman of the district-level People’s Committee shall be accorded the following authority:

a) Imposing penalties in the form of cautions;

b) Imposing the fine of up to VND 50,000,000 for the acts prescribed in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III herein;

c) Enforcing the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business as a penalty for the acts prescribed in Article 21 herein;

d) Applying remedies stipulated in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II and III herein.

2. The Chairman/Chairwoman of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall be accorded the following authority:

a) Imposing penalties in the form of cautions;

b) Imposing the fine of up to VND 100,000,000 for the acts prescribed in Chapter III herein;

c) Imposing the fine of up to VND 200,000,000 for the acts prescribed in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II herein;

d) Enforcing the temporary suspension of the invoice printing business as a penalty for the acts prescribed in Article 21 herein;

dd) Applying remedies stipulated in Article 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Chapter II and III herein.

Thus, the Chairman of the Provincial and District People's Committees has the authority to sanction administrative violations of taxes and invoices according to the law in Vietnam.

Best regards!