“I have heard that taxpayers may pay tax debt in instalments in certain cases. So, what exactly is this regulation?” Ms. Ho Thi Xuan in Da Nang sent this question to LawNet on March 28, 2020.
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LawNet would like to answer Ms. Xuan’s question as follows:
According to Article 134 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC amended by Clause 67 Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, if the taxpayer fails to fully pay tax within 90 days from the initial deadline, extended deadline or deadline written in a tax decision issued by a competent authority, the customs authority has issued a tax enforcement decision and all of the conditions specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 39 of Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP amended by Clause 3 Article 3 of Decree No. 100/2016/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government are satisfied, the taxpayer may pay the tax debts in instalment over up to 12 months from the tax enforcement date. The taxpayer shall register and make a commitment to pay debt tax by instalments as follows:
- Tax debt that is exceeding VND 500.000.000 but not exceeding VND 1.000.000.000 shall be paid within 03 months;
- Tax debt that is exceeding VND 1.000.000.000 but not exceeding VND 2.000.000.000 shall be paid within 06 months;
- Tax debt that is exceeding VND 2.000.000.000 shall be paid within 12 months;
If the taxpayer fails to fully pay tax by the aforementioned deadline, tax payment shall be enforced. The taxpayer’s guarantee shall pay tax and late payment interest on behalf of the taxpayer in accordance with Article 39 of Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP amended by Clause 9 Article 5 of Decree No. 100/2016/NĐ-CP.
Notably, tax instalments are inclusive of the outstanding tax and late payment interest.
In order to be considered for installment payment of tax arrears, taxpayers need to send an application to the Sub-department of Customs in the case of tax arrears arising at a Sub-Department; Customs Department for the case of tax arrears gradually arising at the Post-Clearance Inspection Sub-Department or several Customs Sub-Departments under the Customs Department or the General Department of Customs for the case of tax arrears gradually arising at many Customs Departments for consideration and settlement. Application for tax payment by instalments includes:
- Dispatch requesting gradual payment of tax from taxpayers: 01 original copy;
- A letter of guarantee by a credit institution: 01 original copy (not required if an electronic letter of guarantee is already submitted).
The time limit for processing dossiers of application for installment payment of tax debts is prescribed as follows:
- Sub-departments of Customs shall respond the applicant within 01 working day after the application is submitted;
- Customs Departments shall respond the applicant within 02 working days after the application is submitted;
The General Department of Customs shall respond to the applicant within 03 working days after the application is submitted.
Nguyen Trinh
