Guidance on inspection of VAT refund

Guidance on inspection of VAT refund

According to the Official Dispatch, the General Department of Taxation provides detailed guidance on inspection of VAT refund as follows:

- Regarding principles of implementation

+ Directors of Departments of Taxation of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall decide tax refund in eligible cases as prescribed by tax laws.

They must take full responsibility for VAT refund within the scope of state management in accordance with regulations of the Law on Tax Administration in 2019 and its guiding documents. 

They shall make sure all tax officials understand the code of conduct of the taxation sector; powers, obligations and responsibilities of officials assigned to inspect VAT refund. 

Based on the specific task of tax administration in each province, Directors of Departments of Taxation should take measures to strengthen management and supervision of officials assigned tasks related to the processing of VAT refund applications.

+ Risk management principles stipulated in the Law on Tax Administration, its guiding documents, business processes and relevant sets of criteria and risk indicators shall be adhered to. The assessment and analysis of tax and invoice-related risks shall be carried out according to each specific dossier and current tax administration in the locality.

+ Post-tax refund inspection shall be carried out drastically to closely control VAT refund to ensure compliance with policies and regulations of law. 

Departments of Taxation shall assign specific tasks of post-tax refund inspection to each division and request each official to thoroughly cover his/her locality and field assigned.  If any suspicion exists during his/her performance of official duties, immediately report it to a competent authority for consideration and decision.

- Regarding inspection of VAT refund

+ Review and aggregation of system information and application of information technology shall be promoted to share information stored on databases of assessed tax administration and invoice management -related risks and promptly inspect and supervise tax refund according to the provisions of law. Departments of Taxation shall inspect tax refund according to Articles 77 and 110 of the Law on Tax Administration in 2019, etc.

For more details, see Official Dispatch No. 5004/TCT-TTKT dated November 09, 2023.

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