Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc highly appreciated the achievements of the tax and Customs sectors in revenue collection, and assigned tasks to each unit in the near future at a meeting with leaders of the General Department of Taxation and representatives of the Ministry of Finance’s departments on April 23.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc speaks at a meeting on revenue collection on April 23.. 

State revenue in 2016-2020 achieved goods results. Total revenue increased by 1.7 times compared to the previous period. Domestic revenue not only increased, but it was also more and more sustainable. The whole tax sector has effectively performed revenue collection, including publicity of tax policies, supporting taxpayers and IT application. These achievements should be promoted, the Minister of Finance said.

Minister Ho Duc Phoc asked the entire sector to base on the estimate to fulfill revenue collection. This is the most important task, because if revenue does not reach the estimate and expenditure management is inappropriate, it will be ineffective. Therefore, it is necessary to taken all measures to complete the revenue collection, the minister said.

In addition, the focus on developing legal provisions related to tax; strengthen management and prevent revenue loss in potential fields such as electronic transactions, real estate, dividend payment, associated transactions and transfer pricing.

The minister also asked the tax sector to reform the revenue collection, including strengthening deployment of e-tax payment service to the portal; information connection with agencies specialising in business registration, land data, and residential data to manage revenues and determine financial obligations.

Regarding tax inspection and audit, the minister required the tax sector to promote inspections based on data analysis of risk assessment, sampling and other information for performance; enhance qualification, professional ethics and arrange inspectorates effectively.

Also, the minister noted that in anti-tax loss, anti-actual revenue loss and potential revenue loss should be paid attention to, and the tax rate should not be increased but it still should ensure sufficient payment. Therefore, the State budget still increases while developing the economy and businesses.

“The more the country develops, the more production methods change. The tax management tools must be changed to meet the requirements,” the minister said.

Regarding Customs, Minister Ho Duc Phoc highly appreciated achievements of the General Department of Vietnam Customs. He said the current economic growth is mainly based on export and investment. Therefore, Customs plays an important role. It is not only in charge of collecting revenue but also protects the economic development, security and defense and prevents smuggling.

“Customs not only protects economic security but also to ensure the requirements of national social security,” the minister said.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs needs to focus on customs modernisation towards smart customs which is necessary. In addition, administrative procedures must be cut, especially using information technology to boost revenue collection and prevent revenue loss.

He also required Customs to facilitate customs clearance of import and export goods as quickly as possible, contributing to the circulation of production materials, promoting investment and economic development, as well as the fight against smuggling and trade fraud.

Streamline organisational structure, improve training capacity, rejuvenate officer contingent, ensure a sufficient number of officers, develop facilities and equipment. These are very important tasks for the Customs sector,

At the meeting, Director General of Taxation Cao Anh Tuan promised to closely work with the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Department of Tax Policy to fulfill assigned tasks.

After this meeting, Minister of Finance said he plans to work with units on the performance of financial market management and services. Earlier, the minister had a working session on the implementation of budget expenditure.