The first-instance trial panel of the HCM City People's Court rejected the petition of the enterprise and retained the content of 20 decisions on tax arrears of VND 25 billion of the HCM City Customs Department.

Cars are imported through HiepPhuoc port, HCM City . Photo: T.H 

After three trials in October and November, the first-instance trial panel of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court rejected the petition of General Motors Vietnam Co., Ltd and retained the content of 20 decisions on tax assessment of HiepPhuoc Port Border Gate Customs Branch (HCM City Customs Department) with collected amount of more than VND 25 billion.

The Customs branch checked the declared value and conducted a consultation for the declarations with suspicious signs of the value of General Motors Vietnam Co., LtdAccording to the case dossier, in 2017, General Motors Vietnam Co., Ltd (TuHiep Commune, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi) opened 20 customs import declarations for Chevrolet Colorado pickup trucks with double cab via Chi HiepPhuoc Port Border Gate Customs Branch.

As a result, in 2017 and 2018, HiepPhuoc Customs Branch rejected the declared value and imposed tax of more than VND 25 billion on 20 customs import declarations for thepickup trucks due to the special relationship between the buyer and seller which affected the transaction value.

The Customs branch applied the deductive method specified in Article 12 of Circular No. 39/2015 / TT-BTC to determine the price of the imported goods in the declarations. The taxable price re-determined by HiepPhuoc Port Border Customs branch is consistent with the provisions of Article 12 of Circular No. 39/2015 / TT-BTC.

Notably, at dialogues between General Motors Vietnam Co., Ltd and HiepPhuoc Port Border Gate Customs Branch, General Motors Vietnam Co., Ltd. did not prove that the special relationship between the buyer and the seller did not affect the selling price. According to provisions in Clause 3, Article 6 of Circular 39/2015 / TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015, the Customs Branch of HiepPhuoc Port Border Gate rejected the declared value of General Motors Vietnam Co., Ltd. in the declarations.

Disagreeing with the consultation result and tax assessment decision, General Motors Vietnam Company Limited filed a complaint. To settle the complaint of the company, the director of Hiep Phuoc Port Border Gate Customs Branch concluded the rejection of the declared value and re-determination of the taxable value and decisions on tax assessment of the customs branch are in compliance with regulations. The content of the complaint of General Motors Vietnam Company Limited is not sufficient basis for consideration.

After that, the company took the decision on tax assessment Hiep Phuoc Port Border Gate Customs Branch to theHCM City People's Court.

At the trial, representatives of the Import-Export Tax Division and HiepPhuoc Port Border Gate Customs Branch (HCM City Customs Department) gave many arguments and grounds at the request of the trial panel and successfully protected the rights and legal benefits for HCM City Customs Department, keep the imposed tax amount, and collect the tax arrears to the State budget.

For many years, in addition to creating favourable conditions for enterprises in import and export activities, HCM City Customs Department has effectively implemented the task of anti-Stare revenue loss, building a fair business climate among enterprises. On yearly average, HCM City Customs Department increases State budget revenue by hundreds of billion dong through price consultation for import and export goods.