HCM City Customs Department takes measures for tax debt collection. Photo: T.H

According to HCM City Customs Department, as of February 28, the total outstanding tax debt declined by 8.39% or over VND200 billion to VND2,207 billion compared with December 31, 2022.

The debt reduction results from the completion of redetermination for the taxable value of tax debtors after conducting post clearance audit for automobiles and the promulgation of a decision on revising the payable tax amount by the HCM City Customs Department.

To effectively handle tax debts, in 2023, the city customs department will continue to speed up the classification of tax debt and develop plans to collect a tax debt.

In addition, the Department will focus on reviewing and cancelling tax debt for bad debts. As of February 28, the Department advised the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to issue 22 decisions to cancel bad debts. The amount of written-off debt is over VND 6.3 billion.

Recently, the Department has applied measures to collect import and export duties for enterprises that have delayed tax payments.

On March 10, the Investment and Processing Customs Branch under HCM City Customs Department issued a decision to suspend customs procedures for Thanh Tai Investment and Trade Joint Stock Company (address: 23 Ca Van Thinh, Ward 11, Tan Binh District, HCM City, tax code: 0302867536) to comply with the decision on tax administration under Notice 313/TB-DT dated February 14 Investment Processing Customs Branch on tax and late payment interest.

The company did not abide by Working Report No. 240/QLT/BB-HC11 dated October 10, 2012, issued by the Customs authority, Notice No. 313/TB-DT dated February 14, 2023, of the Investment and Processing Customs Branch on the outstanding tax and late payment interest with the amount of over VND12.1 billion.

In addition, customs branches have taken other measures, such as debiting accounts and suspending legal representatives of tax debtors from the exit.

The head of the Tax Management Team at 1st Zone Saigon Port Customs Branch, Ly Seng Nguon, said that from August 2022, the Team had applied coercive measures to over 180 tax debtors. The measure of suspending exit for legal representatives of tax debtors is implemented quite effectively. Many companies have paid tax debt after the Notifications of the suspension of exit were issued. The branch has collected over VND6 billion.

The Import-Export Duty Division has coordinated with customs branches to review and classify tax debts arising before January 1, 2023, in four groups: a group of bad debt, a group of frozen debt, a group of pending debt and a group of recoverable debt. The Department has also provided appropriate solutions under the provisions of law for each debt group.

The Department has processed tax debts for declarations arising in 2022 and previous years, provided settlement measures, drastically collected and enforced tax debt, reduced tax outstanding debt and prevented the increase in new tax debt.

HCM City Customs Department issued Plan No. 464/KH-HQTPHCM dated February 27 on strengthening the freezing tax debts, cancelling late payment fines and late payment interest for taxpayers who are no longer able to pay taxes under Resolution 94/2019/QH14, and directed units to review bad debt and quickly handle tax debts.

The Department has assigned officers of the Import-Export Duty Division to monitor newly arising debts, especially large debts, and coordinated with customs branches to clarify the causes of debt, assess risks and request the branches to manage tax debts in line with the provisions of Decision 2317/QD-TCHQ dated October 24, 2022.