The Ministry of Finance has tried its best to reform the administration to create maximum convenience for businesses in the field of tax and customs. That was a comment made at a Taxation Forum 2020 entitled “Tax policies support and accompany enterprises to overcome challenges facing development” held on December 18.

The forum. 

Ministry of Finance always accompanies the business

According to Le Minh Khiem, Tax Policy Department (Ministry of Finance), the Ministry of Finance has always accompanied enterprises and created the most favourable conditions for operation. The ministry has been reforming in all aspects of its work: improving the institution, the effectiveness and efficiency of the apparatus, reforming administrative procedures and promoting comprehensive modernisation in all fields of the finance sector, especially in the tax and customs sectors that are related to many and directly to businesses.

The Ministry of Finance has submitted to authorities for promulgation and implementation of many regulations and guidelines on tax and customs; to direct the General Department of Taxation, the General Department of Customs and agencies to review and develop specific action programs to reduce administrative procedures, reduce tax payment time and customs declaration time for enterprises, taxpayers and customs declarants and accelerate the application of information technology to tax and customs administration. This support of the Ministry of Finance were recognised and appreciated by the business community.

A representative of the Tax Policy Department said the Ministry of Finance always closely monitors reality, researches and submits to authorities to promulgate or amend tax laws with many policies to support businesses.

As the Covid-19 pandemic has created serious impacts on the operations of enterprises and people, the Ministry of Finance developed and submitted to competent authorities for approval and implemented synchronous solutions to remove difficulties and support enterprises, specifically the extension of the time limit for paying taxes and land rent to the subjects facing difficulties due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic; reduction of corporate income tax payable by the year 2020 for enterprises, cooperatives, non-business units and other organisations; continuing to exempt agricultural land use tax until 2025.

In addition, the department proposed the Ministry of Finance to increase the family deduction of personal income tax, reducing the tax liability of individuals; reduction of payable land rent of 2020 for those affected by the Covid-19; the reduction of environmental protection tax on flying fuel by the end of December 31, 2020; reduction of registration fee rates for domestically manufactured and assembled cars by the end of December 31, 2020; implementing import tax exemption for items serving disease prevention such as medical masks, raw materials for the production of masks, antiseptic hand sanitisers; import tax reduction for some commodity groups in order to remove difficulties for businesses and promote the development of agriculture, mechanics, supporting industries and auto industry.

Notably, the Ministry of Finance has also worked with other ministries to review, formulate and promulgate 21 circulars adjusting the rates of fees and charges in 31 current circulars on the collection of charges and fees, reducing the collection of many fees and charges greatly.

Many policies to support people and businesses

At the conference, Luu Duc Huy, Director of the Policy Department (General Department of Taxation) introduced Government Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 on sanctioning administrative violations of tax and invoices and Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government detailing some articles of the Law on Tax Administration No. 38/2019/QH14.

Along with that, presenting the content and results of implementing tax incentives to support businesses, business households and notable contents of decrees guiding the implementation of the Law on Tax Administration, Nguyen Van Phung, director of the Department of Tax Administration at Large Enterprises under the General Department of Taxation said that as of November 5, 2020, 46,265 business households applied documents for being supported to the communal People's Committee; more than 42,800 dossiers were sent to the tax agency for appraisal, of which, the number of households eligible for support is 33,251 households and ineligible is 8,368 households, the remaining dossiers continue to be assessed. In addition, the number of dossiers transferred to the provincial People's Committee for approval for support is 15,136 households.

Le Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Tax Department (General Department of Customs) also informed the Customs sector has removed difficulties for businesses in customs procedures, taxes, and trade facilitation, such as do not require customs declarants to submit paper documents of the customs documentation as photocopies; cut cases of taking samples for analysis, inspection and classification of goods in order to shorten sample return time; promptly submit to the Ministry of Finance for promulgation of a decision on the list of goods exempt from import tax for pandemic prevention and control.

Also at the forum, leaders of the Tax Policy Department (Ministry of Finance), General Department of Taxation, and General Department of Customs discussed with businesses about issues of concern such as the use of electronic invoices; electronic tax refund and exemption and extension of time for temporary import goods for re-export.