The complex development of the Covid-19 pandemic in the world and the country recently is a huge risk for domestic economic activities, impacting directly on the revenue collection of tax sector in the following months.

General Department of Taxation also suggested local tax departments
continue to urge State revenue collection. Photo: Thùy Linh 

According to General Department of Taxation, as of the beginning of May, 53/63 localities achieved results of revenue collection by more than 35% of current appropriation. However, revenue collection is slowing due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, revenue from three economic sectors in April only reached VND 26,500 billion, equivalent to 7.8% of the current appropriation.

Besides that, the deadline for the extension of tax payment from April 2021 under Decree No.52/2021/NĐ-CP of the Government also causes an impact on revenue collection of value-added taxes and corporate income tax that is forecast to reach only 7.1% and 8.3% of current appropriation respectively. Therefore, the General Department of Taxation forecast that the revenue collection in May and the final months of 2021 would tend to slow.

In this situation, besides implementing tax policies in coordination with financial policies to contribute to the implementation of the dual goal of fighting the pandemic and economic recovery, but still ensuring fulfillment of the State revenue collection task in 2021 at the highest level assigned by the National Assembly, the Government, and the Ministry of Finance. The General Director of the General Department of Taxation Cao Anh Tuan directed units of the General Department of Taxation to continue reporting, evaluating and analysing the State revenues, the central budget in four months of 2021, the estimated five-month revenue collection of 63 localities; at the same time, carefully assessing the impact of the Government's Decree No. 52/2021 on the State revenue revenues in months and the shifting of these revenues to the last months of the year. Since then, proposing solutions to fulfill the tasks of State budget collection in 2021 of the country as well as each locality in the spirit stated in the directives and resolutions of the Government and the National Assembly.

The leaders of the General Department of Taxation also suggested local tax departments continue to urge State revenue collection for a number of central revenue collection (crude oil, natural gas, remaining profits and dividends to be shared, collection of fees for granting mineral mining rights, collection of central land use fees, fees and charges belonging to the central budget).

Tax departments also must review and evaluate the impact of the implementation of Circular No. 03/2021/TT-NHNN dated April 2, 2021 amending a number of articles of Circular No. 01/2020/TT-NHNN on setting up risk provisions, credit institutions, banks for State revenue collection in the following months in 2021; effectively deploying the approved inspection and examination plan in 2021.

General Director Cao Anh Tuan requested units to monitor, synthesise and promptly issue periodic reports on corporate health to serve the leaders of the General Department of Taxation and the Ministry of Finance at meetings of the Government; synthesise domestic revenue collection results to report to leaders of the General Department and provide to units.

The units also have to implement measures to urge and collect environmental protection tax debts for units that owe environmental protection tax. To synthesise, analyse, evaluate, classify tax debts, and supervise tax agencies in performing debt management and tax debt enforcement. Reporting on the recovery of tax debt, tax arrears to serve for the Government's regular meeting in May 2021; strengthen supervision, urge, and synthesise contents of Official Dispatch No. 774/TCT-QLN dated March 22, 2021 on the implementation of debt management measures and enforcement of tax debt recovery.

The Tax Department also continues to examine implementing businesses in 2020, perform specialised inspection in accordance with the direction of the General Department and deploy inspection at the table for enterprises with suspicious transactions.

To strive to exceed the highest level of the State revenue collection task in 2021 assigned by the National Assembly, the Government and the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Taxation requested tax authorities at all levels drastically deploy the law to carry out the State revenue collection task in 2021, focusing on reviewing, studying and submitting to competent authorities for review, amendment, supplementation and completion of tax legal documents and guidelines for the Law on Tax Administration in the direction of covering all revenue sources, improving tax administration capacity for tax authorities, preventing fraud, tax evasion, tax losses and arrears, and implementing electronic tax administration.

At the same time, the tax sector will continue to promote the application of information technology in management, creating a favourable and transparent environment for taxpayers to fulfill their obligations to the State budget.