Reforms of tax administrative procedures facilitate businesses in VN

Reforms of tax administrative procedures have helped improve Viet Nam’s business climate over the past few years.

Reforms of tax administrative procedures have work to improve Viet Nam’s business climate over the past few years. In the World Bank’s recently released Doing Business 2020 report, improvements in tax payment indicator have facilitated business activities in Viet Nam, and tax payment is one of the two indicators that see the strongest reforms.

According to the report, Viet Nam ranked 70th out of 190 economies with 69.8 points, higher than the figure of 68.36 points recorded last year. 

The focus of Viet Nam’s administrative procedure reformsover recent times is to reduce, simplify and electronizeformalities to create favorable conditions for taxpayers to perform their tax rights and obligations to the state budget, thus reducing compliance costs and administrative procedures for the state budget.

By the end of October 2019, the electronic tax filing system has been implemented in provinces, cities and 100% tax departments, with 99.29% of businesses operating nationwide having participated in using the service.

In 2018, the Government’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform announced that the tax administrative procedures had the lowest compliance costs (at VND73,000) and the shortest handling time (2.9 hours) among the eight groups of administrative procedures assessed by the Government.

The WB’s Doing Business 2020 report assessed and recorded Viet Nam’s tax administrative procedure reforms over recent times. Accordingly, the country’s tax payment index moved up 22 places in the global rankings.

According to the General Department of Taxation (GDT), carrying out directions from the Government and the Ministry of Finance, the agency has promulgated annual plans and action programs to implement administrative reforms.

Specifically, since 2014, the GDT has issued action programs to implement the Government’s Resolution No. 19/NQ-CP on key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and national competitiveness and Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP on continuing to perform key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in 2019, orientation to 2021.

In order to accomplish the set goals, right from the beginning of the year, the GDT issued an action program to implement the Government’s Resolution No. 02/NQ- Government with 15 solutions and 25 output products.

With specific solutions and tasks, the tax industry has basically achieved the envisaged objectives. In particular, the important goal of moving up 22 places in terms of the ‘Paying Tax’ index – from 131st to 109th among 190 economies in the WB’s recent Doing Business report – has exceeded the targets assigned by the Government and the Finance Ministry.

                                                                                                                     By  Vien Nhu