Amending the tax laws: To Synchronize regulation of tax payment deadline

It is necessary to amend some provisions on the deadline for tax payment to ensure consistency among the relevant laws. Photo: T.Linh

Lack of regulations on tax payment deadlines

According to the Ministry of Finance, at the present, the Law on Tax Administration has had a general stipulation on tax payment deadlines: “In case that taxpayers calculate tax, the deadline for tax payment is the last day of the deadline for submission of tax declaration dossiers. In case that the tax agencies make tax calculation or tax assessment, the deadline for tax payment is time stated in the tax agency's notice. For collection from land and registration fees, the tax payment deadline shall comply with the provisions of the Government and relevant laws”.

However, the Law on Tax Administration and the Law on Import and Export Tax has not provided for additional payment deadline of inadequate tax and payment deadline of tax assessment imposed on imported or exported goods which are being implemented under Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 42 of the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25th, 2015, on the principle that additional payment deadline of inadequate tax and payment deadline of tax assessment are the deadline for payment of the tax in the original declaration. Opinions of many enterprises showed that although this provision ensured equality among the enterprises, enhanced the responsibility of taxpayers in declaration, statement of tax payment had to be accurate, avoid false declaration, so that, with paying enough tax, the enterprises had to pay money due to late payment equaling nearly the tax money that caused difficulties for the enterprises.

In addition, in respect of the tax payment deadline of export or import goods, from September 1st, 2016, the tax payment deadline of export or import goods would be in accordance with Article 9 of the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax. No. 107/2016/QH13. Accordingly, there is a way to understand the tax payment deadline in Article 9 of the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax No. 107/2016/QH13 is the payment time of import tax and export tax, not applicable to the payment of other taxes for the export and import goods such as Value Added Tax, Special Consumption, Environmental Protection... Therefore, the tax administration said that it was necessary to specify the tax payment deadline (The import tax, import tax, value added tax, special consumption tax...) for the export and import goods under the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax and relevant laws to avoid different understandings.

According to the Ministry of Finance, from the practice of tax management and feedback from the enterprises, it was necessary to amend some regulations on tax payment deadline to ensure consistency between Law on Tax Administration and Law on Export Tax, Import Tax. At the same time, to create a favorable business environment and raise the competitiveness of the enterprises.

Regulate the specific tax deadline

In order to ensure consistency among the laws, the Ministry of Finance proposed amending and supplementing Article 42 of the Law on Tax Administration at the Draft Proposal for Preparation of the Law on Tax Administration. Accordingly, they would supplement the tax payment deadline: If the taxpayers calculate tax, the deadline for tax payment is the last day of the deadline for submission of tax declaration dossiers; If the tax agency makes tax calculation or assessment, the tax payment deadline is the time stated in the tax agency's notice; If the tax agency make tax assessment, the time limit for tax payment is 10 days as from the date of issuance of decisions on tax assessment; If the taxpayers make additional declarations of additional payable tax arrears, the time limit for tax payment shall be the date of registration of additional declarations. For the collection of land and registration fees, the tax payment deadline is prescribed by the Government and relevant laws.

The representative of the tax administration also suggested that for export and import goods subject to tax payment in accordance with the law on tax, the time limit for tax payment should comply with the provisions of the Law on Export Tax. Import Tax and relevant laws.

On the other hand, in the payment order of taxes, late payments and fines, the Ministry of Finance said that under Article 45 of the Law on Tax Administration (as amended and supplemented in Clause 12, Article 1 of Law 21/2012 /QH13) regulated the payment order of taxes, late payments and fines, the tax agencies were carrying out preferential payment for tax debts, then tax collect arrears, late payment, additional tax, fines. However, according to the head of the General Department of Taxation, in fact, the application of information technology was difficult to detect which is the tax debt, which is to collect arrears… to implement the payment order. This has led to incorrect payment order, raise a difference between the debt that the taxpayer monitored and the tax debt that the tax agency monitored, the money of the late payment of the tax debt was not accurate.

As a result, the Ministry of Finance proposed to amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 45 of the Law on Tax Administration in the direction that the debts incurred before would be paid in advance, irrespective of the contents of the debt, specifically as follows: The payment would be made on the principle that the amount arisen before would be paid in advance, the amount arisen would be paid later, irrespective of the contents of the payable amount to the State budget”.

Leaders of the Ministry of Finance affirmed that the positive impact of the amendment would reduce the "old" big debts that the tax agencies had to monitor. At the same time, the monitoring of the tax amount being paid between the taxpayers and the tax agencies would be uniform, facilitate the application of information technology to manage the taxes.