New tax fraud through gifts

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Illustrative photo.

Low rates and tax fraud

The Inspectorate Division - Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has just checked and discovered that Khoa and Vy Trade and Service Company Limited wrongly declared Customs for tax fraud through gifts.

According to the leaders of Inspectorate Division, the company has opened many Customs declaration forms for gifts according to type H11 declaration. The items were declared as stainless steel kitchenware, pots, pans, metal kitchen utensils, which were imported from Japan and France. Most declarations were systematically classified in Green Channel.

Through inspections, the Inspectorate Division found that most of the shippers were Vietnamese individuals, sometimes were shippers from France who had a freight forwarding business as International A.O.P. The weight of shipments was under 100 kg, the value declared for shipments ranged from less than VND 2 million to less than VND 10 million, but the actual value of these shipments was much higher than declared value. Typically, 91 kg of gifts imported from Japan was classified in Green Channel. With signs of violation, the Customs stopped the Customs clearance of these goods to implement physical inspections of goods. As a result, there were no "Kitchen shelves" as declared. The actual imported goods included kitchen utensils, such as: cooking pots, pans, toasters, pots, rice cookers, frying pans. This shipment was worth more than VND 5.1 million, and import tax and VAT were more than VND 1 million. After being stopped Customs clearance, the company declared to add the value of goods of more than VND 40 million, and import tax and VAT reached more than VND 14 million. Thus, only with 1 lot of gifts, the tax difference increased by more than VND 13 million compared to the original declaration.

At the same time, the shipping company confirmed freight charges in Vietnam of more than VND 7.3 million (wrong compared to the shipping document). The Customs value (taxable value) of this lot was estimated at VND 32 million, the amount of payable import tax was more than VND 10.5 million (the difference was VND 9.5 million, higher than the paid tax).

Similarly, the lot of 52 kg imported from France with the value declared on the invoice as Eur 80 was adjusted with information on value of goods and goods on the manifest from Eur 80 to Eur 441,32. The name of the goods was transferred from kitchen shelves to milk powder, coffee, bags, and sports shoes.

From the above-mentioned incidents, the Inspectorate Division and the Customs Branch of Express Cargo worked with the legal representative of the company. This person certified that all consignments sent to the company were ordered by individuals in Vietnam. Freight was paid in Vietnam. The actual value of the goods was greater than the declared value on the bill and shipping manifest. The commodities included a variety of items, such as food additives and kitchenware of all kinds.

At present, the Customs Branch of Express Cargo is carrying out Customs procedures for dealing with violations of the wrong-importing Customs declaration which caused loss of tax revenues and violation of import conditions for specialized goods.

Fraud warning

According to the Inspectorate Division - HCM City Customs Department, the imported goods of the Khoa and Vy Trade and Service Company Limited from Japan and France were the key lines of consumer goods at a high value. Although the gifts were sent to the company, but the sender was under an individual’s name in Vietnam. However, for a long time, the shipment was declared with the same name as "Metal kitchen shelves", the value of the declaration was low, and VNACCS / VICS system was cleared in Green Channel.

In fact, to perform the function of State management over customs, to combat smuggling and tax fraud, Ho Chi Minh City Customs has instructed the relevant units to supplement the Department's smuggling prevention plan on tricks, methods and ways of importing goods that have been cleared in Green or Yellow Channel without checking. (including H11 gifts and business types). In addition, HCM City Customs shall provide detailed guidance, the method of reviewing, statistics and analysis of risk signs for Customs declarations through the Green channel so as to identify key shipments for inspections.

The Risk Management Division shall guide the Customs Branches to take professional measures to identify key shipments, key routes and key Customs declarants. In addition, the Information Technology Division will guide the Customs Branches how to look up the Green Statutory Customs declarations to serve the post-customs clearance inspections and gather information.

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The Customs Branch of Express Cargo and other Customs Branches shall have to base themselves on the functions and tasks of the teams to assign the task of reviewing, controlling and gathering information. When there are signs of suspicion, it is necessary to expeditiously carry out control measures in order to identify goods under Customs supervision. The Import-Export Tax Division shall guide the Customs Branches to check the Customs value for goods declared under the form of gifts. The Customs Control Team shall set up specialists to fight and eliminate lines of abusing policies and loopholes in the Customs procedures mechanism applicable to gifts and presents for smuggling and tax fraud.