Vietnam Tax Department Orders Streamlined Procedures for Business Deregistration

The Vietnam Tax Department (Cục Thuế) has issued an urgent directive on September 11th to expedite the "Tax Code Cleanup Campaign - Removing Business Bottlenecks." The directive mandates that local tax authorities must not request additional, unsubstantiated procedures or documents, nor demand repeated explanations from businesses when they are undergoing the process of deregistering their tax identification numbers (mã số thuế). The Tax Department acknowledged that the initial phase of the campaign has yielded positive results, but stressed the need for improvement in both the pace and quality of hồ sơ (document) processing. It noted that some taxpayers have not received adequate and timely guidance on procedures for tax code termination and restoration, and that interpretations and handling vary among different tax units. Consequently, local tax authorities are required to clearly publicize the required documents, procedural steps, tax obligations, and common penalties. Tax officials are prohibited from requesting additional procedures or documents without legal basis, refusing to accept applications, or demanding multiple explanations that are not in accordance with regulations. For cases where tax obligations are clearly determined, tax authorities must provide a comprehensive notification of outstanding amounts, overpayments, or refund eligibility, along with the necessary actions for businesses. If tax obligations are fully met, a confirmation notice must be issued within three working days, allowing businesses to proceed with their applications to the business registration authorities. The Tax Department also highlighted issues concerning businesses that have submitted dissolution dossiers and requested tax code termination, completing their tax declarations, but are experiencing processing delays. These businesses should not be required to submit additional declarations or pay fees for subsequent periods due to prior delays. This regulation also applies to businesses whose tax code deregistration applications have been processed, subsequently identified as "not operating at the registered address" (status 06). In such cases, businesses are exempt from filing tax declarations for the period from their application submission until processing is complete, unless there are actual tax finalization or liabilities incurred during that time. For businesses that have fulfilled their tax obligations but cannot complete dissolution due to a lack of coordination or technical errors between tax and business registration agencies, relevant units must conduct reviews and processing. Cases exceeding 180 days without resolution require cause identification for decisive settlement. According to the Tax Department, as of September 8th, the processing rate for businesses and organizations that have ceased operations but not completed tax code termination procedures (status 03) reached an average of 36% across 34 localities. Lai Châu Province recorded the highest rate at 74.8%, followed by Gia Lai (66.6%), Hanoi (62.5%), and Ninh Bình (61.5%). Ho Chi Minh City, despite a lower rate of 19.6%, accounted for the largest absolute number of processed cases nationwide, representing 26.1% of the total. The volume of remaining hồ sơ is considered substantial, particularly in key economic areas. Heads of provincial and municipal tax departments are tasked with allocating personnel to process pending applications and overseeing public service performance, including addressing complaints regarding harassment or corruption during dissolution and termination processes.