A series of businesses with tax debt forced by Ho Chi Minh City Customs

	Regulations on tax debt relief for enterprises that have fled or gone missing
	A director suspended from exit for owing more than VND7 billion of tax
	Financial constraints keep HCM City businesses in tax debts

Customs officers at Saigon port zone 1 border gate inspect imported goods. Photo: T.H

Listing businesses with large debts that are forced

According to the list of 100 businesses with tax debt announced by the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department at the end of August 2023, the total tax debt amounted to VND 7,861 billion, of which the majority are businesses related to the real estate sector.

Many businesses operating in the real estate and contruction sector who have large tax debts and delay the payment, have been forced to stop doing customs procedures. On October 10, 2023, the Investment Management Customs Branch (HCMC Customs Department) issued an enforcement decision by stopping customs procedures for exported and imported goods of Housing Development and Trading Joint Stock Company (No. 36 Bui Thi Xuan, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) for the reason that the comany is owing a tax debt of nearly VND114 billion for more than 90 days from the deadline for payment. According to the reporter's research, the company is a non-state joint stock company, established in 2006; specializes in exploiting stone, sand, gravel, and clay; producing construction materials from clay; producing cement, lime and gypsum, concrete and products from cement and plaster...

Similarly, the Investment Management Customs Branch imposed an enforcment decision for Danh Khoi Viet Real Estate Services Joint Stock Company (186 Bis Tran Quang Khai, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) by stopping customs procedures for exported and imported goods from October 10, 2023 for the tax debt amount of VND48.2 billion. Danh Khoi Viet Real Estate Services Joint Stock Company was established in 2013, operates in real estate service business; real estate consulting and brokerage; real estate investment; project development…

In addition, Danh Khoi Southern Joint Stock Company (No. 3 Tran Nhat Duat, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) was also enforced in this tme. According to the enforcement decision of the Investment Management Customs Branch, this company is enforced for one year from October 10, 2023. Danh Khoi Southern Joint Stock Company was established on February 28, 2006 (formerly known as Danh Khoi Southern Real Estate Company Limited), operating in the fields of real estate business, exploitation and management of projects.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, the above enforcement decision is issued at the request of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax agency. The enforcement decision is effective for a period of 1 year from October 10, 2023. The decision will terminate when the company pays full the tax debts to the State budget.

Notice of exit suspension for 28 directors

Not only issuing enforcement decision on domestic tax debt at the request of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has applied many enforcement measures for tax debtors. According to information from the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, in early October 2023, the Saigon Port Area 1 Customs Branch issued 28 notices of exit suspension for 28 business directors with tax debts. Accordingly, the exit suspension period is from the date of signing the notice (October 4, 2023) until the taxpayer completes the tax obligation into the state budget. These Notices have been sent to the Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security and sent to the business directors.

According to the leader of the Tax Management Team under Saigon Port Area 1 Customs Branch, most of the above businesses owe tax debt for many years. Among them, there are some business directors who are hired as directors and know nothing about import-export activities, as well as the tax debt of their companies of which they are directors.

Also according to the Saigon Port Area 1 Customs Branch, the exit suspension for legal representatives of businesses with tax debt has been efficient. Previously, in the eight months of 2023, the Saigon Port Area 1 Customs Branch issued over 200 notices of exit suspension for business directors with tax debt. As a result, the branch collected more than VND12 billion.

Moreover, border gate Customs branches under Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has applied various enforcement measures, such as: stopping customs procedures for exported and imported goods; requesting revocation of business registration license; deducting money from the business's account.

According to Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, the total amount of overdue tax debt as of September 15, 2023 is over VND1,953 billion, down more than VDN457 billion compared to December 31, 2022. Of which, the total overdue debts of VND678 billion arising before 2023 is recovered and handled. Along with that, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department advised the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to issue 86 decisions to cancel irrecoverable debts worth over VND11 billion; issued 42 debt freezing decisions, with the total debt frozen over VND 28 billion.

From now until the end of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department directs units to continue reviewing and classifying debts to apply effective tax debt collection measures and prevent state budget revenue loss.