Customs focuses on reviewing debt handling throughout industry

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The General Department of Customs requires local customs departments to direct their subordinate units to carry out debt management.

Accordingly, for declarations of release of goods and goods brought for storage that have gained results of analysis, classification, appraisal or price consultation but the taxpayer does not make additional declarations according to regulations, Customs officers update the tax receivables on the centralized tax accounting system according to the instructions in the Handbook issued together with Decision No. 1647/QD-TCHQ dated June 26, 2020 of the General Department of Customs, tax assessment, administrative sanctions (if any) according to regulations.

In particular, the Directors of local Customs Departments direct customs branches to promptly inspect and review declarations of goods release awaiting the results of price consultation, results of analysis, classification, inspection, and bringing goods for preservation, delay in approving additional declarations or not yet approving additional declarations, calculation of late payment interest and administrative sanctions (if any) according to regulations.

Professional units regularly coordinate with the import-export tax accounting units to check data arising in the accounting term before closing the accounting term. It ís ensured that the detailed tracking of data of the professional units must be consistent with the general data of the accounting units when closing the accounting term according to the provisions of Article 18 of Circular 174/2015/TT-BTC.

Civil servants of the Import-Export Tax Division of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department review and classify tax debts. Photo: T.H

The General Department of Customs also requires units to strengthen the implementation of enforcement measures to collect tax debt according to the provisions of Articles 124 and 125 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019. In cases where taxpayers owe overdue debt for more than 90 days since the date of the tax payment deadline expries, the extension period expires, the tax payment period expires, and the time for paying fines for administrative violations expires, the Customs agency must take enforcement measures to expedite tax debt recovery.

The General Department also requires units to review debt management records to implement enforcement measures or the enforcement measures have expired but debt has not been recovered or collected debt amount is not enough to take further enforcement measures.

In case enforcement measures to enforce administrative decisions on tax management are not effective, the Customs agency moves on to the further enforcement measure.

Through a review of the centralized tax accounting system at the General Department of Customs, there is currently a situation where taxpayers have tax debt for many declarations but have not yet classified their debt into two different debt groups (bad debt group and recoverable debts). In addition, taxpayers are classified into the group of bad debts (taxpayers are no longer active at the business registration address), but when looking up on the website of the General Department of Taxation, the taxpayers are active or taxpayers temporarily suspended business for a certain period of time, are classified into the group of bad debts, but at the end of the temporary suspension period, the businesses resumed operations but the Customs agency has not yet reclassified them to the group of recoverable debts.

Therefore, the General Department requests the Directors of local Customs Departments to direct their branches to regularly review and coordinate with relevant authorities to verify the operational status of busineses to reclassify them into correct debt group.

The General Department of Customs emphasized that debt classification is carried out according to the instructions in the Debt and other revenue management process for import and export goods issued together with Decision 2317/QD-TCHQ dated October 24, 2022 of the General Department of Customs.

Regarding handling of temporarily collected tax debt, according to the General Department of Customs, in cases where a taxpayer has a declaration to pay provisional tax but has not yet made tax liquidation according to regulations and owes tax (including import tax, VAT, etc.). .), units shall base on Clause 5, Article 35 of Circular 194/2010/TT-BTC and Article 21 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC as amended and supplemented in Clause 10, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018 /TT-BTC to handle provisional tax and monitor specialized tax debt according to regulations.

Regarding tax debt freezing, cancellation of late payment debt, and fines, in order for debt freezing and cancellation to be most effective, the General Department of Customs recommends that units review tax debts that meet the conditions of debt freezing and debt cancellation specified in Article 83 and Article 85 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019.

The General Department of Customs also requests units to complete documents and procedures to issue debt freezing decisions and submit them to competent authorities for debt cancellation according to the process of tax debt freezing and cancellation of late payment debt, fines and late payment penalties issued together with Decision No. 3009/QD-TCHQ dated November 19, 2021 of the General Department of Customs.