The Tax industry has comprehensive digital transformation

The Tax industry will continue to apply new technological achievements in accordance with international standards. Photo: ST

Many solutions to modernize tax management

The Tax sector's IT application system has been developed over more than 30 years according to the Government's reform and modernization programs, be suitable for solutions, technology, infrastructure, and equipment at tax agencies according to each stage. Implementing the National Digital Transformation program to 2025, with a vision to 2030 approved by the Government in Decision No. 749/QD-TTg in 2020, the Tax sector has made general and comprehensive changes in the way of working, bringing all activities of the Tax agency to the digital environment, innovating the operating model, changing the way of providing services based on digital technology and digital data.

According to Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, Deputy Director of the General Department of Taxation, in recent years, the Tax sector has always strived to reform and modernize management, from perfecting the legal environment to developing infrastructure and providing electronic tax services in an integrated, centralized manner, meeting the requirements of e-Government, towards a digital Government. With the motto of taking people and businesses as the center to serve, the Tax sector has been implementing many projects and tasks of applying IT in tax management and comprehensive digital transformation. “The application of IT has contributed to building a modern Tax industry that operates effectively, efficiently and successfully implements programs and plans to reform administrative procedures, recoganized and highly appreciated by organizations, businesses, individuals and the whole society,” said Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh.

Regarding administrative procedure reform, the General Department of Taxation has seriously implemented the Government's resolutions with the goal of reducing administrative procedures, simplifying regulations on business activities, building an e-Government, and creating favorable conditions for taxpayers.

Regarding the transformation of tax management at the Tax agency, determining that digital transformation is only truly successful when each person and business actively participates and enjoys the benefits that digital transformation brings about, the Tax sector is implementing many solutions to promote reform, IT application, and modernization of tax management. Specifically, deploying a centralized tax management application TMS; Electronic bill; Electronic invoice created from cash register; Analyze and classify risks in tax refund; AI application in analyzing purchase and sale chain links on electronic invoices.

In order to support taxpayers in declaring taxes, paying taxes, and electronically refunding taxes quickly and conveniently, since 2009, the Tax sector has deployed electronic tax services to serve people and businesses in the field of tax declaration, electronic tax payment and in 2017, electronic tax refund service. Especially since June 2023, the General Department of Taxation has deployed Payable ID to support taxpayers in searching and identifying payments by nature and payment order. Along with that, deploy eTax mobile application for individuals and integrate VNEID in authenticating the use of electronic tax services; building an e-commerce information portal; Electronic information portal for foreign suppliers; Providing electronic tax services through the Digital Map of household businesses.

Evaluating the digital transformation of the Tax sector, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Tax Consulting Association, said that the digital transformation of the Tax sector left a lot of impressions, of which the most prominent is the implementation of modernizing electronic invoices. The implementation of electronic invoices saves costs for the whole society in many aspects, including database research. In addition, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc highly appreciated the implementation of tax declaration of foreign suppliers on the Electronic Information Portal for Foreign Suppliers of the Taxation General Department and said that this is one of the Tax sector’s excellent activities.

Develop an integrated, centralized IT system, taking people and businesses as the center

According to Mr. Pham Quang Toan, Director of the Department of Information Technology (General Department of Taxation), in the plan to digitally transform the Tax sector until 2025, the Tax sector continues to take taxpayers as the service center by providing the most and the best services and data for taxpayers, at the same time, strengthen tax administration and strict management in accordance with the law to create fairness for taxpayers. Mr. Pham Quang Toan said that the Tax sector aims to have 100% online public services at levels 3 and 4; 90% of electronic administrative procedures at levels 3 and 4; 100% of taxpayers are granted electronic identification and authentication; Aim for 80% of records processed online; 100% of demand, centralized and integrated computerization work; 50% of testing activities are in a digital environment; 100% of staff records are stored electronically; 100% of connection and information exchange between ministries, departments and branches; 100% of reports are shared on the national reporting system.

According to Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, digital transformation is only truly successful when each person actively participates and enjoys the benefits that digital transformation brings. To achieve the set goals, the Tax sector identifies solutions to develop IT in the Tax sector in the period 2021-2025 in the direction of integration, concentration, taking people and businesses as the center, meeting the requirements of digital Government. Accordingly, increasing transparency and efficiency, increasing work processing speed, reducing operating costs, as well as ensuring uniformity and effectiveness of state management. At the same time, providing digital tax services and electronic data to facilitate taxpayers, contributing to improving Vietnam's ranking in terms of tax simplicity and convenience; Build integrated platforms and big data platforms to provide complete information for executive direction, connect and exchange information between state management agencies, and support management work of taxes, tax risk management and policy planning. The Tax sector will also continue to apply new technological achievements in accordance with international standards to automatically handle tax management business processes and analyze big data to serve policy planning and revenue forecasting, propaganda to support taxpayers, risk management, compliance management, tax inspection, tax audit, tax investigation; Developing IT technical infrastructure, advanced, modern, and synchronous equipment, ensuring continuous operation, efficiency, information safety and data security.

As of October 31, 2023, the Tax sector has received and processed more than 5.67 billion electronic invoices; 912,339 businesses have implemented electronic tax declaration, reaching 99.92% of operating businesses; There are 904,730 businesses making electronic tax payments, reaching a rate of 99.09%, with over 3.4 million electronic tax payment transactions with an amount of over 642.9 trillion VND and over 4.8 million USD. By October 31, 2023, there were 74 foreign suppliers successfully registered and declared taxes on the Foreign Supplier Portal; 375 e-commerce platforms (e-commerce) send information through the e-commerce information portal, etc.