Administrative reforms in the tax sector to meet integration requirements.

(Baonghean) - Tax administration reform is both a goal and a driving force supporting comprehensive tax reform, and must focus on reducing the overload of the tax management system, reducing tax collection management costs and costs for businesses. Nghe An Tax Department.

Unloading goods at the Golden Pig Factory (Nam Cam Industrial Park).

Reform at the central level

For nearly 10 years, the National Assembly, the Government, the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant agencies in general, and the tax sector nationwide in particular, have been striving to implement the program of reforming and modernizing Vietnam's tax system with the goal of building a comprehensive, unified, fair, and effective tax policy that truly serves as an effective and efficient tool for macroeconomic management, consistent with the socialist-oriented market economy.

To date, the tax system and policies are being fundamentally revised step by step towards simplification, transparency, clarity, and ease of implementation, meeting the requirements of simplifying administrative procedures, international economic integration, promoting production development, increasing the competitiveness of domestically produced goods and services, encouraging exports, and fostering technological innovation.

The Vietnamese tax sector has completed 100% of the implementation of administrative procedure simplification (simplifying 222 out of 222 administrative procedures).

In 2014 and early 2015 alone, the Tax Department revised, supplemented, and developed 44 procedures, regulations, and operational manuals; reviewed and systematized the list of administrative procedures in the tax field, comprising 421 administrative procedures (including 4 procedures at the General Department of Taxation level, 236 procedures at the Tax Department level, and 181 procedures at the Tax Sub-department level).

The VAT declaration procedures for businesses have been greatly simplified in Circular 119 and Circular 151 guiding Decree 91.

Accordingly, businesses are not required to declare information and figures unrelated to their tax calculations, such as invoices for goods and services that are not eligible for tax deduction; invoices that do not need to be aggregated in the tax return; or information that the tax authorities cannot immediately verify or cross-check on the records...

In fact, businesses have saved a lot of time, allowing them to focus on production and business operations.

As of the end of April 2016, 99.56% (over 529,000 businesses) out of a total of more than 531,000 businesses nationwide had implemented electronic tax filing (currently with over 30.5 million records) across all 63 provinces and centrally-governed cities.

Nghe An Tax Department - a shining example of administrative reform

Representatives from the Ministry of Finance presented the Ministry of Finance's Certificate of Commendation to the NA Tax Department.

Tax management in the area faces many difficulties; there are not many large enterprises to collect revenue from, and domestic revenue is less than 10,000 billion VND/year. However, the Nghe An Tax Department always strives to achieve high efficiency through various management solutions.

In recent years, the Nghe An Provincial Tax Department has been known as a unit with strong administrative reform capabilities within the province and the national tax sector. In 2012-2013, the Nghe An Provincial Tax Department was ranked first in the entire province for its effective implementation of administrative reform; in 2013,

The eFinance magazine - The Department of Information Technology and Financial Statistics (Ministry of Finance) ranked the Nghe An Tax Department first among 63 tax departments in terms of readiness for IT development and application; in 2014 and 2015, it received commendations from various levels for administrative reform.

The Nghe An Provincial Tax Department is a pioneer nationwide in implementing the "Online Video Conferencing System" between the Provincial Tax Department Office and the District, City, and Town Tax Offices. It is a leading unit nationwide in achieving the target of online tax declaration; actively and proactively implementing the Ministry of Finance's budget revenue modernization project; and effectively and promptly implementing tax collection through commercial banks. To date, 100% of its officials and employees have registered their commitment and effectively implemented administrative procedure reforms in their work.

The Nghe An Tax Department is also a leading unit nationwide in the implementation of online public services - electronic tax payment, and has been awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Minister of Finance. Nearly 100% of businesses have filed their taxes online, contributing to the reform of tax procedures for many businesses.

Produced at Nghia Dan MDF wood factory. Photo by Van Doan.

Mr. Vuong Dinh Chinh, Head of the Taxpayer Support and Propaganda Department of the Nghe An Tax Department, stated: The administrative reform goals of the Nghe An Tax Department by 2020 are:

Proactively advise and propose amendments, additions, and improvements to the tax policy system and related documents; continue to streamline the organizational structure of tax agencies to meet task requirements; and build and improve the quality of the staff and civil servants.

Regularly organize and disseminate tax policies and laws, ensuring that 100% of new tax policies are implemented to taxpayers. 100% of administrative procedures are posted and publicly displayed at the headquarters of tax authorities at all levels; through the integrated one-stop service system and on the Tax Department's website. 100% of departments and sub-departments receive and process tax-related documents and procedures in accordance with policies and regulations and within the prescribed timeframe.

100% of businesses are allowed to file tax returns online and pay taxes electronically; the process of receiving and returning results via the internet is implemented for some areas such as tax registration, tax refunds, tax exemptions and reductions...;

Regularly organize inspections and monitoring to ensure 100% implementation of the annual administrative reform inspection plan at the subordinate tax offices and branches; inspect the handling of administrative procedures to promptly detect violations and shortcomings so that appropriate measures can be proposed and handled in accordance with regulations.

In the first five months of 2016, Nghe An province's tax revenue reached 3,798 billion VND, achieving 36.9% of the projected target and increasing by 17.8% compared to the same period last year. The Nghe An Tax Department is directing continued administrative reforms, effective application of technology, and removal of difficulties for businesses to rapidly increase revenue and complete the plan.

To date, the Nghe An Tax Department has achieved 100% implementation of the one-stop service mechanism across all 22 units; 100% of administrative procedures and documents are received, processed, and results are returned through this mechanism. On average, the entire department receives over 70,000 administrative procedures and documents annually; over 99.9% of these procedures are processed and results are returned on time or ahead of schedule.

Minh Phong - Tran Chau