The problem of fraudulent trading of official invoices is a serious concern.

(Baonghean) - With meager capital and a fake identity card, Nguyen Huu Tai (Hamlet 14, Thanh Giang Commune, Thanh Chuong District) impersonated someone else to establish a "ghost" company and exploited legal loopholes to trade in fake invoices, causing nearly 5 billion VND in losses to the state...

From a "ghost" company...

Around mid-May 2010, a young man identifying himself as "Can Anh Tuan" (from Ho Town, Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province) came to Mr. Chinh's house in Block 13, Hung Nguyen Town, to rent an office for Anh Tuan Trading and Service Company Limited. The company's main business was trading in construction materials and construction contracting, but in the nearly one year the office was rented, there were virtually no transactions. Even "Can Anh Tuan," despite being the director, only occasionally showed up at the office. The company's irregularities were only discovered in July 2011 when the Hung Nguyen Tax Department noticed the company's failure to respond after numerous notices requesting them to declare taxes. The matter was subsequently reported to the Hung Nguyen District Police. Shortly afterward, through investigation and verification, the investigating agency discovered that 9 businesses that Anh Tuan Company had declared input tax for over a year did not have invoices, and these were all fictitious declarations. The total amount declared reached 4,969,057,000 VND.

Following this incident, an expanded investigation in Ho Town, Bac Ninh Province, led the Hung Nguyen District Police to discover that the name Can Anh Tuan was actually a fake. The mastermind had replaced the photo on the identity card with his own, photocopied it, and notarized it before submitting it to the Department of Planning and Investment to register a business. After various investigative measures, the police verified that the person named Can Anh Tuan was actually Nguyen Huu Tai (1982), originally from Hamlet 14, Thanh Giang Commune, Thanh Chuong District, residing at Hamlet 4, Xuan Vien, Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh Province. Simultaneously, an arrest warrant was issued. Along with Tai, his accomplice and the company's accountant, Tran Thi Hien (1986), residing at house number 8, alley 2, Cao Lo Street, Le Mao Ward, was also arrested. Through these two leads, the first evidence of a red invoice trading ring was uncovered.

These are the official tax invoices sold "illegally" by Anh Tuan company.

According to Nguyen Huu Tai's testimony: Around the beginning of 2010, Tai met an old friend named Tran Minh Duong (from Bac Lieu) - Director of Tan Loc Thanh Trading and Service Company Limited (Tan Lam block, Hung Dung ward). During their conversation, Duong showed Tai a "trick" to do business by trading in fake red invoices. To carry out this, Duong helped Tai create a fake identity card, then register the company at the Department of Planning and Investment. With the registered office in Hung Nguyen district, Tai was able to purchase 5 booklets of red invoices. To legitimize their business, they initially conspired to buy small quantities of goods from large companies and then use the serial numbers of those invoices to declare additional input tax. The first "target" they exploited was Thanh Lam Nguyen Company (in Thai Hoa town). Subsequently, eight other companies, including Central Vietnam Construction Materials Joint Stock Company, Dung Tam Limited Company, Hang Huyen Su Trading and Service Joint Stock Company, etc., inadvertently became business "partners" with them. After declaring the full amount of input tax, they began selling fake invoices.

To be sure, these transactions usually didn't take place at the company headquarters but rather in cafes. Initially, Can Anh Tuan (aka Tai) directly handled the transactions. Later, after Hien learned Tai's signature, Tai handed over all the transaction control to her. They also had a tacit agreement: if a customer bought invoices introduced by Tai, Tai would receive 6% of the pre-tax amount. If the customer was introduced by Hien, they would receive 5% of the pre-tax amount. Using this tactic, they sold invoices to 120 companies. Because they didn't have enough invoices, Tai and Hien even went to Duong's company to borrow a printer to print 10 more invoice books. At the investigative agency, Hien confessed to the entire incident and further explained the instances of their invoice trading, such as: In January 2011, I met Ms. Nga (Hoang Hai Co., Ltd.) and sold her 3 invoices for 1 billion 33 million dong; In November 2010, 8 invoices were sold to Hoang Linh Construction and Trading Co., Ltd. with a total value of approximately 130 million VND, and to Hoang Nguyen Co., Ltd.: 2 invoices with a total value of 440 million VND... The total amount of invoices issued was approximately 2 billion 685 million VND...

Lax management

According to Lieutenant Colonel Phan Duy Quy, Head of the Criminal Investigation Team for Order, Economic Management, Official Misconduct, and Narcotics of Hung Nguyen District Police: The trading of fake invoices has been a persistent problem for many years. However, trading under the guise of a business is a new tactic and is flourishing nationwide. It's possible that some groups specialize in organizing or hiring people to establish fictitious businesses, while others are responsible for finding locations and contacts to distribute the invoices to businesses in need. In this case, during the investigation of invoices from 120 businesses that "transacted" with Tai and Hien, many invoices were found to be from other provinces such as Thach Ha, Can Loc, Ha Tinh City (Ha Tinh), Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Tan Ky, Quy Hop, Thanh Chuong (Nghe An), Tinh Gia (Thanh Hoa), and Tay Ho District (Hanoi).

There are many reasons why businesses need official tax invoices. In Nghe An, inspections of several businesses that purchased tax invoices from Anh Tuan Company revealed that many cited the need to pay for construction materials such as sand and gravel, as these items are often not accompanied by official invoices. Regarding the seven tax invoices purchased from Anh Tuan Company, a representative from Ngu Hai Investment & Construction Joint Stock Company (Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district) stated that during the construction of rural roads in Nghi Phong commune (Nghi Loc district), the company had a transaction with a driver to transport sand and gravel, and the driver (whose address was unknown) provided the tax invoices to the company. Similarly, Anh Quan Consulting and Construction Company Limited (No. 18, Binh Trong Street, Vinh City) also cited the purchase of construction sand as an explanation for their tax invoice purchases. Besides the above reasons, it cannot be ruled out that many businesses illegally purchase tax invoices to create fictitious documents and legitimize smuggled or counterfeit goods.

How to put an end to the illegal buying and selling of fake invoices is a difficult question. According to Lieutenant Colonel Phan Duy Quỳ: There are too many loopholes in state regulations that can be exploited by criminals. Even within the tax sector, despite many suspicious cases, regulations stipulate that newly established companies can only be audited after one to two years regarding their revenue and expenditure. Furthermore, the licensing authorities are lax in their procedures, failing to verify the authenticity of identity cards, leading to many cases of licenses being issued to the wrong individuals. To rectify this situation, the involvement of all levels and sectors is needed, along with specific penalties not only for those selling but also for those buying fake invoices and operating clandestinely. Regarding this particular case, although the individuals involved have been prosecuted, the case is not yet closed and will continue to be investigated, expanding the scope and identifying more related individuals.

Phuong - Ha