Cases where administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations are not imposed according to the latest regulations.
"My company underdeclared VAT. Before the tax authorities announced the inspection decision, the company discovered the error, filed an amended return, and paid the remaining amount. The initial filing was delayed by one day due to a system error in the tax authority's electronic tax declaration system (official notification provided)."
Question: Can businesses be penalized for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices? This is a concern raised by Mr. Nguyen Trung D. (Thanh Vinh Ward, Nghe An Province).
Reply:
According to Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 310/2025/ND-CP (effective from January 16, 2026), enterprise B's case is not subject to administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations, as it simultaneously falls under several cases exempt from penalties as stipulated:
- Force majeure:
Taxpayers who are late in completing tax procedures electronically due to a publicly announced technical malfunction of the tax authority's information technology system are considered to have experienced a force majeure event.
Due to a one-day delay in filing the application caused by a system error, his company was not penalized for violating the deadline.
- Cases where information is incorrect but is voluntarily corrected:
Taxpayers who made errors in their tax declarations but proactively submitted supplementary tax returns in accordance with regulations and paid the full amount of tax due before one of the following dates:
+ The tax authorities announce the inspection decision;
+ The competent authority announces the inspection and audit decision;
+ or before the violation is detected.
His company has fully met these conditions, so it will not be penalized for making false declarations.
- In cases where action is taken in accordance with a written directive from a competent authority (general regulations):
Taxpayers who comply with the instructions or decisions of the tax authorities or other competent state agencies regarding their tax obligations will not be penalized and will not be charged late payment fees (except in cases where violations are discovered after inspection or audit).
- Certain cases require specific tax procedures:
Individuals who directly settle their personal income tax but submit their tax return late, but have tax refunds due;
Households and individual businesses have had their taxes assessed according to regulations.
These cases are not subject to penalties for violations of tax procedures.
- During the extended period:
No penalty will be imposed for late filing of tax returns if the taxpayer is within the period for which they have been granted an extension by the competent authority.
In the situation described above, your company was both affected by force majeure (tax authority system error) and proactively filed supplementary tax returns and paid all taxes before the inspection, therefore it was not subject to administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations.
