Temporary exit ban imposed on taxpayers with debts overdue for over 90 days

Vietnam’s tax authority has requested a temporary exit ban on those with tax debts overdue for over 90 days, especially leaders of businesses that are not operating at their registered address.

In a new document sent to localities on measures to enhance tax management effectiveness, the General Department of Taxation (GDT) said the exit ban decisions can be checked on the tax authority's website and the eTax or eTaxMobile applications.

The department will regularly review these decisions to extend or revoke them in a timely manner, it added.

The enforcement measures, including exit ban, have recently been increasingly applied by tax and customs authorities. Data from the GDT shows that since the beginning of the year, over 6,500 cases have been subjected to exit bans due to tax debts, three times the number last year.

They have collected VND1.34 trillion ($54.33 million) from 2,116 taxpayers who were banned from exiting the country.

The exit ban is one of the enforcement measures applied by the tax authority against debtors who show signs of asset concealment or fleeing.

According to the 2019 Tax Administration Law and the government’s Decree 126/2020, heads of tax and customs agencies have the authority to issue exit ban decisions for individuals and representatives of businesses who have not fulfilled their tax obligations.

At a press conference last week, Dang Ngoc Minh, deputy general director of the GDT, affirmed that the law does not distinguish between small and large tax debts. Therefore, taxpayers with debts overdue for more than 90 days will face enforcement.

These measures are taken by the tax authority to ensure budget revenues and the exit ban is just one measure among many enforcement actions against tax debtors, he said.

However, he also emphasized that the tax authority will consider applying enforcement measures suitable to each specific case.