Removing obstacles in value added tax policy

VTV.vn - When tax policies are built reasonably and in accordance with reality, capital flows of new enterprises will be circulated.

The amended Law on Value Added Tax (VAT) officially took effect on July 1. After more than three months of implementation, the implementation process has shown many difficulties. Especially in the application of tax regulations on agricultural, forestry and fishery products. While this is a field that plays a strategic role in Vietnam's export and social security. At the workshop "Removing obstacles on value added tax policy for the agricultural, forestry and fishery sector" recently organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Associations and experts specifically identified current difficulties and proposed appropriate adjustment solutions, to contribute to supporting businesses in sustainable development.

A representative of the Vietnam Coffee - Cocoa Association said that according to Decree 209 of the Government effective from 2014, agricultural products that have undergone conventional preliminary processing such as green coffee beans are not subject to VAT.

However, after 11 years, the amended VAT Law No. 48 again applies a tax rate of 5%. The new regulation forces exporting enterprises to temporarily pay and wait for tax refunds, while the current tax refund procedures still have many strict conditions. Many enterprises have to wait for many months, even a whole year, causing capital flow stagnation and affecting production and business.

Mr. Thai Nhu Hiep - Vice President of the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association said: "Coffee is too big, a tax refund of tens of millions of dollars, if converted to Vietnamese currency is tens of billions, looking at the number is scary. People will not be able to have capital to continue their activities."

The amended Law on VAT officially takes effect from July 1.

The Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association believes that legitimate businesses are still concerned about legal risks in the tax refund process. The reason is that they cannot fully control the origin of input invoices, while they only undertake the final production or export stage.

Mr. Ngo Sy Hoai - Vice President of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association shared: "There is a risk of getting into trouble with the law when among thousands of files there are a few files with incorrect declarations, or when buying and selling invoices and documents, the leading enterprise must take responsibility."

The proportion of exported goods in the agricultural, forestry and fishery groups currently accounts for 80-90%. With this characteristic, most of the VAT is only temporarily collected and then refunded. Temporarily paying and waiting for refund is causing businesses to lose working capital and putting more pressure on management agencies. Therefore, at the workshop, many experts and the Association recommended that the application time should be reviewed and the policy should be adjusted soon to suit the reality.

Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh - Standing member of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council commented: "Postpone until January 1, 2027 so that we and the Ministry of Finance can discuss the matter clearly. Or at least let us mentally prepare for the Bank, from now on, to borrow 5% more, to change the business plan. During that postponement period, we will hold many meetings with the Ministry of Finance to come up with the best solution."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc - President of the Vietnam Tax Consulting Association commented: "Distinguishing which units have high risk of poor compliance is required to have sellers pay taxes. As for businesses with normal compliance, it would be better to just refund taxes as before."

When tax policies are built reasonably and in line with reality, capital flows of enterprises will be circulated. This is also an important condition to facilitate business development, contributing to achieving the export and economic growth targets of 2025.

Source: https://vtv.vn/thao-go-vuong-mac-ve-chinh-sach-thue-gia-tri-gia-tang-100251010113554767.htm