The HCM City People’s Committee has
told responsible departments and agencies to strengthen measures to
prevent tax evasion and fraud committed by local and foreign-invested
companies.
The instructions were made after the Tax Department fined several companies for tax evasion and fraud.
Under the city’s instruction, the Department of Planning and Investment
must inform localities about the granting of licenses and improve
post-inspection processes in order to discover illegal activities
quickly.
The People’s Committee has also told the Department of Foreign Affairs
to provide information in foreign-invested companies that have evaded
tax or committed fraud to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tax offices will focus on inspecting local and foreign-invested
companies that have several branches operating in different localities.
Retail sales, restaurants, services, dancing halls, bar clubs, pawn
shops and other business activities will be inspected as well.
Tax offices will also focus on inspecting companies that have reported
losses for several consecutive years; companies that enjoy preferential
tax policies and operate in industrial parks, industrial zones and
hi-tech parks; companies that operate in construction, real estate,
automobile sales, and marine transport and other sectors.
The offices will also inspect companies that have several tax returns and large amounts of tax returned.
Under the new regulations, tax offices will transfer to police the
files of tax evading companies whose directors have escaped to unknown
locations.
The committee has also instructed the Tax Department to work with mass
media to encourage them to write newspaper columns about tax fraud and
encourage the use of invoices for purchased goods and services./.