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./.