Representatives of enterprises and individuals pay tax at the Hanoi Department of Taxation. Taxpayers can do online tax payments via four commercial banks after the General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance signed an agreement with them on July 11 in Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance and four commercial banks signed an agreement to facilitate online tax payments on July 11 in Ha Noi.

These banks are Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBBank).

According to the agreement, the department and the banks will set up a system to transmit, receive and check the data of online tax payments. The service will use digital signatures to certify the online data. The banks are expected to offer online tax payment services to 5,000 taxpayers in 18 cities and provinces, such as Ha Noi, Quang Ninh and Binh Duong.

Bui Van Nam, general director of the taxation department, said that the service would be expanded to 63 cities and provinces in the country, aimed at enterprises and individuals doing business.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, MBBank general director Le Cong said that this was a new step towards applying information technology in services for taxpayers and increasing the facilities provided by commercial banks to their customers.

The department had carried out a pilot run of the online tax payment facility in Ha Noi, Bac Ninh and Vinh Phuc for taxpayers having accounts at the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). So far, 250 enterprises have paid their taxes online, amounting to more than VND148 billion (over US$7 million). — VNS