An official from Thanh Xuan District's Department of Taxation in Ha Noi provides an online tax filing and payment consultation to a taxpayer. The tax watchdog is striving to increase the percentage of tax reimbursements. – VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – The tax watchdog is striving to increase the percentage of tax reimbursements processed through the "refund first, check later" regime, aiming to speed up refunds that would be beneficial for businesses, according to Le Thi Duyen Hai, director of the Tax Declaration and Refund Department.

Hai said that the "refund-first-check-later" reimbursement was expected to account for at least 80 per cent of refunds, adding that the tax watchdog will make efforts to prevent businesses from taking advantage of legal gaps to get tax refunds.

The application of online tax refunds would also be promoted, Hai said.

As of November, online tax refunds would be applied in five cities and provinces, including Ha Noi, HCM City, northern port city of Hai Phong and southern Binh Duong and Ðong Nai provinces, Hai said, adding that e-tax refunds were more complicated and that it would take more time to complete the online procedures. By the end of 2017, 95 per cent of provinces and cities nationwide would use online tax return services.

Currently, online tax submissions and payments already accounted for 95 per cent of all submissions.

Statistics from the General Department of Taxation revealed that businesses received VND58 trillion (US$2.6 billion) in value-added tax refunds in the first seven months of this year, while a total of VND12 trillion in claimed refunds were rejected.

Refund for Formosa law-compliant

Hai said at Wednesday's conference of the General Department of Taxation that the tax refund for Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Company was compliant with the Law on Value Added Tax.

Since the company started investing in Ha Tinh Province in 2009, Formosa has received a total of VND14.6 trillion in tax refunds, more than VND10.6 trillion of which were refunded for taxes Formosa had already paid for its imported equipment and materials.

The remainder of the refund was for value added taxes that Formosa's local contractors had paid.

The Taiwan-invested steel project, worth nearly $10 billion in investment, has already paid $500 million in compensation for causing sea pollution off four central provinces of Viet Nam that caused mass fish deaths in April, said Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, on August 30. – VNS