Uber B.V has completed the payment of its remaining tax debts and evasion penalties worth more than VND53 billion (US$2.3 million), five months after the ride hailing company ceased operations in Viet Nam, according to a tax official.

Nguyen Nam Binh, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Taxation, said that the arrears were paid off last week after Uber withdrew its petition against the southern tax department from July 26.

In early September 2017, the municipal tax department issued a decision to collect taxes and penalties worth VND66.68 billion but Uber paid only VND13.3 billion. The company refused to pay the rest and tried to sue the tax agency.

The remaining sum included value added tax and individual income tax payable for its partner drivers.

In early April, the company officially exited Viet Nam after merging with Grab – a more popular ride hailing firm in the country. Grab said it would not be responsible for any tax debt owned by Uber in Viet Nam, making the collection of Uber’s tax debts difficult.

Grab Viet Nam paid VND198 billion in taxes to the State budget in the first half of this year and the sum is expected to total VND500 billion for the full year. — VNS