Companies that have not been audited for years and those with signs of abusing transfer pricing are set to be the focus of an inspection this year.— Photo doanhnhansaigon

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Businesses should be fully prepared with tax- and customs-related documents since they could receive a notice from relevant authorities at any time that their books would be audited, a taxation expert warned at a seminar held in HCM City last Friday.

Phan Vu Hoang, tax partner at audit and consultancy firm Deloitte Vietnam, told participants at the seminar on post-customs clearance and tax audits that they should strive to keep things transparent and genuine.

According to Hoang, there are risks related to non-compliance with tax policies, whether out of ignorance or intentionally, that could pose a real challenge to businesses.

Companies that have not been audited for years and those with signs of abusing transfer pricing are set to be the focus of an inspection this year.

Other targets include companies applying for large VAT and import tax refunds and those in the areas of e-commerce, insurance, advertisement, real estate, and export production.

Hoang said tax collection was set to be tightened after the Government ordered on August 13 that budget revenues should surpass targets by 8 to 10 per cent.

Taxes and customs duties are set to contribute around VND783 trillion (US$37.2 billion) this year with the trade sector accounting for VND224 trillion ($10.7 billion).

As of July more than VND497 trillion ($23.7 billion) had been collected, or 63.5 per cent the year's target.

In 2007 around 31,700 tax audits resulted in collection of VND2.58 trillion ($122.8 million) in additional tax and penalties. Last year the figures were 58,300 and VND12.22 trillion ($581.9 million) .

At the seminar, experts also provided updates on corporate and individual income tax policies, customs regulations, and transfer pricing. — VNS