Better communication, easier taxation

About 98 percent of businesses in Hanoi make tax declarations online

Intensifying IT application

At a recent conference held by the department to answer business questions about tax policies and administrative procedures, Nguyen The Manh, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Taxation and Director of the Hanoi Tax Department, said the department had promoted electronic tax declaration and payment. Currently, 98 percent of businesses in the city make tax declarations online, and more than 95.36 percent of tax payments are conducted electronically, saving time and money for both taxpayers and tax officials.

According to Manh, all Hanoi Tax Department officials use electronic mail when communicating with taxpayers. The department has installed an automated mailing system (AMS), an effective information channel that connects tax officials with businesses. It provides businesses with information about new tax policies and enables officials to know and deal on a timely basis with problems facing taxpayers. Through this channel, tax officials also inform taxpayers about unpaid tax amounts so that they can check and propose necessary adjustments.

Notably, registration procedures related to the establishment of new businesses and issuance of tax codes now can be implemented online within 30 minutes, saving time and money. Previously, it took taxpayers four hours to implement these procedures. The Hanoi Tax Department has also coordinated with other departments and sectors to reduce the time required to deal with land-related administrative procedures from five to three working days.

Growing tax payments

Luu Hai Minh, Chairman of the Board at the Nhat Hai New Technology Joint Stock Company and Vice President of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said administrative reforms carried out by the Hanoi Tax Department with support of information technology in the past two years had yielded positive results. These were reflected in the growing number of taxpayers, as well as growing amounts of tax payments, he added.

Nguyen The Manh added that in the first 10 months of this year, the Hanoi Tax Department organized nearly 30 dialogues with more than 4,000 businesses to deal on a timely basis with problems facing them in implementing tax policies. At these sessions, officials answered questions related to value added, corporate income and personal income taxes, invoices, services, and electronic tax returns.

In the opinion of experts, dialogues between tax officials and businesses have helped improve business understanding of tax policies and mechanisms, which will facilitate and enhance the effectiveness of carrying out taxpayer obligations.