The Vietnam Tax Authority has acknowledged reports of local officials engaging in corrupt practices during the ongoing "tax code cleanup" initiative. This effort aims to rectify the approximately 617,000 tax codes associated with inactive businesses and incomplete information.

Statistics reveal that nearly 292,000 businesses have ceased operations but have not completed the dissolution process, while around 325,500 businesses are no longer active at their registered addresses and have outstanding tax debts. The Tax Authority's leadership expressed concern that these issues not only create gaps in tax management data but also pose risks of invoice fraud and identity theft.

To address these challenges, the Tax Authority has launched a nationwide campaign to clean up tax codes. Local tax offices are actively reaching out to businesses to assist them in completing necessary paperwork and are reviewing cases that exhibit signs of risk for further action.

Despite these efforts, the Tax Authority has received feedback from the public indicating that some tax officials are intentionally prolonging the processing times and creating obstacles for taxpayers. This behavior has sparked public dissatisfaction and negatively impacts the reputation and discipline of the tax sector.

In response, the Tax Authority has mandated a swift progression of the tax code cleanup campaign, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and ease of access for taxpayers in line with government directives. Tax officials are instructed to adhere strictly to tax registration management processes and to expedite the resolution of cases involving inactive tax codes.

The Tax Authority has emphasized the prohibition of officials imposing unnecessary administrative procedures or requiring taxpayers to make multiple visits to supplement their documents without proper guidance. When taxpayers submit complete tax declarations and fulfill their financial obligations, tax authorities must promptly verify and issue notifications regarding the termination of tax codes or the completion of tax obligations to facilitate the dissolution process.

Officials are reminded that delays or retention of documents for personal reasons are unacceptable, and all procedures must be completed within the stipulated timeframes.