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According to Decree 126/2020 / ND-CP that details a series of articles of the Tax Administration Law, in force as of December 5, commercial banks are in charge of providing information on people’s payment accounts. Open tax payment in the bank to the tax administration agency. This regulation generated much controversy over the security of customer information.
Responsibility belongs to the tax industry
Decree 126 regulates the Banco del Estado (SBV) to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to direct and guide commercial banks, credit institutions and authorized payment intermediary providers in the connection and provision of information with the tax authorities in relation to with banking transactions of organizations and individuals; Coordinate with the tax authorities the implementation of tax coercive measures. There is a need to establish a mechanism to manage and monitor cross-border payment transactions in e-commerce, business and digital services other than those of organizations and individuals in Vietnam.
In particular, the Decree stipulates that commercial banks are responsible for providing information on customer transactions through their accounts, account balances and transaction data at the request of the head of the tax authority to fulfill the purpose. inspect and examine and determine the tax obligations payable; take coercive measures to enforce administrative decisions on the tax administration in accordance with the regulations. The tax authorities are responsible for keeping the information confidential and fully responsible for the security of the information in accordance with the Tax Administration Law and relevant laws.
Commercial banks are also required to deduct and pay on behalf of the tax obligations payable by foreign suppliers who do not have a permanent establishment in Vietnam operating e-commerce, digital media-based businesses. for organizations, individuals in Vietnam … The bank must deduct money to pay taxes from the taxpayer’s account, block the taxpayer’s account and is forced to enforce administrative decisions on tax administration at the request of tax management department.
Addressing many concerns about the tax industry is capable of receiving and processing data, thus determining tax and income obligations, as well as the fact that customers do not want their account information saved. For others, a leader of a commercial stock bank in Ho Chi Minh City said that when tax authorities asked banks to provide taxpayer accounts, some clients might initially worry that their information would be disclosed. However, since the law has defined the tax industry as responsible for confidentiality, using the taxpayer’s account information only for tax inspection, then how important is it to do so. On the other hand, the tax authority can select the taxpayers who should be concerned and then request the bank to provide it, avoiding overcrowding.
Businesses and individuals carry out tax procedures at the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department. Photo: HOANG Trieu
The risk of disclosing personal information will increase
A head of the Legal Department (SBV) said that the law already has a regulation, so when the tax department requests to provide account information, commercial banks must comply. But in fact, because the bank account information is personal and the amount of data is massive, the tax authorities must select and request information for each specific group of subjects. If commercial banks provide all customer data, the tax industry will not be able to handle or store it; From there, the information could leak out to the outside world, affecting taxpayers’ privacy concerns.
According to lawyer Nguyen Duc Nghia, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Agents Club, because the bank account is related to cash flow, the tax authorities should limit the request for information, issue the criteria that have right to request. , receive, process, store and protect information. On that basis, the tax authority can select accounts with sudden transactions or suspected tax violations to suggest to banks to provide them to fulfill the budget collection task.
For example, the tax authority only requires the bank to provide the account holder’s transaction details to determine the revenue and tax obligations for budget collection. In particular, for the information of the account holder, the tax officials who have the right to request, receive, store and retain such information will be responsible before the law. How safe is the job of the tax agency, so that the account holder’s information is safe?
The deputy general manager of a commercial bank commented: “In terms of security of customer information, it is not necessary when the tax authority requests the provision, but until now, banks must absolutely adhere to the principle of confidentiality. However, when providing customer information to a third party will increase the risk of disclosure, so tax authorities must also strictly comply with security requirements.
Implemented with caution
One of the concerns of commercial banks and economists is that customers will switch to cash payments, both in the field of e-commerce, instead of the current cashless payment channels.
The economist Dr. Huynh Trung Minh analyzed that in many countries, the majority of the inflows and outflows of money from clients is carried out through the banking system, so the control and request of information from clients so that the authorities prosecutors collect it. Simpler. Meanwhile, in our country, payment in cash continues to represent a high proportion. If the regulation that commercial banks have to provide customer account numbers, transaction information, etc. is applied, it is easy to raise concerns, avoid and pay in cash again, which affects State policies to encourage non-payment. monetary in recent years. “Regulations must be managed to combat loss of taxes is correct, but this time it may not be appropriate, so it must be implemented with caution” – commented Dr. Huynh Trung Minh.
According to the deputy general manager of a commercial bank, the taxpayer is getting used to paying through the bank account. When banks provide your account information, the tax industry will capture the cash flow, source of income of the account holder to determine income and tax liability. With the progressive provisions of Decree 126 and the interconnection of the tax and banking industry, the important thing is that the tax authority must comply with its obligation to maintain the confidentiality of clients’ bank accounts. ensure the application of the law. In doing so, the implementation of the decree will ensure its effectiveness and efficiency.
It is difficult to determine the contractor tax on e-commerce transactions.
Decree 126 also stipulates that the General Directorate of Taxation will coordinate with the relevant agencies to identify and publish the names and website addresses of foreign suppliers that have not yet registered, declared and paid taxes. Services that carry out transactions. On that basis, the General Tax Department notifies commercial banks to determine the transaction accounts of foreign suppliers and to make deductions and payments of tax obligations on behalf of individual buyers. In Vietnam, payment is made to the transaction account of a foreign supplier.
Mr. Chung Thanh Tien, Director of Dong Hung Accounting Services Co., Ltd., expressed concern about this regulation, especially for those who are foreign suppliers without a permanent establishment in Vietnam. e-commerce operations, digital business with organizations and individuals in Vietnam. According to Mr. Tien, in essence, this is the tax on contractors that applies to activities related to electronic commerce or on digital platforms. The problem is not easy for the bank side is that the bank staff are not sure they have a clear understanding of the contractor tax to apply it correctly, leading to a request to keep a portion of the business money while the transaction is uncertain. taxes are incurred. On the other hand, the bank itself cannot calculate or determine whether the transaction incurs taxes or not to apply the correct object.
According to Mr. Tien, the determination of what is an e-commerce transaction or a digital business is unclear, especially when the revised decree on e-commerce management has not been completed. Therefore, it is not excluded that the bank staff incorrectly identifies the transaction that requires tax deduction. At that time, there may be a situation where transactions of e-commerce nature or digital-based businesses bypass the law to evade tax deduction, while transaction that is not actually e-commerce in nature is ” forced “. “deduct.
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