Nguyen Thi Thu, Head of the Tax Operations Board at the Tax Department, announced that from now until the end of the year, the tax sector will allocate resources to support taxpayers in completing all procedures related to tax codes.

"When a business submits documents to the tax authority and fulfills its obligations to the budget, the processing time to terminate the tax code's validity will be just three working days," she stated.

The Tax Department has also set specific targets for each official to support taxpayers through these procedures.

People carrying out administrative procedures at the tax authority. *Photo: Tax Department*

It is important to note that terminating a tax code's validity or restoring operations does not exempt businesses from outstanding obligations. According to Thu, businesses must still fully complete their financial obligations to the budget. This measure ensures fairness with active and compliant entities.

"Businesses will not incur any additional compliance costs beyond their statutory obligations to the budget," she confirmed.

The three-day timeframe from the tax authority refers specifically to the processing step for terminating tax code validity *after* a business has completed its documentation and fulfilled budget obligations. In reality, the entire process of handling ledgers, declarations, tax debts, and prior outstanding obligations can extend for many months, or even years. Some businesses have ceased operations or moved locations for years without closing their tax codes. When they return to address these issues, they often face complications due to long-standing declaration obligations and accumulated tax debts.

The owner of an agency specializing in business procedures noted that the time required to complete dissolution procedures depends on the scale and operational history of the business. Small businesses with fewer ledger entries typically process faster, whereas companies operating for 10-15 years, with numerous transactions and financial obligations, require extensive time for verification and reconciliation before they can close.

Regarding complications related to declaration obligations and debts of businesses that abandoned their business addresses long ago, the Tax Department announced it is proposing solutions for consideration by competent authorities. The goal is to facilitate businesses in fulfilling their obligations, officially ceasing operations, or returning to production and business activities.

The campaign "Cleaning Up Tax Codes – Removing Business Bottlenecks" was launched by the tax sector in July. This intensive period aims to review databases, standardize information, and finalize the legal status of businesses that have ceased operations.

Over eight months, approximately 95,000 tax codes were cleaned, and more than 3,000 codes were restored, allowing businesses to resume operations.

According to the Tax Department, instead of taxpayers independently discovering their status and performing procedures sporadically as before, this campaign focuses resources on processing these issues. The tax authority develops guidance documents and assigns officials in each locality to approach, contact, and support taxpayers in resolving complications.

The review process also aims to detect cases of individuals exploiting business entities for illegal invoice trading or tax evasion. Cases of deliberate violations will be handled according to regulations.

Phuong Dung