Stepping up the fight against tax fraud

In 2025, the Dong Nai provincial tax sector conducted more than 5.4 thousand tax-related checks. Of these, over 2.3 thousand inspections were conducted at tax offices, while more than 3.1 thousand other inspections and examinations were carried out at taxpayers’ premises.

The Dong Nai Tax Department commends enterprises that fulfilled their obligations excellently in 2025. Photo: Ngoc Lien.

According to assessments by the tax sector, over the past year, the direction and administration of tax management closely followed the Government, central ministries and agencies, and local guidances, as well as socio-economic development targets. The tax sector also proactively issued and rigorously implemented key action plans, including tax inspections and examinations to prevent losses to the state budget.

Identifying tax fraud practices

Speaking at the review conference on tax administration in 2025, regarding the results of tax examinations, efforts to combat transfer pricing and prevent losses to the state budget, thematic inspections, as well as coordination with the police to prevent and handle tax fraud and tax evasion, Deputy Head of Inspection Division 1 of Dong Nai Tax Department To Anh Truc said that in recent years, tax examination has always been identified as one of the sector’s key tasks. This aims to strengthen discipline and order in tax administration, prevent and promptly detect violations of tax laws, contribute to preventing losses to the state budget, and create a transparent and fair business environment in the province.

Against the backdrop of strong growth in production and business activities in Dong Nai, rapidly increasing numbers of enterprises, and increasingly diverse and complex business models, tax examination requires strong innovation in methods, greater application of information technology, and enhanced risk analysis and assessment to select appropriate and effective inspection targets. This plays an important role in ensuring revenue sources and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of tax administration in the locality.

In 2025, through its inspections and examinations, the tax sector recommended handling a total amount of more than VND 3.8 trillion. Of this, additional revenue collected through tax inspections and examinations exceeded VND 1.3 trillion; deductible tax was reduced by VND 25 billion; and declared losses were reduced by more than VND 2.4 trillion. The total amount paid into the state budget reached nearly VND 702 billion, equivalent to 54% of the additional revenue assessed through audits and inspections.

To identify behaviors that pose risks of causing losses to the state budget, the tax sector zoned in on activities showing high-risk signs, thereby focusing on thematic tax inspections such as post-refund examinations, loss-making enterprises, transfer pricing, and pre-refund inspections.

In particular, regarding transfer pricing examinations, the tax sector conducted examinations at 34 enterprises. The results showed additional revenue from tax examinations, with total back taxes and penalties of over VND 727 billion, and a reduction in declared losses of VND 951 billion.

Typical cases of related-party transaction examinations included: P.VST Co., Ltd., which was fined by the Dong Nai Tax Department with total back taxes, penalties, and late payment interest of more than VND 56 billion (of which, additional corporate income tax exceeded VND 44 billion), and declared losses reduced by nearly VND 515 billion. N. Viet Nam Co., Ltd. was fined with total back taxes, penalties, and late payment interest of over VND 15 billion. Car.VN Co., Ltd. was fined with total back taxes, penalties, and late payment interest exceeding VND 368 billion.

Strengthening tax inspections and examinations

According to the general assessment of the Dong Nai Tax Department, in recent times, the average additional state budget revenue generated through tax examinations has been high. This shows that thematic inspections and examinations have been conducted in line with risk assessments of business sectors with large revenue potential, reflecting strong determination in tax administration and in preventing budget losses in Dong Nai Province.

With the goal of ensuring sustainable state budget revenues in 2026 and subsequent years, Director of the Dong Nai Tax Department Nguyen Toan Thang said that from the beginning of the year, the tax sector has deployed revenue collection tasks, strengthened management, prevented revenue losses, handled tax arrears, controlled tax refunds, and closely monitored and accurately forecast revenues by locality and by tax category. The sector has also identified potential revenue sources and areas with revenue losses in order to promptly propose effective solutions.

Nguyen Toan Thang emphasized that in the coming period, the tax sector will step up post-refund examinations in accordance with regulations, especially for high-risk goods. At the same time, it will continue to coordinate closely with the police in exchanging and providing information upon request by law enforcement agencies.

In addition, the tax sector will step up training, refresher courses, and professional exchanges in inspection and examination work, thereby enhancing the capacity and skills of tax officers engaged in tax inspections and examinations to detect new methods, tactics, and forms of fraud. On that basis, it will monitor and urge the timely and accurate entry of inspection and examination decisions and handling results into tax administration software systems.

By Ngoc Lien – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha