LEGAL UPDATE: Did you know that on 3 March the General Tax Department (GDT) issued an official letter to the local tax departments on tax deferral and late payment interest exemption to be granted to eligible taxpayers to mitigate Covid-19’s impacts?
The following taxpayers may apply for tax payment deferral:
Those who have suffered direct losses that can be calculated in monetary terms in respect of their production, businesses due to an ‘unforeseen accident.’ An ‘unforeseen accident’ is defined as the occurrence of an unforeseen event outside the expectation of the taxpayer, due to outside external forces, that has a direct effect on the production or business of the taxpayer, and not due to the breach of any laws by the taxpayer. Such incident includes a contagious epidemic during the period and in the areas that the relevant authorities have officially declared as areas affected.
The affected taxpayer must submit an application dossier for tax deferral to the local tax department.
Documentation will need to include:
1. A certification that the taxpayer has suffered losses in the affected location certified by one of the following authorities: the police; the people’s committee of the ward, district; or the management board of the relevant industrial, export processing, economic zone;
2. Documentation to show that the claim for compensation for losses that has accepted by the insurance company.
The issue is it will take time to obtain both of the above documents.
For this reason, the GDT also directs the grant of tax late payment interest exemption. Taxpayers will also have to submit an application dossier, but it need not include insurance documentation.
Heads of tax authorities already issuing notices of tax late payment interests are authorized to issue decisions on exemption from tax late payment interest to taxpayers.
Official Dispatch No. 897/TCT-QLN dated March 3, 2020
DN Legal 14 March 2020
