NEWSLETTER MAY 2017
Circular No. 31/2017/TT-BTC dated 18th April 2017 amending some articles of Circular No. 99/2016/TT-BTC guiding on VAT refund management
According to this Circular, VAT refund to taxpayers shall be completed within 1 working day after the state treasury of province receiving a tax refund order from the tax office. In the past, maximum processing time for VAT refund to taxpayers was 3 working days.
Circular No. 31 comes into force from 2nd June 2017.
Official Letter No. 1873/TCT-TNCN (“OL 1873”) on compensation for breach of contract
The General Department of Taxation issued OL 1873 on 10th May 2017, answering an inquiry from Hanoi Tax Department on personal income tax (PIT) relating to contract breach compensation. The OL 1873 states as follows;
In case an individual cancels a purchase contract of an apartment with a company due to the failure of the company on its part to meet the scheduled construction timetable, and the abovementioned individual receives a refund and compensation from the company, the individual receiving compensation does not have to pay PIT on such compensation from the company.
Official Letter No. 30632/CT-TTHT about tax policy
On 16th May 2017, Hanoi Taxation Department issued Official Letter No. 30632/CT-TTHT on its tax policy as summarized below:
The taxpayer’s legal representative can authorize a person to sign documents and dossiers when dealing with the tax office. The authorization letter should specify the duration and scope of such authorization. The authorization letter must be submited to the tax office together with documents and dossiers of the first transaction where authozied personnel signs the documents during the authorized period.
Thus, in case the Company’s legal representative has authorized its chief accountant to sign taxation documents on his behalf, in accordance with the abovementioned regulation, the Company’s invoices signed by the chief accountant during the effective period of the authorization are considered legitimate.
In case the legal representative of the Company does not sign as “seller” in the invoice, he must authorize a person by issuing an authorization letter and request the authorized person to sign as seller and stamp at the top left corner of the invoice with the Company’s registered stamp.
Official Letter No. 2186/TCT-CS about invoices
On 24th May 2017, General Department of Taxation issued Official Letter No. 2186/TCT-CS on its policy about invoices. This Official Letter states as follows:
In case the information of province of seller and/or buyer is missing on the issued invoice where correct tax codes of buyer and seller and other required information are properly stated, the invoice is accepted as a valid supporting document for deductible expenses for tax declaration as long as the addresses of buyer and seller can be verified.