Decree 125/2020/ND-CP stipulates administrative penalties for violations related to taxes and invoices.

DECREE

REGULATIONS ON PENALTIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS RELATED TO TAXES AND INVOICES

Based on the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015;

Based on the Law on Handling Administrative Violations dated June 20, 2012;

Based on the Law on Tax Administration dated June 13, 2019;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The government has issued a decree stipulating penalties for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices.

Chapter I

GENERAL RULES

Article 1. Scope of adjustment and subject of application

1. Scope of application

This Decree stipulates administrative violations, forms of penalties, penalty levels, remedial measures, authority to impose penalties, authority to draw up administrative violation reports, and some procedures for imposing penalties for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices.

This Decree does not apply to administrative violations concerning fees and charges; administrative violations concerning taxes on exported and imported goods managed by customs authorities; and violations of regulations on tax registration procedures, violations of regulations on notifying temporary suspension of business operations, and notifying the resumption of business operations before the deadline to the business registration authority or cooperative registration authority by organizations and individuals that register for tax along with business registration, cooperative registration, or business registration.

2. Scope of Application

a) The taxpayer;

b) Tax officials and tax authorities at all levels;

c) Other organizations and individuals involved in the implementation of tax and invoice laws.

Article 2. Explain words

In the context of administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Administrative tax violations are wrongful acts committed by organizations or individuals that violate regulations of tax management law, tax law, and other revenue regulations (land use fees; land and water surface lease fees; mineral exploitation rights fees; water resource exploitation rights fees; remaining after-tax profits after deducting funds of enterprises wholly owned by the State; dividends and profits distributed to the State's invested capital in joint-stock companies and limited liability companies with two or more members) that are not crimes and, according to the law, must be subject to administrative penalties.

2. Administrative violations related to invoices are culpable acts committed by organizations or individuals that violate the provisions of the law on invoices, which are not criminal offenses and, according to the law, must be subject to administrative penalties.

3. The amount of tax evaded is the amount of tax payable to the state budget according to tax laws, which the taxpayer is found to have evaded by competent authorities and identified in administrative violation reports or tax inspection (audit) reports.

4. Guidance documents from tax authorities regarding the determination of tax obligations are administrative documents issued by tax authorities at all levels to guide one or more taxpayers in fulfilling their tax obligations in a specific situation.

5. Decisions of the tax authority regarding the determination of the taxpayer's tax obligations include decisions on tax refunds in cases of pre-refund audits; decisions on tax exemptions and reductions; decisions on extending the deadline for filing tax returns; and decisions on deductible or refundable value-added tax amounts or carry-forward losses in administrative penalty decisions or decisions on applying remedial measures.

6. The starting date for calculating the overdue period under Articles 10, 11, 13, 14, and 19 of this Decree is the first day after the end of the period for fulfilling the responsibilities and obligations of organizations and individuals as prescribed by law on tax administration. In case of extension, the starting date for calculating the overdue period is the first day after the end of the extended period.

7. Cases with complex circumstances include those discovered through tax audits or inspections at the taxpayer's premises; cases requiring consultation with specialized agencies or organizations; cases involving false declarations resulting in underpayment of taxes or overpayment of taxes, exemptions, reductions, or refunds, or tax evasion.

8. Particularly serious cases are those involving false declarations resulting in a shortfall in tax payable or an increase in tax refunds, or consecutive tax evasion for three or more tax periods.

9. The date of detection of the violation is the date on which the competent authority, while performing their duties, draws up a record documenting the administrative violation committed by the subject of the administrative penalty related to taxes and invoices.

Article 3. Subjects liable to administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations.

1. The subjects liable to administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations include:

a) The taxpayer has committed an administrative violation related to taxes and invoices.

In cases where a taxpayer authorizes another organization or individual to fulfill tax obligations, and tax laws and tax administration regulations stipulate that the authorized party must perform these obligations on behalf of the taxpayer, if the authorized party commits an administrative violation as prescribed in this Decree, the authorized organization or individual shall be subject to penalties in accordance with this Decree.

In cases where, according to the law on taxation and tax administration, an organization or individual is obligated to register for tax, declare and pay taxes on behalf of the taxpayer, and the organization or individual declaring and paying taxes on behalf of the taxpayer commits an administrative violation as prescribed in this Decree, then the organization or individual declaring and paying taxes on behalf of the taxpayer shall be subject to administrative penalties for tax violations as prescribed in this Decree.

b) Organizations and individuals involved in administrative violations related to taxes and invoices.

2. Taxpayers who are organizations subject to administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations include:

a) Enterprises are established and operate in accordance with the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Investment, the Law on Credit Institutions, the Law on Insurance Business, the Law on Securities, the Law on Oil and Gas, the Law on Commerce, and other legal regulations; the enterprises' subsidiaries and business locations directly declare and pay taxes and use invoices;

b) Public and private non-profit organizations;

c) The organization is established and operates in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives;

d) Foreign organizations and enterprises, branches and representative offices of foreign traders, and executive offices of foreign contractors in Vietnam that conduct business or generate income in Vietnam;

d) State agencies commit administrative violations related to taxes and invoices that do not fall within their assigned state management duties;

e) Cooperatives and other organizations established in accordance with the law.

Article 4. Acts of using illegal invoices and documents; illegal use of invoices and documents.

1. Using invoices and supporting documents in the following cases constitutes illegal use of invoices and supporting documents:

a) Fake invoices and documents;

b) Invoices and supporting documents that are not yet valid or have expired;

c) Invoices that are suspended from use during the period of enforcement through measures to suspend invoice usage, except in cases where their use is permitted according to a notice from the tax authority;

d) Electronic invoices that are not registered for use with the tax authorities;

d) Electronic invoices without a tax authority code in cases where electronic invoices with a tax authority code are to be used;

e) Invoices for goods and services with an issue date from the date the tax authority determines that the seller is not operating at the business address registered with the competent state authority;

g) Invoices and purchase documents for goods and services with a date of issuance before the date the issuer is determined to be no longer operating at the registered business address, or before the tax authority has notified the issuer that the issuer is no longer operating at the registered business address, but the tax authority, police, or other relevant agencies have concluded that the invoice or document is illegal.

2. Using invoices and supporting documents in the following cases constitutes illegal use of invoices and supporting documents:

a) Invoices and supporting documents that do not contain all the required information; invoices that have been altered or erased improperly;

b) Fictitious invoices and documents (invoices and documents that record economic transaction details and content, but the purchase or sale of goods or services is not real, either partially or entirely); invoices that do not accurately reflect the actual value of the transaction or the creation of fictitious or fake invoices;

c) Invoices with discrepancies in the value of goods or services, or inaccuracies in mandatory information between different copies of the invoice;

d) Invoices used for circulation when transporting goods in the distribution chain, or using invoices for one type of goods or service to prove the sale of another type of goods or service;

d) Invoices and supporting documents from other organizations or individuals (excluding invoices from tax authorities and cases where invoices are issued by authorized agents) to legitimize purchased goods and services or sold goods and services;

e) Invoices or documents that the tax authorities, the police, or other competent authorities have concluded were used illegally.

Article 5. Principles for imposing administrative penalties for violations related to taxes and invoices.

1. Administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations are imposed in accordance with the law on tax administration and the law on handling administrative violations.

2. Organizations and individuals shall only be subject to administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations when they commit administrative violations related to taxes and invoices as stipulated in this Decree.

3. Organizations and individuals who commit multiple administrative violations shall be penalized for each violation, except in the following cases:

a) In cases where a taxpayer simultaneously declares one or more incorrect items on tax returns for the same tax type, the act of incorrect declaration, which falls under the category of procedural tax penalties, will only be penalized for the single incorrect item on the tax return with the highest fine among the acts committed as stipulated in this Decree, and the aggravating circumstance of repeated violations will be applied;

b) In cases where a taxpayer simultaneously submits multiple tax returns for the same tax period but of the same tax type late, they will only be penalized for the late submission of tax returns with the highest penalty among the offenses committed as stipulated in this Decree, and the aggravating circumstance of repeated violations will be applied.

If, among the files of late tax returns, there are files of late tax returns that constitute tax evasion, they should be separated and penalized for the act of tax evasion;

c) In cases where a taxpayer simultaneously delays submitting multiple notices or reports of the same type regarding invoices, the taxpayer shall be penalized for the act of delaying submission of notices or reports regarding invoices with the highest penalty among the acts committed as stipulated in this Decree, and the aggravating circumstance of repeated violations shall be applied;

d) Violations concerning the use of illegal invoices or the illegal use of invoices that are subject to penalties under Articles 16 and 17 of this Decree shall not be subject to penalties under Article 28 of this Decree.

4. In cases where an administrative procedure involves multiple document components and is subject to more than one administrative violation as stipulated in this Decree, the violating organization or individual shall be penalized for each violation.

5. For the same administrative violation related to taxes and invoices, the fine for organizations shall be twice the fine for individuals, except for the fines for the acts specified in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Decree.

Article 6. Mitigating and aggravating circumstances in the field of taxation and invoices.

1. Aggravating and mitigating circumstances as prescribed by law on handling administrative violations.

2. Administrative violations involving tax amounts (tax arrears, tax evasion, or excess tax exemptions, reductions, or refunds) of VND 100.000.000 or more, or goods and services valued at VND 500.000.000 or more, are considered large-scale tax administrative violations as stipulated in Point l, Clause 1, Article 10 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations. Administrative violations involving 10 or more invoices are considered large-scale invoice administrative violations as stipulated in Point l, Clause 1, Article 10 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

Article 7. Forms of penalties, remedial measures, and principles for applying monetary penalties when imposing administrative sanctions for tax and invoice violations.

1. Main forms of punishment

a) Warning

A warning penalty is applied to minor violations of tax and invoice procedures, with mitigating circumstances, and falling under the cases eligible for a warning penalty as stipulated in this Decree.

b) Fines

The maximum fine for organizations committing administrative violations related to invoices shall not exceed VND 100.000.000. The maximum fine for individuals committing administrative violations related to invoices shall not exceed VND 50.000.000.

The maximum fine shall not exceed VND 200.000.000 for taxpayers that are organizations committing tax procedure violations. The maximum fine shall not exceed VND 100.000.000 for taxpayers that are individuals committing tax procedure violations.

A penalty of 20% of the amount of tax underpaid or the amount of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded in excess of regulations will be imposed for incorrect declarations resulting in underpayment of tax or overpayment of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded.

The penalty for tax evasion ranges from 1 to 3 times the amount of tax evaded.

A fine equivalent to the amount not deposited into the state budget account shall be imposed for violations as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 18 of this Decree.

2. Additional penalty: temporary suspension of invoice printing operations.

3. Remedial measures

a) To compel the payment of the full amount of outstanding taxes, the amount of taxes exempted, reduced, or refunded in excess of regulations, the amount of taxes evaded, and late payment penalties into the state budget.

b) Mandatory adjustment of losses and deductible input value-added tax carried forward to the next period.

c) Mandatory submission of documents for changes to tax registration; re-declaration and submission of supplementary documents in the tax file; submission of tax returns and accompanying appendices; and provision of information.

d) Mandating the implementation of invoice issuance procedures.

d) Mandatory invoicing in accordance with regulations.

e) Mandating the cancellation or destruction of invoices and printed materials.

g) Mandatory preparation and submission of notifications and reports regarding invoices.

h) Mandating the transfer of electronic invoice data.

i) To compel the return of any illegal profits obtained from committing the administrative violation.

4. Principles for applying monetary penalties

a) The fines stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 19, and Chapter III of this Decree are the fines applicable to organizations.

For taxpayers who are households or business households, the same penalty rates as for individuals apply.

b) When determining the amount of the fine for a taxpayer who has committed a violation with both aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the aggravating circumstances may be reduced according to the principle that one mitigating circumstance offsets one aggravating circumstance.

c) Mitigating or aggravating circumstances that were used to determine the fine range shall not be used when determining the specific fine amount under point d of this clause.

d) When imposing fines, the specific fine for a violation of tax procedures, invoices, and the acts specified in Article 19 of this Decree shall be the average of the fine range prescribed for that act. If there are mitigating circumstances, each mitigating circumstance shall reduce the average fine of the fine range by 10%, but the fine for that act shall not be reduced below the minimum of the fine range; if there are aggravating circumstances, each aggravating circumstance shall increase the average fine of the fine range by 10%, but the fine for that act shall not exceed the maximum of the fine range.

Article 8. Statute of limitations for administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations; period of time during which violations are considered not to have been penalized; period of time for tax recovery.

1. Statute of limitations for administrative penalties related to invoices.

a) The statute of limitations for imposing administrative penalties for invoice violations is one year.

b) The statute of limitations for imposing administrative penalties for invoice violations is stipulated as follows:

For administrative violations that are being committed as stipulated in point c of this clause, the statute of limitations shall be calculated from the date the competent authority carrying out its official duties discovers the violation.

For administrative violations that have ended as stipulated in point d of this clause, the statute of limitations shall be calculated from the date the violation ceased.

c) The administrative violations related to invoices currently being committed are those stipulated in Clause 4, Article 21; Point b, Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 23; Clauses 2 and 5, Article 24; Point b, Clause 3, Article 25; Point b, Clause 2 and Points b, c, d, Clause 3, Article 27; Point b, Clause 5, Article 29; and Point b, Clause 3, Article 30 of this Decree.

d) Administrative violations related to invoices that do not fall under the cases specified in point c of this clause are considered completed administrative violations. The date the violation ceased is the date it was committed.

For the act of losing, burning, or damaging invoices, if the date of loss, burning, or damage cannot be determined, the time of cessation of the violation is the date the lost, burned, or damaged invoice is discovered.

For violations regarding the deadline for notifying and reporting invoices as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 3 of Article 21; Points a and b of Clause 1 and Points c and d of Clause 2 of Article 23; Clauses 1, 2 and Point a of Clause 3 of Article 25; Clause 1, Point a of Clause 2, Clauses 3, 4 and Point a of Clause 5 of Article 29 of this Decree, the time of cessation of the violation is the date the taxpayer submits the notification and report on the invoices.

2. Statute of limitations for administrative penalties for tax violations

a) The statute of limitations for imposing penalties for violations of tax procedures is 02 years, counting from the date the violation was committed.

The date of committing an administrative violation regarding tax procedures is the day following the expiration of the deadline for completing tax procedures as prescribed by the law on tax administration, except in the following cases:

For the acts stipulated in Clause 1, points a and b of Clause 2, Clause 3 and point a of Clause 4 of Article 10; Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and point a of Clause 5 of Article 11; Clauses 1, 2, 3 and points a and b of Clause 4, Clause 5 of Article 13 of this Decree, the date of the violation for calculating the statute of limitations is the date the taxpayer registers for tax or notifies the tax authority or submits the tax return.

For the acts stipulated in point c, clause 2, point b, clause 4 of Article 10; point b, clause 5 of Article 11; and points c and d, clause 4 of Article 13 of this Decree, the date of the violation for calculating the statute of limitations is the date the competent authority performing official duties discovers the violation.

b) The statute of limitations for penalties for tax evasion that does not warrant criminal prosecution, or for false declarations resulting in underpayment of tax or overpayment of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded, is 05 years from the date the violation was committed.

The date of the act of making false declarations resulting in underpayment of tax or overpayment of tax, or tax evasion (except for acts specified in point a, clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree) is the day following the last day of the deadline for submitting tax declarations for the tax period in which the taxpayer made the underpayment or tax evasion, or the day following the date the competent authority issues a decision on tax refund, tax exemption, or tax reduction.

For the act of failing to submit tax registration documents or tax returns as stipulated in point a, clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree, the date of the violation for calculating the statute of limitations is the date the competent authority discovers the violation. For the act of submitting tax returns after 90 days as stipulated in point a, clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree, the date of the violation for calculating the statute of limitations is the date the taxpayer submits the tax returns.

3. For cases handled and resolved by criminal prosecution agencies, but subsequently a decision is made not to initiate criminal proceedings, a decision to revoke the decision to initiate criminal proceedings, a decision to suspend the investigation, or a decision to suspend the case if the violation shows signs of administrative violations related to taxes and invoices, within 03 days from the date of the decision, the criminal prosecution agency must forward the aforementioned decisions along with the case file, evidence, and means of the violation, and a request for administrative sanctions to the competent authority for imposing administrative sanctions related to taxes and invoices. The statute of limitations for imposing sanctions applies according to the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. The time taken by the criminal prosecution agency to receive and consider the case is included in the statute of limitations for imposing administrative sanctions.

4. If, within the time limit specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, an organization or individual deliberately evades or obstructs the enforcement of penalties, the statute of limitations for administrative penalties shall be recalculated from the time the act of evasion or obstruction ceases.

5. The period during which an individual is considered to have not been penalized for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices.

Organizations and individuals who have been penalized for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices will be considered as not having been penalized for that violation if, within 06 months from the date of completing the execution of a warning penalty decision, or 01 year from the date of completing the execution of other administrative penalty decisions, or from the date the statute of limitations for enforcing the penalty decision expires, they do not re-offend.

The date of completion of the warning penalty decision is the date the administrative violation penalty decision is delivered to the penalized organization or individual as prescribed in Article 39 of this Decree.

6. Deadline for tax collection

a) If the statute of limitations for administrative penalties for tax violations has expired, the taxpayer will not be penalized but must still pay the full amount of back taxes (tax arrears, tax evasion, tax exemptions, reductions, refunds exceeding regulations, and late payment penalties) to the state budget for the period up to ten years prior to the date the violation was discovered. If the taxpayer is not registered for tax, they must pay the full amount of tax arrears, tax evasion, and late payment penalties for the entire period prior to the date the violation was discovered.

b) The deadline for tax collection as stipulated in point a of this clause applies only to taxes under tax laws and other revenues that organizations and individuals self-declare and self-pay into the state budget.

For revenue from land or other revenues where the competent authority determines the financial obligations of organizations and individuals, the competent authority shall determine the collection period in accordance with the law on land and relevant laws, but not less than the collection period stipulated in point a of this clause.

Article 9. Cases where administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations are not imposed.

1. No administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations shall be imposed in cases where no administrative penalties are applicable according to the law on handling administrative violations.

Taxpayers who are late in completing tax procedures and issuing invoices electronically due to technical problems with the information technology system, as announced on the tax authority's electronic portal, are considered to have committed violations due to force majeure events as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 11 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

2. No administrative penalties or late payment interest will be charged to taxpayers who commit administrative tax violations, provided that the actions are in accordance with guidance documents and decisions issued by tax authorities or other competent state agencies regarding the determination of the taxpayer's tax obligations (including guidance documents and decisions issued before the effective date of this Decree), except in cases where tax audits at the taxpayer's premises do not detect errors in the taxpayer's declaration and determination of the amount of tax payable or the amount of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded, but the taxpayer's administrative tax violation is subsequently discovered.

3. No administrative penalties for tax violations shall be imposed in cases of incorrect declarations where the taxpayer has submitted supplementary tax returns and voluntarily paid the full amount of tax due before the tax authority announces a tax audit or inspection at the taxpayer's premises, or before the tax authority discovers the violation without conducting an audit or inspection at the taxpayer's premises, or before another competent authority discovers the violation.

4. No penalties will be imposed for violations of tax procedures for individuals directly settling personal income tax who are late in submitting their personal income tax return but have a tax refund due; or for household businesses and individual businesses whose taxes have been assessed according to the provisions of Article 51 of the Law on Tax Administration.

5. No penalties will be imposed for violations of the tax return filing deadline during the period when the taxpayer is granted an extension for filing the tax return.

Chapter II

ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS RELATED TO TAXES, FORMS OF PENALTIES, AND REMEDIAL MEASURES

Section 1. PENALTIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE TAX VIOLATIONS AGAINST TAXPAYERS

Article 10. Penalties for violations regarding tax registration deadlines; notification of temporary suspension of business operations; and notification of resumption of business operations before the deadline.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for violations related to tax registration; notification of temporary suspension of business operations; and notification of resumption of business operations before the prescribed deadline, ranging from 01 to 10 days, provided there are mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of between VND 1.000.000 and VND 2.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Tax registration; notification of resumption of business before the previously announced deadline, exceeding the prescribed deadline by 1 to 30 days, except as stipulated in Clause 01 of this Article;

b) Notifying the temporary suspension of business operations beyond the prescribed time limit, except in cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

c) Failure to notify authorities of the temporary suspension of business operations.

3. A fine of VND 3.000.000 to VND 6.000.000 will be imposed for the following violations: registering for tax; notifying the resumption of business before the previously announced deadline, exceeding the prescribed deadline by 31 to 90 days.

4. A fine of between VND 6.000.000 and VND 10.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Tax registration; notification of resumption of business operations before the previously announced deadline, exceeding the prescribed deadline by 91 days or more;

b) Failure to notify the authorities of the resumption of business operations before the announced deadline, but without incurring any tax liability.

Article 11. Penalties for violations regarding the deadline for notifying changes in tax registration information.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for any of the following acts:

a) Notification of changes to tax registration information submitted more than 01 to 30 days after the prescribed deadline, but which does not alter the tax registration certificate or tax identification number, and there are mitigating circumstances;

b) Notifying changes to tax registration information beyond the prescribed deadline by 01 to 10 days, resulting in changes to the tax registration certificate or tax identification number, but with mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of VND 500.000 to VND 1.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of notifying changes to tax registration information beyond the prescribed deadline by 1 to 30 days, but without changing the tax registration certificate or tax identification number, except for cases subject to penalties under point a, clause 01 of this Article.

3. A fine of between VND 1.000.000 and VND 3.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Notification of changes to tax registration information submitted more than 31 to 90 days after the prescribed deadline, but without changing the tax registration certificate or tax identification number;

b) Notifying changes to tax registration information beyond the prescribed deadline, ranging from 1 to 30 days, resulting in changes to the tax registration certificate or tax identification number, except for cases specified in point b, clause 01 of this Article.

4. A fine of between VND 3.000.000 and VND 5.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Notification of changes to tax registration information submitted more than 91 days after the prescribed deadline but without changing the tax registration certificate or tax identification number;

b) Notifying changes to tax registration information beyond the prescribed deadline of 31 to 90 days, resulting in changes to the tax registration certificate or tax identification number notification.

5. A fine of between VND 5.000.000 and VND 7.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Notification of changes to tax registration information submitted more than 91 days after the prescribed deadline, resulting in changes to the tax registration certificate or tax identification number notification;

b) Failure to notify the tax registration authorities of changes to the information in the tax registration file.

6. The provisions of this Article do not apply to the following cases:

a) Individuals who are not engaged in business activities and have been issued a personal income tax identification number are slow to update their identity card information when they are issued a citizen identification card;

b) The income-paying agency is slow to notify changes in identity card information when the individual taxpayer is an authorized individual who has been issued a citizen identity card for personal income tax settlement;

c) Notification of changes to the taxpayer's address on the tax registration file after the prescribed deadline due to changes in administrative boundaries according to a Resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly or a Resolution of the National Assembly.

7. Remedial measures: Mandatory submission of documents to amend tax registration information for the actions specified in point b, clause 5 of this Article.

Article 12. Penalties for false or incomplete declarations in tax documents that do not result in a shortfall in tax payable or an increase in tax exemptions, reductions, or refunds.

1. A fine of VND 500.000 to VND 1.500.000 shall be imposed for the act of incorrectly or incompletely declaring information in tax documents that is not related to determining tax liability, except for the acts specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. A fine of VND 1.500.000 to VND 2.500.000 shall be imposed for the act of incorrectly or incompletely declaring information on tax returns and accompanying appendices that are not related to determining tax obligations.

3. A fine of between VND 5.000.000 and VND 8.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Incorrect or incomplete declaration of information related to determining tax obligations in tax returns;

b) The acts stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 16; Clause 7 of Article 17 of this Decree.

4. Remedies:

a) Requiring the re-declaration and submission of additional documents in the tax file for the acts specified in clauses 1, 2 and point a of clause 3 of this Article;

b) Mandating the adjustment of losses and deductible input value-added tax carried forward to the next period (if any) for the acts specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 13. Penalties for violations regarding the deadline for submitting tax returns.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for submitting tax returns more than 01 to 05 days after the deadline, provided there are mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of VND 2.000.000 to VND 5.000.000 shall be imposed for submitting tax declaration documents more than 1 day but less than 30 days after the deadline, except for cases specified in Clause 01 of this Article.

3. A fine of VND 5.000.000 to VND 8.000.000 will be imposed for submitting tax declaration documents more than 31 to 60 days after the prescribed deadline.

4. A fine of between VND 8.000.000 and VND 15.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Filing tax returns more than 61 to 90 days after the prescribed deadline;

b) Filing tax returns more than 91 days after the prescribed deadline but without incurring any tax liability;

c) Failure to file a tax return but no tax liability arises;

d) Failure to submit the required appendices on tax management for enterprises with related-party transactions along with the corporate income tax return.

5. A fine of VND 15.000.000 to VND 25.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of submitting tax declaration documents more than 90 days after the deadline for submitting tax declaration documents, where there is tax payable and the taxpayer has paid the full amount of tax and late payment penalties to the state budget before the tax authority announces a tax audit or inspection decision, or before the tax authority draws up a record of the act of late submission of tax declaration documents as prescribed in Clause 11, Article 143 of the Law on Tax Administration.

If the penalty amount, if applied under this clause, is greater than the tax amount due as stated in the tax return, the maximum penalty in this case shall be equal to the tax amount due as stated in the tax return, but not less than the average of the penalty range stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article.

6. Remedies:

a) The taxpayer shall be required to pay the full amount of late payment penalties to the state budget for violations of the provisions in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article in cases where the taxpayer's late submission of tax declarations leads to late payment of taxes;

b) Mandatory submission of tax returns and accompanying appendices for the acts specified in points c and d of Clause 4 of this Article.

Article 14. Penalties for violations of regulations on providing information related to determining tax obligations.

1. A fine of between VND 2.000.000 and VND 3.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Providing information, documents, and legal records related to tax registration as notified by the tax authority more than 05 working days after the prescribed deadline;

b) Providing information, documents, and accounting records related to determining tax obligations as notified by the tax authority more than 05 working days after the prescribed deadline.

2. A fine of between VND 3.000.000 and VND 5.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Failure to provide, or providing incomplete or inaccurate information, documents, receipts, invoices, and accounting records related to determining tax obligations; providing incomplete or inaccurate account numbers, deposit account balances, and payment account balances to competent authorities when requested;

b) Failure to provide, or providing incomplete or incorrect information and data related to tax obligations that must be registered according to regulations, but which does not reduce the tax obligation to the state budget;

c) Failure to provide, or providing incomplete or inaccurate information and documents related to deposit accounts, payment accounts at credit institutions, the State Treasury, and related third-party liabilities when requested by the tax authorities.

3. Remedial measures: Requiring the provision of information regarding the acts specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 15. Penalties for violations of regulations on compliance with tax inspection and audit decisions, and enforcement of administrative tax decisions.

1. A fine of between VND 2.000.000 and VND 5.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Not accepting tax inspection or audit decisions, or decisions on enforcement of administrative tax decisions when delivered or sent by the tax authority in accordance with the law;

b) Failure to comply with tax inspection or audit decisions for more than 03 working days from the date of compliance with the decision of the competent authority;

c) Providing records, documents, invoices, vouchers, and accounting books related to tax obligations more than 06 working hours after receiving the request from the competent authority during an inspection or audit at the taxpayer's premises;

d) Providing incomplete or inaccurate information, documents, and accounting records related to determining tax obligations as requested by competent authorities during tax audits and inspections at the taxpayer's premises;

(d) Failure to sign the tax inspection or audit report within 05 working days from the date of preparation or public announcement of the report.

2. A fine of between VND 5.000.000 and VND 10.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Failure to provide data, documents, and accounting records related to determining tax obligations when requested by competent authorities during tax audits or inspections at the taxpayer's premises;

b) Failure to implement or improper implementation of decisions to seal records, documents, cash reserves, warehouses, goods, materials, raw materials, machinery, equipment, and factory buildings;

c) Willfully removing or altering seals legally established by competent authorities.

3. Remedial measures: Requiring the provision of information, documents, and accounting records related to determining tax obligations for the acts specified in point d, clause 1 and point a, clause 2 of this Article.

Article 16. Penalties for false declarations leading to underpayment of tax or overpayment of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded.

1. A penalty of 20% of the amount of underdeclared tax or the amount of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded in excess of the regulations will be imposed for any of the following acts:

a) Incorrectly declaring the basis for tax calculation or the amount of tax deductible, or incorrectly determining cases eligible for tax exemption, reduction, or refund, resulting in a shortfall in the amount of tax payable or an increase in the amount of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded, but the economic transactions have been fully reflected in the accounting system, invoices, and legal documents;

b) Incorrect declarations resulting in a reduction of the tax payable or an increase in the tax refund, exemption, or reduction not falling under the cases specified in point a of this clause, but where the taxpayer has voluntarily submitted supplementary declarations and paid the full amount of the tax deficit to the state budget before the tax authority concludes its tax audit or inspection at the taxpayer's premises;

c) Making false declarations that reduce the amount of tax payable or increase the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced, which have been recorded in tax inspection reports or administrative violation reports by competent authorities as tax evasion, but the taxpayer, committing the first-time administrative violation of tax evasion, has made supplementary declarations and paid the full amount of tax to the state budget before the competent authority issues a penalty decision, and the tax authority has recorded the false declaration as an act of tax evasion resulting in underpayment;

d) Making false declarations resulting in a shortfall in tax payable or an increase in tax exemptions, reductions, or refunds for related-party transactions, but the taxpayer has prepared documentation to determine market prices or has prepared and submitted appendices to the tax authorities as required by tax management regulations for enterprises with related-party transactions;

d) Using illegal invoices or documents to account for the value of purchased goods and services, thereby reducing the amount of tax payable or increasing the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced, but when discovered by the tax authorities during an inspection, the buyer can prove that the violation of using illegal invoices or documents was the fault of the seller and the buyer has fully accounted for the transaction according to regulations.

2. Remedies:

a) To compel the payment of the full amount of outstanding tax, the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced in excess of regulations, and late payment penalties into the state budget for the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

If the statute of limitations for penalties has expired, the taxpayer will not be penalized according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, but the taxpayer must pay the full amount of tax owed, the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced in excess of the regulations, and late payment penalties to the state budget within the deadline specified in Clause 6 of Article 8 of this Decree;

b) Mandating the adjustment of losses and deductible input value-added tax carried forward to the next period (if any) for the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. In cases where taxpayers make false declarations as stipulated in points a, b, and d of Clause 1 of this Article, but this does not result in a shortfall in tax payable, an increase in tax exemptions or reductions, or a delay in tax refunds, they shall not be penalized according to the provisions of this Article, but shall be penalized according to Clause 3 of Article 12 of this Decree.

Article 17. Penalties for tax evasion

1. A one-time fine equal to the amount of tax evaded will be imposed on taxpayers with one or more mitigating circumstances when committing one of the following violations:

a) Failure to submit tax registration documents; failure to submit tax returns or submitting tax returns more than 90 days after the deadline for submitting tax returns or after the extended deadline for submitting tax returns, except for cases specified in points b and c of Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 13 of this Decree;

b) Failure to record in the accounting books any revenue related to determining the amount of tax payable, failure to declare, or incorrect declaration resulting in a shortfall in the amount of tax payable or an increase in the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced, except for acts specified in Article 16 of this Decree;

c) Failure to issue invoices when selling goods or services, except in cases where the taxpayer has declared tax on the value of goods or services sold or provided in the corresponding tax period; issuing invoices for the sale of goods or services with incorrect quantities or values ​​to declare lower taxes than the actual amount, and being discovered after the deadline for submitting tax returns;

d) Using illegal invoices; illegally using invoices to declare taxes in order to reduce the amount of tax payable or increase the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced;

d) Using illegal documents; using documents illegally; using documents or records that do not accurately reflect the nature or actual value of the transaction to incorrectly determine the amount of tax payable, the amount of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded; creating procedures and records for the destruction of materials and goods that do not reflect reality, thereby reducing the amount of tax payable or increasing the amount of tax refunded, exempted, or reduced;

e) Using goods that are exempt from tax, tax-exempt, or eligible for tax relief for purposes other than those specified, without declaring the change in purpose of use or filing a tax return with the tax authorities;

g) Taxpayers who continue business operations during the period of requesting business suspension or temporary suspension but fail to notify the tax authorities, except in cases stipulated in point b, clause 4, Article 10 of this Decree.

2. A fine of 1,5 times the amount of tax evaded shall be imposed on taxpayers who commit one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article without aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

3. A fine of twice the amount of tax evaded shall be imposed on taxpayers who commit one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article with an aggravating circumstance.

4. A fine of 2,5 times the amount of tax evaded shall be imposed on taxpayers who commit one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article with two aggravating circumstances.

5. A fine of three times the amount of tax evaded shall be imposed on taxpayers who commit one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article with three or more aggravating circumstances.

6. Remedies:

a) Compulsory payment of the full amount of evaded taxes into the state budget for violations of the provisions in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

In cases where the statute of limitations for penalties for tax evasion as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article has expired, the taxpayer will not be penalized for tax evasion, but must pay the full amount of evaded tax and late payment interest calculated on the evaded tax amount into the state budget within the time limit stipulated in Clause 6, Article 8 of this Decree.

b) Mandating the adjustment of losses and deductible input value-added tax amounts on tax records (if any) for the acts specified in clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

7. Violations of the provisions in points b, d, and e of Clause 1 of this Article, discovered after the deadline for submitting tax returns but which do not reduce the amount of tax payable or have not yet been refunded, and do not increase the amount of tax exempted or reduced, shall be subject to administrative penalties as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 12 of this Decree.

Section 2. PENALTIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE TAX VIOLATIONS AGAINST COMMERCIAL BANKS AND OTHER RELATED ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 18. Administrative penalties for tax violations by commercial banks and guarantors.

1. A fine equivalent to the amount of tax, late payment penalties, and fines not transferred to the state budget account (excluding the minimum balance in the payment account as stipulated by the commercial bank providing payment services to the taxpayer) shall be imposed on commercial banks that fail to fulfill their responsibility to transfer funds from the taxpayer's account to the state budget account as requested by the tax authority, except in cases where the taxpayer's accounts at that commercial bank have no remaining balance or where the entire balance of the taxpayer's account has been transferred to the state budget account but is still insufficient to cover the amount the taxpayer is required to pay.

2. The guarantor must pay the tax, late payment interest, fines, and late payment interest on fines (if any) on behalf of the taxpayer, as committed in the guarantee document, in case the taxpayer fails to pay into the state budget.

If, after the guarantee period, the taxpayer has not paid or has not fully paid the outstanding tax, late payment interest, fines, or late payment interest on fines, and the guarantor has not fulfilled their guarantee obligations, the guarantor will be charged late payment interest for the tax and fines and will be subject to enforcement measures as prescribed by the Law on Tax Administration.

Article 19. Administrative penalties for tax violations by relevant organizations and individuals.

1. A fine of VND 2.000.000 to VND 6.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of providing information and documents related to determining tax obligations and taxpayer accounts at the request of the tax authority more than 05 days after the prescribed deadline.

2. A fine of between VND 6.000.000 and VND 16.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Colluding with or concealing taxpayers who evade taxes, or failing to implement administrative tax enforcement decisions, except for the act of failing to transfer funds from the taxpayer's account as stipulated in Article 18 of this Decree;

b) Failing to provide or providing inaccurate information relating to the assets, rights, and obligations of taxpayers held by the organization; and the taxpayer's accounts at credit institutions and the state treasury.

3. The fines stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article are the fines applicable to organizations. The fines for individuals shall be applied according to the principles stipulated in Clause 5 of Article 4 of this Decree.

4. Remedial measures: Mandatory provision of information regarding the conduct specified in point b, clause 2 of this Article.

Chapter III

ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS RELATED TO INVOICES, FORMS OF PENALTIES, AND REMEDIAL MEASURES

Article 20. Penalties for violations of regulations on pre-printed invoices

1. A fine of VND 500.000 to VND 1.500.000 shall be imposed for the act of not signing a written contract for printing or for organizing the printing of invoices for use without a decision to print invoices from the legally authorized representative.

2. A fine of VND 2.000.000 to VND 4.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of ordering the printing of invoices when the tax authority has issued a written notice stating that the applicant does not meet the conditions for ordering the printing of invoices, except in cases where the tax authority does not provide written feedback upon receiving the request to use printed invoices.

3. A fine of VND 20.000.000 to VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of printing invoices using the invoice template already issued by another organization or individual, or printing duplicate invoices with the same symbol.

4. Remedial measures: The invoice must be canceled for the acts specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

Article 21. Penalties for violations of regulations on printing pre-printed invoices.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for any of the following acts:

a) Report on receiving invoices printed beyond the prescribed deadline by 01 to 05 days from the date the deadline expires;

b) Report on receiving invoices printed beyond the prescribed deadline by 06 to 10 days, counting from the expiration date, and including mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of VND 500.000 to VND 1.500.000 will be imposed for the act of printing invoices without a written printing contract.

3. A fine of VND 2.000.000 to VND 4.000.000 shall be imposed for reporting the printing of invoices more than 06 days after the prescribed deadline, except for cases specified in point b, clause 1 of this Article.

4. A fine of VND 4.000.000 to VND 8.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of failing to destroy defective or excess printed products when liquidating a printing contract.

5. A fine of between VND 6.000.000 and VND 18.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Accepting orders for printed invoices even when the conditions for printing invoices are not met;

b) Failing to report the loss of the invoice before handing it over to the customer.

6. A fine of VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of transferring all or any part of a contract for printing invoices to another printing facility.

7. A fine of VND 20.000.000 to VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of printing invoices using invoice templates already issued by other organizations or individuals, or printing duplicate invoices with the same invoice symbol.

8. Additional penalty: Suspension of invoice printing operations for a period of 01 to 03 months from the date the penalty decision takes effect for the act specified in Clause 7 of this Article.

9. Remedial measures: The printed products and invoices for the acts specified in Clauses 4 and 7 of this Article shall be destroyed.

Article 22. Penalties for giving or selling invoices

1. A fine of between VND 15.000.000 and VND 45.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Giving away or selling pre-printed invoices that have not yet been issued;

b) Giving away or selling printed invoices ordered by customers to other organizations or individuals.

2. A fine of VND 20.000.000 to VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of giving away or selling invoices purchased from the tax authority but not yet issued.

3. Remedies:

a) Mandatory cancellation of invoices for acts specified in this Article;

b) To compel the return of any illegal profits obtained from committing the administrative violation specified in this Article.

Article 23. Penalties for violations of regulations on invoice issuance

1. A fine of between VND 500.000 and VND 1.500.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Submit a notice of information adjustment in the invoice issuance notice to the directly managing tax authority when changing the business address resulting in a change of the directly managing tax authority or when changing the name more than 10 to 20 days after the date of starting to use invoices at the new address or starting to use invoices with the new name;

b) Submit a list of unused invoices to the tax authority of the new location when changing the business address resulting in a change of the directly managing tax authority, within 10 to 20 days from the date of starting to use invoices at the new address;

c) Using invoices that have been notified to the tax authorities but have not yet reached their expiration date.

2. A fine of between VND 2.000.000 and VND 4.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Issuing invoices with incomplete content as required by regulations, which has been detected by the tax authorities and a written notice has been sent to the organization or individual to make corrections, but the organization or individual has not made the corrections and has already issued invoices to customers;

b) Failure to post the invoice issuance notice in accordance with regulations;

c) Submit a notice of information adjustment in the invoice issuance notice to the directly managing tax authority when changing the business address resulting in a change of the directly managing tax authority or when changing the name more than 21 days after the date of starting to use invoices at the new address or starting to use invoices with the new name;

d) Submitting a list of unused invoices to the tax authority of the new location when changing the business address resulting in a change of the directly managing tax authority more than 21 days after the start date of using invoices at the new address.

3. A fine of VND 6.000.000 to VND 18.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of failing to issue a notice of invoice issuance before the invoices are put into use if these invoices are related to economic transactions and have been declared and taxed, or are not yet due for tax declaration and payment as prescribed.

Failure to issue a notice of invoice issuance before using invoices, if these invoices are not related to actual economic transactions or if the tax declaration deadline has passed without the tax being declared and paid as prescribed, will result in penalties as stipulated in Article 28 of this Decree or Articles 16 and 17 of Chapter II of this Decree.

4. Remedial measures: Compulsory implementation of invoice issuance procedures for the acts specified in points a and b of clause 2 and clause 3 of this Article.

Article 24. Penalties for violations of regulations on issuing invoices when selling goods and services.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for any of the following acts:

a) Issuing invoices at the wrong time but not resulting in a delay in fulfilling tax obligations and having mitigating circumstances;

b) Issuing invoices consecutively from smallest to largest number but in different invoice books (using the book with the larger serial number and not yet using the book with the smaller serial number), and the organization or individual, upon discovering the error, has destroyed the invoice books with the smaller serial numbers;

c) Incorrectly issuing the type of invoice as prescribed, or having already declared the tax, and the seller and buyer discover the error and issue the correct type of invoice according to regulations before the competent authority announces the inspection or audit decision at the taxpayer's premises, and this does not affect the determination of tax obligations.

2. A fine of between VND 500.000 and VND 1.500.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Failure to issue a consolidated invoice as required by law regarding invoices for the sale of goods and provision of services;

b) No invoices shall be issued for goods and services used for promotions, advertising, or as samples; goods and services used for giving away, gifting, exchanging, or as payment in lieu of wages to employees, except for goods circulated internally or consumed internally to continue the production process.

3. A fine of VND 3.000.000 to VND 5.000.000 shall be imposed for issuing invoices at the wrong time but not resulting in a delay in fulfilling tax obligations, except in the case stipulated in point a, clause 1 of this Article.

4. A fine of between VND 4.000.000 and VND 8.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Issuing invoices at times other than those prescribed by law regarding invoices for the sale of goods and provision of services, except for cases specified in point a, clause 1, and clause 3 of this Article;

b) Issuing invoices not in ascending order as prescribed, except in cases of warning penalties as stipulated in point b, clause 1 of this Article;

c) Issue invoices with a date before the date of purchase from the tax authority;

d) Issuing the wrong type of invoice according to the law on invoices for the sale of goods and provision of services, and having already delivered it to the buyer or declared it for tax purposes, except in cases of a warning penalty as stipulated in point c, clause 1 of this Article;

d) Issuing electronic invoices without prior approval from the tax authority or before the tax authority approves the use of electronic invoices with or without a tax authority code;

e) Issuing invoices for goods and services during the period of temporary business suspension, except for issuing invoices to customers to fulfill contracts signed before the date of notification of temporary business suspension;

g) Creating electronic invoices from cash registers that are not connected to the tax authority, and electronically transferring data to the tax authority.

5. A fine of VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of failing to issue invoices when selling goods or providing services to buyers as prescribed, except for the act specified in point b, clause 2 of this Article.

6. Remedial measures: The seller shall be required to issue an invoice in accordance with regulations for the acts specified in point d, clause 4, and clause 5 of this Article upon the buyer's request.

Article 25. Penalties for violations of regulations on reporting lost, burned, or damaged invoices before notification of issuance, or invoices purchased from the tax authority but not yet prepared.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for reporting the loss, burning, or damage of invoices more than 01 to 05 days after the deadline, provided there are mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of VND 1.000.000 to VND 4.000.000 shall be imposed for reporting the loss, burning, or damage of invoices more than 1 to 01 days after the deadline, except for cases specified in Clause 05 of this Article.

3. A fine of between VND 4.000.000 and VND 8.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Reporting lost, burned, or damaged invoices more than 06 days after the deadline for reporting as prescribed;

b) Failure to report lost, burned, or damaged invoices.

Article 26. Penalties for the loss, burning, or damage of invoices.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for any of the following acts:

a) Losing, burning, or damaging invoices that have been issued (except for the copy given to the customer) during use, after which taxes have been declared and paid, with supporting documents proving the purchase and sale of goods and services, and with mitigating circumstances;

b) Losing, burning, or damaging an incorrectly issued or cancelled invoice, and the seller has issued a replacement invoice for the incorrect or cancelled invoice.

2. A fine of VND 3.000.000 to VND 5.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of losing, burning, or damaging invoices that have been issued (the copy given to the customer) during use, provided that the seller has declared and paid taxes, has records, documents, and evidence proving the purchase and sale of goods and services, and there are mitigating circumstances.

In cases where the buyer loses, burns, or damages the invoice, a written record of the incident must be made by both the seller and the buyer.

3. A fine of between VND 4.000.000 and VND 8.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Losing, burning, or damaging invoices that have been issued or purchased from the tax authority but not yet prepared;

b) Loss, burning, or damage of issued invoices (the copy given to the customer) during use, where the seller has already declared and paid taxes, and has records, documents, and evidence proving the purchase and sale of goods or services.

In cases where the buyer loses, burns, or damages the invoice, a written record of the incident must be made by both the seller and the buyer.

4. A fine of VND 5.000.000 to VND 10.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of losing, burning, or damaging invoices that have been issued, declared, and taxed during use or storage, except for cases specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article.

5. In cases of loss, fire, or damage to invoices as stipulated in Clause 2 and Point b of Clause 3 of this Article due to the fault of a third party, if the third party conducted the transaction with the seller, the seller shall be subject to penalty; if the third party conducted the transaction with the buyer, the buyer shall be subject to penalty.

The seller or buyer and a third party shall draw up a record documenting the loss, burning, or damage of the invoice.

Article 27. Penalties for violations of regulations on cancellation and destruction of invoices.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for the act of canceling or destroying invoices more than 01 to 05 working days after the deadline for cancellation or destruction as prescribed, provided there are mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of between VND 2.000.000 and VND 4.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Improperly canceling issued invoices that have not yet been prepared, or invoices that are no longer valid;

b) Do not cancel invoices that have been issued but not yet prepared, or are no longer valid; do not cancel invoices purchased from the tax authority that have expired;

c) Canceling or destroying invoices more than 1 to 10 working days after the deadline for cancellation or destruction as prescribed, except for cases specified in Clause 01 of this Article.

3. A fine of between VND 4.000.000 and VND 8.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Canceling or destroying invoices more than 11 working days after the deadline for cancellation or destruction as stipulated;

b) Do not cancel or destroy invoices as required by law;

c) Do not cancel electronic invoices that contain errors after the deadline for the tax authority to notify the seller about the error check has passed;

d) Do not cancel pre-printed invoices that have not been issued but are no longer in use, as per regulations;

d) Canceling or destroying invoices in a manner that does not comply with the procedures prescribed by law;

e) Destroying invoices in cases where destruction is required by regulations.

4. Remedial measures: The invoices for the acts specified in point b, clause 2, and points b, c, and d, clause 3 of this Article shall be canceled or destroyed.

Article 28. Penalties for the use of illegal invoices and the illegal use of invoices.

1. A fine of VND 20.000.000 to VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of using illegal invoices or illegally using invoices as stipulated in Article 4 of this Decree, except for cases specified in point d, clause 1, Article 16 and point d, clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree.

2. Remedial measures: The used invoices must be canceled.

Article 29. Penalties for violations of regulations on the preparation and submission of notices and reports on invoices.

1. A warning penalty will be issued for submitting notices and reports on invoices more than 01 to 05 days after the deadline, provided there are mitigating circumstances.

2. A fine of between VND 1.000.000 and VND 3.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Submitting notices and reports on invoices overdue from 1 to 10 days from the expiration date as prescribed, except in cases specified in Clause 01 of this Article;

b) Incorrectly or incompletely preparing notices and reports on invoices as required by regulations and submitting them to the tax authorities.

If an organization or individual discovers an error themselves and submits a corrected notice or report to the tax authority in accordance with regulations before the tax authority or competent authority issues a decision to conduct a tax audit or tax inspection at the taxpayer's premises, they will not be subject to penalties.

3. A fine of VND 2.000.000 to VND 4.000.000 shall be imposed for submitting notices and reports on invoices to the tax authority more than 11 to 20 days after the prescribed deadline.

4. A fine of VND 4.000.000 to VND 8.000.000 will be imposed for submitting notices and reports on invoices to the tax authorities more than 21 to 90 days after the prescribed deadline.

5. A fine of between VND 5.000.000 and VND 15.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Submitting notices and reports on invoices to the tax authorities more than 91 days after the deadline as prescribed;

b) Failure to submit notifications and reports on invoices to the tax authorities as required.

6. Violations related to the preparation and submission of notices and reports on invoices, as stipulated in Articles 23 and 25 of this Decree, shall not be subject to this Article when imposing administrative penalties.

7. Remedial measures: Mandatory preparation and submission of notices and reports regarding invoices for the acts specified in point b, clause 2 and point b, clause 5 of this Article.

Article 30. Penalties for violations of regulations on the transfer of electronic invoice data.

1. A fine of VND 2.000.000 to VND 5.000.000 shall be imposed for the act of transferring electronic invoice data to the tax authority more than 01 to 05 working days after the deadline as prescribed.

2. A fine of between VND 5.000.000 and VND 8.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Transferring electronic invoice data to the tax authority more than 06 to 10 working days after the deadline as stipulated;

b) The summary table of electronic invoices does not include the full number of invoices issued during the period.

3. A fine of between VND 10.000.000 and VND 20.000.000 for one of the following acts:

a) Submitting electronic invoice data to the tax authority more than 11 working days after the deadline as stipulated;

b) Failure to transfer electronic invoice data to the tax authorities within the prescribed deadline.

4. Remedial measures: Mandatory transfer of electronic invoice data to the tax authority for the acts specified in point b, clause 2 and point b, clause 3 of this Article.

Article 31. Penalties for violations of regulations on providing invoice services.

A fine of VND 4.000.000 to VND 8.000.000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

1. Providing self-printing invoice software that does not adhere to the principles or that produces invoices with the required content as stipulated by law.

2. Providing electronic invoicing software that does not comply with the principles stipulated by law regarding invoices.

Chapter IV

AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE PENALTIES; SOME PROCEDURES FOR IMPOSING ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR TAX AND INVOICE VIOLATIONS

Article 32. Authority of tax authorities to impose administrative penalties for violations of tax and invoice regulations.

1. Tax officials performing their duties have the right to issue a warning.

2. The Head of the Tax Team, within the scope of his/her functions and duties, has the right to:

a) Caution;

b) A fine of up to VND 5.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Clause 2, Article 10; Clauses 2, 3, and 4, Article 11; Clause 1, Article 14; Points a, b, c, and d, Clause 1, Article 15; Clause 1, Article 20; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 21; Clause 1 and Points c and d, Clause 2, Article 23; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 24; Clause 2, Article 25; Clause 2, Article 26; Points a and c, Clause 2, Article 27; Point a, Clause 2, and Clause 3, Article 29; and Clause 1, Article 30 of this Decree.

3. The Head of the Tax Department within their jurisdiction has the right to:

a) Caution;

b) Fines of up to VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Fines for the acts stipulated in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Decree;

d) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in this Decree.

4. The Director of the Tax Department within his/her jurisdiction has the right to:

a) Caution;

b) Fines of up to VND 140.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Fines for the acts stipulated in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Decree;

d) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in this Decree.

5. The Director General of the General Department of Taxation has the authority to:

a) Caution;

b) Fines of up to VND 200.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Fines for the acts stipulated in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Decree;

d) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 33. Authority of the Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels to impose administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations.

1. The Chairman of the District People's Committee has the right to:

a) Caution;

b) Fines of up to VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree.

2. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee has the right to:

a) Caution;

b) A fine of up to VND 100.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Fines of up to VND 200.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II of this Decree;

d) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree.

Article 34. Authority of inspectors to impose administrative penalties for violations of tax and invoice regulations.

1. Inspectors and those assigned to carry out specialized inspections while on duty have the right to issue warnings.

2. The Chief Inspector of the Department of Finance, the Head of the Inspection Team of the Tax Department, and the Head of the Inspection Team of the General Department of Taxation, when performing specialized inspection functions, have the right to:

a) Caution;

b) A fine not exceeding VND 50.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree.

3. The head of the inspection team of the Ministry of Finance, performing specialized inspection functions, has the right to:

a) Caution;

b) A fine of up to VND 70.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Fines of up to VND 140.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II of this Decree;

d) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree.

4. The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Finance has the authority to:

a) Caution;

b) A fine of up to VND 100.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Chapter III of this Decree;

c) Fines of up to VND 200.000.000 shall be imposed for the acts stipulated in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II of this Decree;

d) Temporarily suspend invoice printing operations for the violations specified in Article 21 of this Decree;

d) Applying remedial measures as prescribed in Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Decree.

Article 35. Principles for determining and delineating the authority to impose administrative penalties for violations related to taxes and invoices.

1. The authority to impose penalties for violations of tax procedures and administrative violations related to invoices by the persons specified in Articles 32, 33, and 34 of this Decree applies to a single violation committed by an organization. In cases where a fine is imposed on an individual for violations of tax procedures, administrative violations related to invoices, and violations specified in Article 19 of this Decree, the authority to penalize the individual is half the authority to penalize the organization.

The authority to impose administrative penalties for violations of Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Decree shall be exercised in accordance with Clause 2, Article 139 of the Law on Tax Administration.

2. The head of the specialized inspection team has the authority to impose penalties for administrative violations within the scope and content of the inspection, as stipulated by the law on inspection.

3. In cases of administrative violations related to taxes and invoices that fall under the jurisdiction of multiple authorities, the administrative penalty shall be imposed by the authority that first handles the case.

4. In cases where the amount of fines, remedial measures, or supplementary penalties imposed on the person handling the case exceeds the authority stipulated in this Decree, the person with the authority to impose penalties must immediately transfer the case file to the competent agency or person for punishment.

Article 36. Drawing up records of administrative violations regarding taxes and invoices.

1. Authority to draw up administrative violation reports regarding taxes and invoices.

The competent authority for imposing penalties as stipulated in Articles 32, 33, and 34 of this Decree, or a person performing official duties within a state administrative agency who discovers an administrative violation related to taxes or invoices, has the authority to draw up a record of the administrative violation.

2. Prepare a record of administrative violations.

a) The recording of administrative violations shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on handling administrative violations.

If an administrative violation is clearly identified in the tax inspection or audit report, then the tax inspection or audit report shall be considered an administrative violation report as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 108 of the Law on Tax Administration.

b) Creating an electronic administrative violation report

In cases where taxpayers are late in submitting tax registration documents, late in changing tax registration information, late in submitting tax declarations, or late in submitting tax finalization documents electronically, no later than one working day from the date the tax authority sends a notification of receipt of the electronic tax registration documents, tax registration information change documents, or notification of acceptance of electronic tax declarations or finalization documents, the tax authority shall prepare and send one electronic administrative violation record to the taxpayer via the General Department of Taxation's electronic portal, even if the taxpayer submits multiple tax documents.

Electronic administrative violation reports, prepared and sent in accordance with the requirements for electronic transactions in the tax field, serve as the basis for tax authorities to issue decisions on administrative penalties.

The electronic administrative violation report must clearly state the date, month, year, and location where the report was made; the full name and title of the person making the report; the digital signature of the person making the report; the full name, address, tax code, and citizen identification number or national identity card number of the violator or the name, address, and tax code of the violating organization; the time, date, month, and year the violation occurred; the administrative violation; the right and time limit for the violator to explain the administrative violation; and the agency receiving the explanation. The electronic administrative violation report is not required to have the signature of the violating organization or individual.

The tax authorities are responsible for developing information technology systems that enable the creation and sending of electronic administrative violation reports. When the information technology system meets the conditions for creating and sending electronic administrative violation reports for violations related to tax procedures and other invoices, the Minister of Finance shall prescribe the creation and sending of electronic administrative violation reports.

Article 37. Explanation of administrative violations regarding taxes and invoices

1. Cases requiring explanation of administrative violations related to taxes and invoices.

a) Administrative violations related to taxes and invoices are detected through tax inspections, tax audits, or cases involving the creation of electronic administrative violation reports;

b) Administrative violations as stipulated in Articles 16, 17, 18; Clause 3 of Article 20; Clause 7 of Article 21; Article 22 and Article 28 of this Decree.

2. The explanation of administrative violations related to taxes and invoices shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on handling administrative violations.

Article 38. Cases where no decision is made to impose administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations.

1. No administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations shall be imposed in the following cases:

a) In the cases stipulated in Article 9 of this Decree;

b) The subject of the administrative violation regarding taxes and invoices cannot be identified;

c) The statute of limitations for imposing administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations as stipulated in Article 8 of this Decree has expired, or the time limit for issuing a penalty decision as prescribed by law on handling administrative violations has expired;

d) Individuals who have committed administrative violations related to taxes and invoices and have died or gone missing; organizations that have committed administrative violations and have been dissolved or gone bankrupt during the period of consideration for a penalty decision, except in cases specified in point c, clause 4, Article 41 of this Decree.

The basis for determining the death or disappearance of an individual; and the dissolution or bankruptcy of an organization is as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 41 of this Decree;

d) Transfer the case file regarding violations with signs of criminal offenses for criminal prosecution.

2. In cases where no administrative penalty decision is issued as prescribed in points a, b, c, and d of Clause 1 of this Article, the competent authority shall not issue a penalty decision but must apply remedial measures as prescribed (if any). The decision to apply remedial measures must clearly state the reason for not issuing an administrative penalty decision; the remedial measures applied, the responsibilities, and the deadline for implementation.

Article 39. Delivery and sending of decisions on administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations.

1. Within two working days from the date of issuing the administrative penalty decision, the competent authority that issued the penalty decision must send or deliver the penalty decision to the penalized individual or organization, the fine collection agency, and other relevant agencies (if any) for implementation.

2. The penalty decision shall be sent electronically to the taxpayer's registered address with the tax authority in cases where the individual or organization being penalized meets the conditions for conducting electronic transactions in the tax field. In cases where the conditions for conducting electronic transactions in the tax field are not met, the penalty decision shall be delivered directly or sent by registered mail via postal service as stipulated in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article.

3. If the penalty decision is delivered directly, the public official delivering the decision must draw up a record of the delivery. If the individual or organization that violated the regulations intentionally refuses to accept the decision after it has been delivered directly, the competent authority shall draw up a record of the refusal to accept the decision, with confirmation from the local government, and this shall be considered as having been delivered.

4. In cases where the penalty decision is sent by registered mail, if after 10 days from the date the penalty decision was sent by mail for the third time it is returned because the violating individual or organization deliberately refuses to receive it; or if the penalty decision has been posted at the residence of the individual or the headquarters of the penalized organization, or there is reason to believe that the violator is evading receiving the penalty decision, then the decision shall be considered delivered.

If the tax authority sends the penalty decision via postal service, the postal delivery notification (confirming that the penalty decision has been delivered to the penalized organization or individual) shall be included in the penalty file.

Article 40. Statute of limitations for enforcing administrative sanctions for tax and invoice violations.

1. The statute of limitations for enforcing administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations is one year from the date the penalty decision is issued. If, after the aforementioned statute of limitations, the tax authority has not delivered or sent the administrative penalty decision to the violating organization or individual as prescribed in Article 39 of this Decree, the penalty decision shall not be enforced.

If the penalty decision includes remedial measures, those remedial measures shall still be applied.

2. In cases where individuals or organizations subject to penalties intentionally evade or delay enforcement, the statute of limitations for enforcing the penalty decision shall be calculated from the time the act of evasion or delay ceases.

3. In cases where the tax authority has delivered or sent the administrative penalty decision to the violating organization or individual as prescribed in Article 39 of this Decree, but the penalized individual or organization has not paid or has not fully paid the fine, back taxes, or late payment penalties, the tax authority must monitor the unpaid amounts on the tax management system and apply tax debt enforcement measures as prescribed to collect the full amount due into the state budget.

Article 41. Enforcement of administrative sanctions for tax and invoice violations in cases where the sanctioned person dies or goes missing; or the sanctioned organization is dissolved or goes bankrupt.

1. In cases where the person being penalized has died or gone missing, or the penalized organization has been dissolved or gone bankrupt, the monetary penalty stipulated in the penalty decision will not be enforced, but the remedial measures specified in the decision will still be applied.

The person who issued the penalty decision must issue a decision to partially enforce the administrative penalty decision within 60 days from the date of receiving notification that the penalized person has died or gone missing; or that the penalized organization has been dissolved or gone bankrupt.

If the penalty decision does not include provisions for remedial measures, the competent authority shall issue a decision to suspend the enforcement of the penalty decision.

2. Basis for determining the death or disappearance of an individual; the dissolution or bankruptcy of an organization:

a) Death certificate or notice of death or other documents replacing a notice of death as prescribed by the law on civil registration or a court decision declaring a person deceased or missing (original or copy as prescribed) in the case of death or disappearance of an individual;

b) Notification of dissolution of the enterprise or cooperative from the business registration authority or cooperative registration authority in the case of dissolution of the enterprise or cooperative; notification of termination of tax code from the tax authority in the case of dissolution of an organization that is not an enterprise or cooperative (original or copy as prescribed);

c) Decision declaring bankruptcy for the bankrupt enterprise or cooperative (original or copy as prescribed).

3. The decision to partially enforce a penalty decision includes the following: suspension of the monetary penalty, reason for suspension; content of the penalty decision that must continue to be enforced, name of the organization or individual responsible for continued enforcement; and deadline for enforcement.

4. The inheritance of the obligation to implement remedial measures from a deceased or missing individual, or an organization that has been dissolved or declared bankrupt.

a) The heirs are responsible for implementing the remainder of the punitive decision regarding remedial measures within the scope of the deceased's estate.

If the inheritance has not yet been divided, the remaining enforcement of the penalty decision regarding remedial measures left behind by the deceased shall be carried out by the administrator of the estate.

If the inheritance has already been divided, each heir shall implement the remaining portion of the penalty decision regarding remedial measures left by the deceased, proportionally but not exceeding the portion of the property they have received, unless otherwise agreed upon.

In cases where the State, an agency, or an organization receives an inheritance under a will, it is responsible for implementing the remaining part of the penalty decision regarding remedial measures left by the deceased, just as an individual heir would.

If there are no heirs according to the will or by law, or if there are but they refuse to accept the inheritance, then the provisions of civil law shall apply.

b) The person entrusted by the Court with managing the property of the person declared missing is responsible for implementing the remaining part of the penalty decision (remedial measures) within the scope of the property under their management, on behalf of the missing person.

c) If the dissolved organization is a subsidiary unit, business location of an enterprise, or is dissolved due to the reorganization of an enterprise, cooperative, or other organization, or is dissolved as a branch or representative office of a foreign trader, or an executive office of a foreign contractor in Vietnam, then the dissolved organization is not exempt from the monetary penalty stipulated in the penalty decision.

Article 42. Late payment penalties for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices.

1. Calculate the late payment penalty for the fine.

a) Organizations and individuals who are late in paying administrative fines for tax and invoice violations will be charged a late payment penalty at a rate of 0,05% per day on the amount of the overdue fine.

b) The number of days of late payment of fines includes holidays and days off as prescribed by regulations and is calculated from the day following the deadline for payment of fines to the day immediately preceding the day the organization or individual pays the fine into the state budget.

2. No late payment penalty will be charged in the following cases:

a) During the period when the enforcement of the fine decision is suspended;

b) During the review period, a decision will be made to waive the fine;

c) The amount of the fine that is not yet due in cases where the fine can be paid in installments.

3. In cases where organizations or individuals do not voluntarily pay fines or late payment penalties into the state budget, the tax authority directly managing those organizations or individuals is responsible for notifying and urging them to pay the fines and late payment penalties as prescribed.

Article 43. Exemption from administrative fines for tax and invoice violations.

1. Taxpayers who are penalized for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices and suffer material losses due to force majeure as stipulated in Clause 27, Article 3 of the Law on Tax Administration are exempt from paying penalties.

2. The maximum amount of penalty waiver shall be equal to the remaining penalty amount in the penalty decision and shall not exceed the value of the damaged property or goods, after deducting any insured or compensated value (if applicable).

3. The application for exemption from administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations includes:

a) An application for exemption from the fine, clearly stating the reason for the request; determining the value of the damaged property or goods; the amount of the fine and the amount of late payment penalty (if any) requested to be waived;

b) A written request for exemption from the fine from the competent authority that issued the penalty decision or the agency of the competent authority that issued the penalty decision, clearly stating the reasons for the request for exemption; the amount of the fine, and late payment penalties (if any) for which the competent authority is requested to issue the decision to exempt the fine;

c) A document confirming that the taxpayer was affected by natural disasters, catastrophes, epidemics, fires, unexpected accidents, or other force majeure events as prescribed by the Government, and specifying the time and location of the force majeure event, issued by one of the following agencies or organizations: the commune/ward/town police; the People's Committee of the commune/ward/town; the Management Board of the Industrial Park, Export Processing Zone, or Economic Zone where the force majeure event occurred; a rescue and relief organization; or an authority competent to declare an epidemic (original or certified copy).

d) A record of inventory and assessment of the value of material damage prepared by the taxpayer or their legal representative;

d) Minutes determining the value of material damage by an organization with the function of appraising according to the provisions of law (original or certified copy), except in cases where there is a compensation file as stipulated in point g of this clause;

e) Decision on administrative penalties or notification from the tax authority regarding the outstanding penalty amount at the time of the force majeure event and at the time of submitting the application for penalty waiver;

g) Documents proving material damage compensation accepted by the insurance company in accordance with the law (original or certified copy) (if any);

h) Documents proving the liability of the organization or individual required to pay compensation according to the law (original or certified copy) (if any).

4. Authority to waive fines

a) The Head of the Tax Department within his/her jurisdiction has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties issued by the Head of the Tax Team;

b) The Director of the Tax Department, within his/her jurisdiction, has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties imposed by the Head of the Tax Sub-Department or the Head of the Tax Department's inspection team;

c) The Director General of the General Department of Taxation has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties imposed by the Director of the Tax Department or the Head of the Inspection Team of the General Department of Taxation;

d) The Minister of Finance has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties imposed by the Director General of the General Department of Taxation and the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Finance;

d) The Director of the Department of Finance has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties imposed by the Chief Inspector of the Department of Finance;

e) The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Finance has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties imposed by the Head of the Ministry of Finance's inspection team;

g) The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee has the authority to waive fines for administrative violation penalties imposed by the Chairman of the District People's Committee and by himself.

5. Procedures for waiving fines

The taxpayer specified in Clause 1 of this Article must submit an application for exemption from the remaining or entire penalty, along with supporting documents, to the person/agency that issued the penalty decision.

Within three working days of receiving the request for penalty waiver, the person who issued the administrative penalty decision must forward the request, along with the case file, to the competent authority responsible for determining the penalty waiver and inform the applicant accordingly.

Within 30 days of receiving the application and supporting documents for penalty waiver, the competent authority must issue a Decision on penalty waiver or a Notice of non-exemption and send it to the applicant and the person who issued the penalty decision. If the competent authority disagrees with the penalty waiver, they must clearly state the reasons.

6. No exemption from administrative fines for tax and invoice violations will be granted in cases where the penalty decision has already been implemented.

7. If the fine is waived, the corresponding late payment penalty will also be waived.

8. If a taxpayer has been exempted from a penalty but the competent authority or tax agency discovers that the exemption was not in accordance with the provisions of this Article, the authority that granted the exemption shall issue a decision to cancel or adjust the penalty exemption decision. The tax agency directly managing the taxpayer is responsible for collecting into the state budget the amount of the improperly exempted penalty and calculating late payment interest on the improperly exempted penalty amount as prescribed in Article 42 of this Decree. The date on which late payment interest begins to be calculated on the improperly exempted penalty is the date the penalized organization or individual submits a complete application for penalty exemption.

Chapter V

TERMS ENFORCEMENT

Article 44. Enforcement

1. This Decree takes effect from March 05, 12.

2. Taxpayers who applied electronic invoices in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration No. 38/2019/QH14 dated June 13, 2019 and guiding legal documents before July 1, 2022, will be subject to penalties as prescribed in this Decree if they violate the regulations on electronic invoices.

3. From the date this Decree takes effect, the provisions of the following Decrees and Circulars shall cease to be in effect:

a) Chapters I and III of Government Decree No. 129/2013/ND-CP dated October 16, 2013, stipulate administrative penalties for tax violations and enforcement of administrative tax decisions;

b) Clause 2, Article 4, Chapter 1, Chapter 4, and Article 44, Chapter 5 of Government Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP dated September 24, 2013, stipulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of price, fee, and invoice management;

c) Article 3 of Government Decree No. 49/2016/ND-CP dated May 27, 2016, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP;

d) Circular No. 166/2013/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2013, Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BTC dated January 17, 2014, and Circular No. 176/2016/TT-BTC dated October 31, 2016, of the Ministry of Finance.

4. Remove the phrase "invoice" from the section on Name, Basis for Issuance, Chapter 1, point b, clause 2, Article 41, and clause 2, Article 45; and the phrase "in the field of invoices, for one year" in clause 1, Article 4 of Government Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP dated September 24, 2013, regulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of price, fee, and invoice management.

5. Remove the phrase "invoice" from the Name, Basis for Issuance section; Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 4; and the phrases "suspend the right to self-print invoices, the right to create electronic invoices; suspend invoice printing", "cancel invoices; carry out invoice issuance procedures as prescribed" in Clause 1 of Article 1 of Government Decree No. 49/2016/ND-CP dated May 27, 2016, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Government Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP dated September 24, 2013, regulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of price, fee, and invoice management.

6. Regulations on administrative sanctions not stipulated in this Decree shall be implemented in accordance with the law on handling administrative violations.

Article 45. Transitional provisions

1. Applying the provisions of Chapter XV of Law No. 38/2019/QH14 dated June 13, 2019; Government Decree No. 129/2013/ND-CP dated October 16, 2013, stipulating administrative penalties for tax violations and enforcement of administrative tax decisions; Government Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP dated September 24, 2013, stipulating administrative penalties in the field of price, fee, and invoice management; and Government Decree No. 49/2016/ND-CP dated May 27, 2016, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP, to administrative violations related to taxes and invoices that occurred from July 1, 2020, until before the effective date of this Decree.

In cases where administrative violations related to taxes and invoices were committed before the effective date of this Decree, but the violation ceased after the effective date of this Decree, the provisions of the legal document on administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations in effect at the time the violation was committed shall apply.

2. The provisions on penalties in Chapters I, II, and III of this Decree, and the provisions on postponing or waiving the enforcement of penalty decisions that are beneficial to individuals and organizations committing administrative violations related to taxes and invoices, shall apply to acts that occurred before the effective date of this Decree but were only discovered or are currently under consideration and resolution.

3. For administrative violations related to taxes and invoices that were penalized before the effective date of this Decree, if individuals or organizations still have complaints or lawsuits, they shall be resolved according to the provisions of the law on administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations and other relevant legal provisions in effect at the time the violation was committed.

Article 46. Forms of minutes and decisions used in administrative sanctions for violations of tax and invoice regulations.

Attached to this Decree is an Appendix of sample minutes and sample decisions on penalties used in administrative sanctions for violations related to taxes and invoices. Depending on the specific case, additional lines and indicators may be added to ensure that all aspects of the violation are fully reflected in the minutes and penalty decisions, while ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

If necessary, to meet the requirements of state management, the Minister of Finance may issue model minutes, decisions, and other necessary forms after consultation with the Minister of Justice.

Article 47. Responsible for implementing

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government agencies, chairpersons of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees, and relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree.

Recipients: - Party Central Committee Secretariat; - Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers; - Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies; - People's Councils, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities; - Central Office and Party Committees; - Office of the General Secretary; - Office of the President; - National Council and Committees of the National Assembly; - Congress office; - Supreme People's Court; - People's Procuratorate of the Supreme; - State Audit; - National Financial Supervisory Committee; - Bank for Social Policy; - Vietnam Development Bank; – Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; - Central agency of unions; - VPCP: Chairman, Deputy Chairmen, TT Assistant, General Director of the Portal, departments, agencies, units, Official Gazette; – Save: VT, KTTH (2b).

TM. GOVERMENT PRIME MINISTER     Nguyen Xuan Phuc

APPENDIX

SOME FORMS USED IN IMPOSING ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR TAX AND INVOICE VIOLATIONS

(Attached to Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated June 19, 2020 of the Government)

Denominator	Form name
I. SAMPLE MINUTES
01/BB	Minutes of administrative violations regarding taxes and invoices.
01A/BB	Administrative violation report regarding taxes (used when prepared and sent electronically)
02/BB	Minutes of the in-person hearing
03/BB	Minutes of verification of the details of the administrative violation case.
04/BB	Minutes regarding the Administrative offenders who do not receive administrative penalty decisions
II. DECISION TEMPLATE
01/QD	Decision on imposing administrative penalties for violations concerning
02/QD	Decision on postponing the enforcement of the fine.
03/QD	Decision on the partial enforcement of administrative sanctions for tax and invoice violations.
04/QD	Decision regarding payment of fines in installments
05/QD	Decision regarding administrative fines for tax/invoice violations
06/QD	Decision on the application of remedial measures (applicable in cases where no penalty decision is issued)
07/QD	Decision on temporarily suspending the enforcement of administrative penalties for tax/invoice violations.
08/QD	Decision on transferring administrative violation case files with signs of criminal offenses for criminal prosecution.
09/QD	Decision on revoking the Decision on administrative sanctions for tax/invoice violations.
10/QD	Decision on correcting the Decision on administrative sanctions for tax/invoice violations.
11/QD	Decision on amending and supplementing the Decision on administrative sanctions for tax/invoice violations.
12/QD-Q	Decision on delegating authority to impose administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations.
III. SAMPLE FORM FOR REQUESTING WAIVER OF ADMINISTRATIVE FINES
01/DNMTP	Application for exemption from administrative fines
02/DNMTP	Document requesting exemption from administrative fines