One year ago, Cao Thi Tuong Vy, an accountancy officer of Sao Viet Company in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, which specializes in providing accountancy services to enterprises, had to go to the Vung Tau City Taxation Sub-department to submit finance reports. The work really took Vy and her colleagues much time. Sometimes, she had to spend two days to submit one report, because the taxation office was always overloaded.

 However, the situation has changed a lot with the online tax declaration mechanism.

 After the General Department of Taxation began providing online tax declaration services, Sao Viet has been taking full advantage of the services. Accountancy officers of the company can submit tax report at any time. Of course, this does not require complicated procedures, while they do not have to spend much time on traveling.

 Representatives of other enterprises have also applauded the online tax declaration mechanism, because this helps them save time and costs. In the past, enterprises had to submit both the soft copies and printed copies to taxation bodies during office hours prior to the 20th of the month. Nowadays, they just need stay in the office and send the reports with certified digital signatures, at any time of the day.

 In case the managers of the companies are away, the accountants of the companies still can make signatures and submit the tax declaration reports online.

 An official of the General Department of Taxation said that the online tax declaration could be carried out in two ways. Businesses can make direct declaration on the website kekhaithue.gdt.gov.vn, or use online tax declaration service T-VAN.

 The department has licensed some enterprises to provide T-VAN services, namely Bkav, Seatech, TS24, Viettel and Thai Son Technology Development Company.

 T-VAN online tax declaration service providers are the ones who help the state management agency receive digital reports from enterprises and tax payers. The work, in the past, was taken by the watchdog agency, but has been transferred to technology service firms, which has helped ease the works on the state management agencies. This is considered a kind of PPP (private public partnership) in providing online public services.

 Businesses need to change their thinking

 Taxation bodies have said that a lot of businesses do not want to make online tax declaration. At present, online declaration is not a must, while enterprises do not want to make public their tax payment.

 Besides, technical problems have also discouraged businesses. In many cases, due to the technical errors, businesses have to revive documents and enter data manually. The overloading in transmission line on peak days may cause troublesome to tax payers.

 Vi from Sao Viet Company said that her firm has to submit tax reports online for hundreds of clients, and it is using both the ways of declaring tax. If Sao Viet declares tax on the website of the General Department of Taxation, it does not have to pay fee. However, network deadlock may occur on peak hours. Meanwhile, if using T-VAN service (www.noptokhai.vn), everything would go smoothly at any time. However, Sao Viet has to pay the fee of 1 million dong a year.

 According to the General Department of Taxation, after three years of providing the service of online tax declaration, 20 percent of enterprises nationwide have used the service.

 Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance strives to have 350,000 businesses, or 70 percent of total businesses, using digital signatures when declaring tax online by 2012.

 

Source: TBKTSG