Taxpayers make transactions at the HCM City Tax Department. Photo courtesy of the HCM City Tax Department

HCM CITY — Tax authorities in HCM City have requested police assistance in verifying the founder of 116 companies across various districts in response to concerns about potential tax law violations or fraudulent activities.

Nguyễn Tiến Dũng, deputy director of HCM City Tax Department, disclosed on June 28 that a Vietnamese woman, known by the first name Hương, had established 116 businesses within city districts between December 2023 and March 2024. These businesses all bear foreign names.

Despite multiple attempts to summon the woman for clarification, she failed to appear for questioning.

Investigations have revealed the businesses founded by her were not conducting operations at their registered addresses or any physical location.

The tax agency has sought police intervention to determine whether legitimate citizen identification cards were used in the establishment of these businesses.

It has also cautioned that cases of mass business establishment often involve fraudulent intentions, requiring further investigation by the police.

It has called for collaboration from the Department of Planning and Investment in examining the proliferation of virtual and “ghost” businesses established by certain individuals.

With the recent relaxation of regulations on business licensing, there has been a rise in cases exploiting the establishment of multiple businesses for illicit purposes such as invoice trading and tax refund scams.

Therefore, the tax agency now requires the verification of personal identification before issuing electronic invoices to prevent tax-related violations.

The tax agency recommends amendments to legal regulations mandating the authentication of personal information through the Ministry of Public Security’s national population data centre prior to company registration and invoice issuance to avoid the risk of individuals misusing citizen identification cards for fraudulent activities.

In a related move, the tax agency recently announced a list of hundreds of businesses and individuals owing over VNĐ4.6 trillion (US$188 million) in taxes with several firms with tax debts of over VNĐ100 million as of April. — VNS