Phạm Văn Tam while serving as chairman. — Photo thanhtra.com.vn

HCM CITY — People’s Procuracy of HCM City has filed charges against Phạm Văn Tam, chairman of electronics firm Asanzo, accusing him of smuggling and tax evasion.

His younger brother, Phạm Xuân Tình, who serves as Asanzo’s general director, has also been indicted for tax evasion.

Asanzo was first registered in October 2016 with Tam as its legal representative. A year later, Tình took over that role.

In 2019, city tax inspectors reviewed the company’s compliance with tax regulations covering the period from 2016 through mid-2019. They found that Asanzo purchased components from Trần Thoàn Company and subcontracted VTB Company to carry out part of the assembly.

The finished products – air conditioners of up to 90,000 BTU capacity – were branded with Asanzo labels and sold to Asanzo Electric Refrigeration Company without invoices or tax declarations. This revenue was left off the company’s official books.

At the same time, Asanzo allegedly used improper value-added tax invoices that recorded 'air conditioners' instead of the actual 'air conditioner components.'

These invoices were used to claim tax credits and declare commercial transactions. Meanwhile, Trần Thoàn Company issued VAT invoices for finished goods directly to Asanzo Electric Refrigeration.

The tax department transferred the case to the city police in October 2019 after concluding there were signs of criminal activity.

A subsequent assessment determined that between 2017 and the second quarter of 2019, Asanzo evaded more than VNĐ15.7 billion (US$595,000) in taxes, including over VNĐ4.1 billion in VAT and more than VNĐ11.5 billion in special consumption tax. — VNS