The process of identifying taxpayers with difficult-to-collect debts is strictly conducted in accordance with the law. Not all individuals with tax debts are subject to travel restrictions. This measure is only applied to a limited number of cases. Specifically, travel restrictions are imposed on individuals or legal entities with tax debts who are at high risk of not recovering the debt due to leaving the country and not returning or returning to Vietnam after a very long time.

Clause 1, Article 66 of the Tax Management Law No. 38/2019/QH14 stipulates the fulfillment of tax obligations in cases of departure as follows: 

“1. Taxpayers who are subject to the enforcement of administrative decisions on tax management, Vietnamese citizens departing to settle abroad, Vietnamese citizens residing abroad, and foreigners before departing from Vietnam must fulfill their tax obligations; if they have not fulfilled their tax obligations, they shall be temporarily prohibited from departing in accordance with the law on entry and exit.”

Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020, stipulates cases of temporary travel restrictions as follows: 

“1. Cases of temporary travel restrictions include: 

a) Individuals, including legal representatives of business taxpayers, who are subject to the enforcement of administrative decisions on tax management but have not fulfilled their tax obligations. 

b) Vietnamese citizens departing to settle abroad who have not fulfilled their tax obligations. 

c) Vietnamese citizens residing abroad who have not fulfilled their tax obligations before departing. 

d) Foreigners who have not fulfilled their tax obligations before departing from Vietnam.”

In accordance with current regulations, the tax authority reviews, compares, and accurately determines the tax obligations of taxpayers subject to travel restrictions before sending a notification requesting a travel restriction to the immigration management agency and the taxpayer to urge the taxpayer to fulfill their tax obligations before departing.

The cooperation between the tax authority and the immigration authority is closely coordinated to ensure that the notification of travel restrictions is timely, accurate, and the lifting of travel restrictions is promptly implemented in cases where the taxpayer has fulfilled their tax obligations.

In case a taxpayer is temporarily prohibited from leaving the country, pursuant to Clauses 2 and 3, Article 21 of Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP, the travel restriction shall be lifted when the taxpayer has fulfilled their tax obligations to the State budget. The tax authority shall issue a document to cancel the travel restriction within a maximum of 24 working hours from the time the taxpayer fulfills their tax obligations and sends it to the immigration management agency to implement the cancellation of the travel restriction as prescribed.

Therefore, taxpayers must fully fulfill their tax obligations to the State budget to avoid being temporarily prohibited from leaving the country. In fact, there have been cases where the tax authority has sent notifications, decisions on tax debts, debt enforcement, travel restrictions, etc., to urge taxpayers to pay overdue taxes into the State budget. However, taxpayers have reported that they were unaware of their tax debts and the information about being temporarily prohibited from leaving the country until they arrived at the airport to depart. The reason may be that taxpayers have not updated their registered address with the tax authority in a timely and accurate manner; taxpayers no longer operate at the address registered with the tax authority or taxpayers do not regularly update the information sent by the tax authority; … leading to a lack of timely information about tax debts and being temporarily prohibited from leaving the country,…

Therefore, the tax authority recommends that taxpayers regularly update their information on the address for receiving notifications from the tax authority to promptly receive information about tax debts, information on travel restrictions, etc., sent by the tax authority. At the same time, the tax authority encourages all taxpayers to register for an electronic transaction account with the tax authority and install the Etax mobile application to conduct transactions with the tax authority quickly and conveniently. Taxpayers can look up information on tax debts, check cases of travel restrictions through the tax industry’s electronic information website, and the Etax mobile application to fulfill their tax obligations before departing to avoid being temporarily prohibited from leaving the country.