Vietnam’s tax sector recorded positive results in 2022 despite the difficulties and challenges facing the economy, according to the General Department of Taxation.

Total tax revenue in 2022 reached VND1.46 quadrillion ($61.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 8.5 per cent and 24.3 per cent higher than the estimate.

This amazing result contributed to stabilizing the macro-economy and ensuring major financial and budget balances.

The rise in tax revenues can be attributed to economic recovery and digital transformation in tax administration. The launch of e-invoices and an e-Tax portal for foreign service providers has helped prevent tax losses and created favorable conditions for taxpayers.

All enterprises, household businesses, and individuals operating in the country have used e-invoices, with the total number issued increasing to more than 2.1 billion.

The launch of e-invoices has contributed to helping Vietnam speed up digital transformation to serve individuals and enterprises better and helping tax agencies gradually shift to automated tax management mode to boost administrative reform and create a transparent and equal business environment.

The development of e-commerce is in line with development trends around the world, bringing many benefits to local residents and enterprises, such as helping cut costs, saving a great deal of time, and protecting the environment.

In particular, the General Department of Taxation launched “lucky invoice” programs to encourage consumers to obtain e-invoices to help strengthen tax management over retail services.

With its “e-invoice system - solutions to accelerate digital transformation” product, the General Department of Taxation was honored at the Vietnam Digital Awards 2022 as a State agency with excellent achievements in the digitalization process.

Vietnam has become one of the four leading countries in the ASEAN region implementing an e-Portal to collect taxes from foreign service providers.

Forty-two foreign service providers, including giants such as Meta (Facebook), Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Netflix, and Apple, had registered for the e-Tax portal after eight months of its operations, paying over VND3.4 trillion ($142 million) in taxes to the State budget.

The General Department of Taxation officially operated an e-commerce information portal in 2022, which has three main functions, including supporting e-commerce platforms in information supply and tax declarations on behalf of individuals, and helping individuals file tax declarations.

Other features include helping organizations, individuals, and business households apply for tax identification numbers for the first time, providing information on tax policies for e-commerce in accordance with existing regulations, and answering relevant questions.

The department expects that the portal will be a new start in managing e-commerce taxes, helping to prevent tax losses in the sector.