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Coach businesses suffers from legal confusion
Vague legal documents and bewildering bureaucracy has left transport companies risking being left with billions of Dong worth of tax arreas.
In July 2009, a private-run company in Lai Chau received a license to provide coach trips. The license clearly states the company can enjoy tax incentives, including land leasing fee exemption, corporate income tax reduction and preferential investment credit.
The company could also enjoy tax exemption for machines and imported equipment as a fixed asset of the company.
In addition, legislation also stipulates projects which encourage investment, such as this, especially those carried out in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions, will be given tax incentives.
However, when the company contacted Dien Bien province customs agency to follow procedures it was told to present the certificate granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST).
It was then that the real problems began. MST refused to grant certificate. Citing current laws, it said they only has the responsibility to recognise certain vehicles and that the company’s imports were not required to have the MST certificate.
The ministry even confirmed that it had never granted such a certificate to any such case before.
However, when the company returned to the customs agencies, it was told that it will not be able to enjoy the tax exemption if it could not show the MST certificate.
It’s believed the problem lies in the fact that in the relevant Decree 149, while stipulating that specialised transport vehicles can enjoy tax exemption with the certificate granted by MST - they ‘forgot’ to stipulate that public passenger transport vehicles can also enjoy exemption.
The ‘loophole’ in the laws has given the Dien Bien customs agency an excuse to refuse tax incentives to the private run company in Lai Chau province.
Local newspaper VnExpress quoted an official from the General Customs Department, who admitted that the legal documents are not clear enough which has caused difficulties for enterprises. He confirmed they working on documents in order to close the loophole.
VietNamNet, VNE
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