Samsung in Ho Chi Minh City said that they had more than 582 billion dong of VAT to be refunded in the past 3 years, but have not been settled by the management agency.
At the Conference of Dialogue between Ho Chi Minh City leaders and Korean businesses on March 25, Mr. Kwon Choon Ki, General Director of Samsung Electronics HCMC CE Complex (SEHC) said that this business has not been refunded value -added tax (VAT) 582.1 billion VND in the past 3 years, making it difficult for the company to do business.
This is the second time SEHC complains about the slow VAT with the leader of Ho Chi Minh City. In August, 2023, the company expressed impatience when about 1,000 billion dong of VAT should be refunded after 2 years.
Sehc’s factory is located in Ho Chi Minh City Hi -Tech Park (SHTP), specializing in manufacturing household electronics, with more than 90% of export. They have about 5,200 employees, revenue of 4.9 billion USD in 2024. This year, the factory aims to revenue $ 5.6 billion.
Mr. Kwon Choon Ki (sitting in the middle) General Director of Samsung Electronics HCMC CE Complex (SEHC) spoke at the dialogue with the leader of Ho Chi Minh City, March 25. Image: ITPC
Sam Samsung is also a top issue mentioned by Mr. Kim Nyoun Ho, President of the Korean Trade Association in Vietnam (Kocham) at the dialogue. “The policy of handling tax refund quickly is an important factor for businesses to rotate capital flexibly and expand investment. Therefore, we suggest that this process should soon be improved,” Kim Nyoun Ho removed.
Responding to Samsung, Mr. Giang Van Hien, Deputy Director of Region 2 Tax Department, said the problem in SEHC’s VAT refund comes from the problems arising when the company asked to switch from the type of ordinary enterprise to export processing enterprises (EPE) in 2020 and approved on May 1, 2021. It was also the period when Covid-19 broke out, leading to some difficulties in tax refund policies.
Mr. Hien said that the Ministry of Finance has decided to request the tax authorities, the Customs, the Tax and Customs Sub -Departments of Region 2 to participate, urgently consider and remove difficulties in handling tax refund for Samsung.
On March 14, the tax authority leader met Samsung representative to exchange this issue. Tax refund documents are being resolved according to regulations. “During this time, Samsung asked Samsung to coordinate with the tax authorities to be resolved in accordance with the regulations and fastest,” Mr. Hien said.
SEHC General Director Kwon Choon Ki confirmed that the company had a discussion with the tax authority but said that there was no specific plan. “We have received the instructions for preparing documents to supplement, but we do not know how to proceed in detail,” he said.
Concluding the problem, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan asked the relevant agencies to report to the Ministry of Finance to clarify which units will directly handle tax refund to Samsung Sehc. Once determined, the parties need to discuss and give specific timelines to end the incident.
South Korea is one of the leading partners of Ho Chi Minh City on trade, investment and tourism, with more than 2000 businesses and 80,000 people living and working in the locality.
Kim Nyoun Ho, President of the Korea Trade Association in Vietnam (Kocham) spoke at the dialogue, March 25. Image: ITPC
In addition, President Kocham Kim Nyoun Ho said that the suspension of this tax refund related to “on -site export” activities with materials suppliers also affects many businesses.
Specifically, according to the regulations, auxiliary enterprises in Vietnam must pay 8-10% of VAT when importing raw materials. After processing, they provide products for export businesses with VAT level of 0%. However, the postponement has not yet refunded VAT, causing domestic auxiliary businesses to be unfavorable in price competition with foreign importers.
“This can affect the competitiveness of the Vietnamese manufacturing industry. Therefore, we suggest that VAT refund procedures should be improved soon so that auxiliary businesses can operate stably,” Kim said.
The Kocham also proposes to set up an integrated administrative management system for foreign investors, in order to simplify investment licensing procedures and resolve the delay due to the inefficient connection between ministries, departments and branches.
“The records and procedures of each ministry are different, causing difficulties for investors. This can also affect the investment environment of Vietnam,” said President Kocham. According to him, the integrated administrative system helps improve the investment environment, positively impacting FDI.
This is the fourth dialogue of Korean enterprises and leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, after 2021, 2022 and 2023. Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan pledged the locality to continue listening, solving difficulties and encouraging the Korean business community to increase trade and investment.
“The city will implement many solutions to support businesses, attract investment and promote economic growth. The Ho Chi Minh City government has made the most effort to ensure a stable political and social environment and create favorable conditions for foreign businesses,” Hoan said.