The Government Office has issued a document conveying the deputy prime minister’s directive following a proposal from the Ministry of Finance regarding media reports on exit suspensions linked to tax arrears.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang assigned the Ministry of Finance to thoroughly examine practical issues arising from implementation and amend, supplement and refine regulations governing the fulfillment of tax obligations in cases involving overseas travel under the decree detailing several provisions and implementation measures of the Law on Tax Administration.

The revised regulations must ensure compliance with the law while remaining practical and supportive of taxpayers seeking to fulfill their obligations. The ministry has been instructed to submit its proposals to the government before June 20.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the State Bank of Vietnam have also been asked, within their respective functions and responsibilities, to consider recommendations from the Ministry of Finance and propose appropriate solutions for management and policy implementation, while promptly reporting issues beyond their authority to higher-level agencies.

Following reports from several media outlets and discussions on social media concerning taxpayers being temporarily barred from leaving the country over relatively small tax debts, the Tax Department held a press briefing on May 22 to provide clarification.

Nguyen Duc Huy, deputy head of the Tax Operations Division at the Tax Department, said temporary exit suspension measures are stipulated in the Law on Tax Administration and Decree No. 49/2025, which specifies the thresholds for applying the measure to different categories of taxpayers.

Under current regulations, individual business operators and household business owners subject to tax enforcement measures may face temporary exit suspension if they owe at least VND50 million (USD1,915) in taxes for more than 120 days.

For legal representatives of enterprises, cooperatives and cooperative unions, the threshold is VND500 million (USD19,150) with overdue debts exceeding 120 days.

The regulations also apply to individuals who have abandoned their registered business addresses or those preparing to emigrate without fulfilling their tax obligations.

Addressing reports that some taxpayers were subject to travel restrictions over relatively small tax debts, Mai Son, deputy director of the Tax Department, said a review of tax management data showed that most cases involved individuals who had left their registered business locations without notifying business registration authorities and tax agencies as required.

According to Mai Son, tax authorities have coordinated with local administrations to verify businesses and legal representatives at their registered addresses while also sending notices regarding tax debts through registered phone numbers and email addresses.

In addition, before imposing an exit suspension, tax authorities provide a 30-day advance notice through the taxpayer’s electronic tax account and to the legal representative of the enterprise. Notifications are also sent to registered residential addresses and published on the tax sector’s official online portal.

In the coming period, the Tax Department will continue working with the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security to develop information technology solutions that enable travel restrictions to be lifted as quickly as possible, ideally in real time once taxpayers have fulfilled their obligations to the state budget.

Tran Thuong