Vietnam's customs authorities are asking Sony Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd. to pay tax arrears worth VND7.3 billion ($321,221) because it declared lower prices than the actual price of its imported LCD TVs.

Sony was requested by Vietnam's tax authorities to pay after the actual price of its products

Accordingly, during an unannounced survey to review the price of imported LCD TVs that Sony declared, the authorities found that in reality, the prices were $6.84-70 per piece higher.

Previously, Sony Electronics Vietnam was sued by Bui Trong Kham, a resident of the northern province of Hai Duong, for allegedly not failing to fulfill their warranty obligations for a faulty television set.

Notably, according to Kham, on October 2, 2014, he bought a Sony KDL 42 W700 television from an agency of Sony in Pham Ngu Lao Street, Hai Duong province. The warranty period was 24 months after the television was bought.

On July 10, 2015, the television broke down and he promptly called the Sony warranty centre in Hai Duong and the centre’s employees came out and fixed the device. However, on September 21, 2015, his TV broke down once again. The centre’s employees came, took pictures of the TV and said that the information and pictures would be forwarded to the warranty centre.

However, after that, the warranty centre called Kham to tell him that he allowed liquid damage to the television, and thus refused to fix the television for free. Sony’s warranty staff informed Kham that it would cost VND7.345 million ($323) to fix his television at home and VND6.9 million ($303.6) to fix it at the Sony warranty centre, but Kham declined Sony’s offer.

The second time Kham’s television broke down, company employees found the inside of the television rusty and made appropriate records, which Kham also confirmed on the service paper. According to Article 7(2) of the warranty policy, Sony can refuse warranty for liquid damage.

Sony added that it had offered Kham a free warranty at its warranty centre for his television this time only. However, Kham declined the offer, which Sony considered as a refusal to get warranty for his television.

As the sides debated for two years and cannot reach a mutual agreement, Kham decided to take Sony Electronics Vietnam to court.

VIR