Tax authorities deactivate TINs of nearly 180,000 businesses

Tax authorities deactivate TINs of nearly 180,000 businesses

Tax authorities have deactivated the tax identification numbers of nearly 180,000 businesses and organisations, while restoring the numbers of more than 4,000 others, according to the Tax Department.

The department is continuing to coordinate with relevant agencies and propose policies to address difficulties, while strengthening inter-agency data connectivity to facilitate business dissolution procedures.

The figures were announced at the Ministry of Finance's regular press briefing for the third quarter of 2026 in Hanoi on October 6, chaired by Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi.

Regular press briefing at the Ministry of Finance's headquarters. Photo: Ngoc Nam

Le Long, deputy director general of the Tax Department, provided information on the campaign to clean up tax identification data and its implementation results. In May, the department launched a campaign to continue reviewing and cleaning up tax registration data.

As of the end of August, tax authorities had processed the fulfilment of tax obligations and deactivated the tax identification numbers (TINs) of nearly 180,000 businesses and organisations, including many cases that had remained unresolved since 2025 or earlier. Meanwhile, the TINs of more than 4,000 businesses and organisations had been restored, allowing them to resume operations.

"For many years, the number of businesses that had ceased operations but had not completed procedures to terminate the validity of their TINs, as well as businesses no longer operating at their registered addresses, had continued to accumulate," he said.

As of June, the two groups totalled around 600,000 businesses.

"If left unresolved, registration data would fail to accurately reflect businesses’ actual operating status, while the backlog would continue to grow, wasting social resources and creating legal risks for businesses and their legal representatives," he said. "Moreover, there have been cases in which inactive legal entities, 'shell' businesses and 'ghost' companies were used to illegally trade or use invoices, evade taxes, or fraudulently obtain tax refunds or payments."

Therefore, the campaign pursues two objectives in parallel. On the one hand, it aims to quickly support and remove obstacles for businesses that genuinely seek to comply with regulations and complete procedures to cease operations or resume business. On the other hand, it seeks to strengthen risk screening and prevent businesses from being exploited for unlawful activities.

“The campaign aims to resolve outstanding cases substantively and enable businesses that have genuinely ceased operations to fulfill their obligations and exit the market in accordance with regulations,” Long explained.

In handling the cases, tax authorities have separated four groups of obligations that need to be reviewed and addressed.

First, there are tax obligations that have actually arisen but have not yet been paid. Second, late-payment interest applicable to outstanding tax debts. Third, outstanding tax declarations, invoices and tax finalisation documents. Fourth, administrative penalties for tax violations, where applicable, based on the specific violation, relevant period and statutory limitation period for administrative sanctions.

To implement the campaign, the Tax Department has rolled out a range of coordinated measures, including developing and completing standardised professional guidance and procedures across the tax sector, as well as strengthening communications to ensure businesses clearly understand the required documents, obligations and procedures.

It has also allocated adequate resources and assigned specific responsibilities to individual tax authorities and departments, while reviewing and classifying cases according to their status and risk level to prioritise long-standing backlogs.

"The general principle is that eligible applications must be processed promptly, without requiring procedures beyond those stipulated by law. Where obstacles remain, businesses must be given clear guidance on how to address them, rather than having their applications left unresolved without a solution," Long said.

Le Long, deputy director general of the Tax Department. Photo: Ngoc Nam

At the press briefing, progress in cleaning up tax identification data was raised, particularly the handling of businesses that had abandoned their registered business addresses and measures to support taxpayers. There have also been cases in which businesses had their TINs deactivated but were still unable to complete dissolution procedures due to problems with inter-agency data connectivity, prompting questions about the causes and possible solutions.

Responding to these concerns, Long said, "Tax authorities had proactively addressed obstacles arising during the process of deactivating TINs for business dissolution within their functions and jurisdiction. For example, issues related to lost company seals had also been addressed to support businesses."

He added that inter-agency coordination also presents difficulties in the process of dissolving businesses. "Because obligations to the state budget involve taxes as well as customs, social insurance, and other obligations. All such obligations must be fulfilled before business registration authorities can consider an application for dissolution," Long said.

In addition, the Tax Department is coordinating with relevant agencies to propose policies within the authority of the national assembly and government to address difficulties faced by businesses during dissolution procedures.

The results indicate that the campaign has focused on clearing long-standing backlogs while also helping businesses make a clear choice: either complete the procedures to exit the market or resume operations in accordance with regulations.

According to the Tax Department, total state budget revenue managed by tax authorities in the first nine months of 2026 was estimated at VND1.94 quadrillion ($76 billion), equivalent to more than 86 per cent of the annual budget estimate and 113 per cent of the figure recorded in the same period of 2025.

The total amount of tax estimated to have been exempted, reduced or deferred during the first nine months of 2026 stood at around VND181.5 trillion ($7 billion). Of this, taxes and land rental payments deferred under Decree No.245/2026/ND-CP were estimated at VND60 trillion ($2.3 billion), while tax reductions totalled approximately VND121.5 trillion ($4.7 billion).

Key tasks will be accelerated in the final months of the year, with the aim of exceeding the 2026 state budget revenue target and achieving growth of at least 10 per cent compared with the estimated 2025 figure, in line with Resolution No.245/2025/QH15.

VIR