What businesses should prepare for the tax inspection

Tax inspection has put considerable pressure on business owners as the tax environment becomes more complicated and challenging.

With the aim to support businesses to tackle the tax audit issues, on June 14, RSM Vietnam held the webinar RSM Tax Inspection 2022 to assist enterprises in successfully managing tax inspections. The webinar successfully attracted more than 150 participants from different companies.

According to Le Khanh Lam, head of Tax & Consulting Services at RSM Vietnam, the COVID-19 pandemic had certain impacts on the number of tax adjustments and tax inspections in the first four months of 2022.

The tax adjustments resulting from tax audits have declined as compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, only 15 per cent of tax inspections have been completed according to the year's plan.

He added that due to the low number of tax audits in early 2022, the tax authorities would be likely to increase inspection in the second half of this year. Therefore, businesses should get prepared and updated continuously on new tax policies and regulations.

RSM Vietnam's experts shared a variety of real-life case studies of companies which have received support and consultancy from RSM during the tax inspection process. Along with the challenges, the case studies also impart effective solutions and recommendations for taxpayers.

Even if some taxes haven’t seen a lot of changes or new rules, tax authorities’ typical worries and inquiries continue to evolve with time.

Le Xuan Mao, partner of Business Tax Advisory Services at RSM Vietnam, noted that tax inspectors would often focus on and raise inquiries about a fresh set of targeted issues during each period.

Many tax inspectors are likely to review and investigate not only one type of tax separately, but also combine it with other areas such as transfer pricing and customs, according to RSM’s experts.

RSM suggests that enterprises should gather and deliver entirely relevant legitimate documents, as well as maintain consistency between the information claimed in the documentation and the actual practice, or else there would be undesirable risks during tax inspections.

Overall, the webinar was an opportunity for business representatives to listen to incisive presentations and case studies related to various tax areas such as corporate tax, transfer pricing, personal tax, and customs.

They also had a chance to discuss the challenges and solutions for tax audits with experienced professionals from various tax aspects across RSM.

The virtual event not only earned a lot of positive responses from attendees but also presented practical questions for RSM's experts.