Thu 55 trillion, tax refunds up to 2.135 trillion: Tax gaps in the 'black gold' industry revealed

Receiving billions of dong in tax refunds, businesses remain uneasy Recently, the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) sent a document to the Government Office, the National Assembly Office, and relevant ministries and sectors, proposing a review of the value-added tax (VAT) for the pepper and spice industry. According to the VPSA, the Vietnamese pepper industry currently has an annual production of about 200,000 tons, of which 190,000 tons (95%) are exported and only 10,000 tons (5%) are consumed domestically. However, only about 5,000 tons of the total production are processed and consumed domestically. Therefore, the State only collects VAT from this part of the product. Meanwhile, the majority of the remaining production is exported without tax, so exporting businesses will be refunded the VAT. According to calculations, the export turnover of the pepper industry reached 1.3 billion USD in 2024, in which the 5% VAT for the entire industry will amount to 65 million USD. ...