The agency aims to process qualifying enterprise dissolutions within three working days as a high-profile cleanup campaign enters its final months.
The Scope of the Tax ID Cleanup Campaign
The intensive drive, officially titled Cleaning up tax identification numbers and removing business bottlenecks, targets over 600,000 entities across the country (according to the Tax Department). This massive administrative undertaking focuses primarily on two stagnant classifications: businesses that ceased operating without completing formal dissolution (designated as status 03) and operators who vanished from their registered addresses while carrying unpaid tax liabilities (status 06).
Many of these businesses have remained dormant for years, with some shop owners and small enterprises leaving operations unattended for a decade or longer. In response, authorities have mobilized field personnel, updated digital infrastructure, and utilized electronic channels to push notices directly to the registered contacts of affected owners.
Hidden Costs and Penalty Surprises for Dormant Businesses
For many small-business owners attempting to close inactive entities, the bureaucratic exit path carries punishing financial consequences. Tax experts and enterprise owners have pointed out that companies remaining on paper long after operations cease can accumulate massive compliance bills.
One representative case cited in professional forums involved a company established in 2019 that operated for only a few months before going dark. Years later, when the owner sought to settle the tax ID, the accumulated fees and penalties totaled a substantial sum in dong. The bill featured annual business license fees spanning 2020 through 2025, alongside administrative penalties for unfiled value-added tax returns and late payment interest charges.
Furthermore, missed quarterly filings trigger stacking penalties that easily turn a nominal oversight into a crippling financial burden.
Accelerated Processing and the Three-Day Resolution Target
To ease the bottleneck, tax officials have implemented a strict service window for compliant taxpayers. The agency established a benchmark to resolve and finalize tax code terminations within three working days once a taxpayer submits a complete file and satisfies all outstanding Treasury obligations.
Nguyen Thi Thu, Head of Tax Operations Department at the Tax Department, stated that they had set a goal ensuring that once taxpayers submit their files to the tax authority and complete their obligations to the state budget, the processing time for terminating the validity of tax registration codes will be within just 3 working days, adding that specific targets have also been set for each tax official in supporting taxpayers to carry out procedures. Nguyen Thi Thu, Head of Tax Operations Department, Tax Department
According to the Tax Department’s operational leadership, forcing dormant entities to settle legitimate public finance obligations preserves fairness for active businesses that maintain compliance.
Inter-Agency Coordination and Digital Safeguards
The current sweep relies heavily on cross-departmental data sharing. The Tax Department is collaborating with the Ministry of Public Security—specifically unit C06—to verify the identity documents of legal representatives tied to inactive entities. Simultaneously, tax authorities are working alongside business registration offices to legally revoke enterprise certificates and streamline final dissolutions.
The state has also expanded mobile utility features to protect citizens from identity theft. The eTax Mobile application now alerts legal representatives regarding pending tax debts, asset freeze decisions, and exit restrictions. The digital upgrade includes a dedicated reporting mechanism allowing individuals to flag fraudulent shell companies established using stolen personal credentials, separating innocent victims from illicit corporate liabilities.
Unresolved Debates Over Legacy Penalties
Despite accelerated processing speeds, industry advisors argue that structural reforms remain necessary for long-abandoned files. Professional bodies have formally requested special exemptions for micro-enterprises and household businesses that drifted away years ago without generating revenue.
Tax consultants point to historical precedents where companies defunct since 2013 face tens of millions of dong in accumulated fines and licensing levies when attempting formal closure today. While the agency continues to review practical relief measures for legacy arrears, officials insist that any permanent regulatory adjustment must balance administrative leniency against the core principle of fiscal accountability.
