Tax authorities to tighten cash-flow monitoring following Bao Tin Minh Chau case.

Following cases in which many enterprises established two parallel accounting systems to conceal revenue, tax authorities will strengthen cash-flow controls and link banking data to detect risks.

At the Ministry of Finance's regular press conference on April 9, Mr. Le Long, Deputy Director of the Tax Department, said authorities recently uncovered several major cases involving the use of two accounting systems to hide revenue.

Major cases cited

Mr. Long cited examples including Hoang Long Company, which caused tax losses of more than 241 billion dong, and Bao Tin Minh Chau Co., Ltd., which resulted in a loss to the state budget of about 150 billion dong.

Violation and motive

According to Mr. Long, using two parallel accounting systems—one to track actual activities and another to provide information to authorities—is a serious violation of the law. He said the approach is often intended to conceal revenue, evade taxes, or distort financial statements for other purposes such as bidding or obtaining bank loans.

He added that such behavior reduces budget revenue and affects the economy and the business environment.

The Deputy Director of the Tax Department said the most concerning aspect is that the practice can occur systematically and cleverly, be difficult to detect without thorough auditing skills or investigative expertise, and remain hidden.

Root causes and prevention measures

The Tax Department identified limited compliance culture and business ethics among some enterprises as a root cause. Mr. Long said many businesses aim to maximize profits and reduce tax obligations without fully understanding legal risks, and may even accept trade-offs to evade taxes.

In response, the tax agency proposed that organizations providing invoicing solutions and electronic transaction services in the tax field cooperate to prevent fraud. These units are required to provide information about customers using accounting software, including taxpayer name, tax code, headquarters address and business location. They must also prepare a list of all customers using accounting software up to March 31 and send it to the Tax Department before April 8.

Mr. Long said collecting this information helps the tax authority understand the scale of enterprises, organizations, or household businesses using accounting software, and supports monitoring of declarations and tax payments.

Data received and next steps

As of April 7, the Tax Department had received data from 42 organizations, containing information on 12,809 customers using accounting software. The agency said it is continuing to coordinate with units to compile nationwide data.

From April, the tax authority will use the data to review, issue warnings and recommendations to organizations, businesses or households showing signs of using multiple accounting systems.

Strengthened monitoring and technology use

The tax department will also strengthen cash-flow monitoring to curb fraud, connect data between the tax agency and banks, and monitor high-value transactions in accounts. It will increase the use of technology in tax management, including big data and artificial intelligence (AI), to analyze risk.

The system can detect unusual indicators such as sharply fluctuating revenue, abnormally low profit margins, or discrepancies in data between systems.

Coordination with investigations

The tax agency said it will continue to cooperate with investigation authorities. Cases showing signs of fraud or tax evasion will have files strengthened and be forwarded to the police for processing.