Tax Authority identifies more than 400 firms with annual revenue of at least 1 trillion VND still reporting losses

By compiling and analyzing nationwide tax declarations, the Tax Department found that a notable number of high-revenue enterprises report losses. Specifically, more than 400 firms with annual revenue of at least 1,000 billion VND reported losses or only slim profits. Deputy Director Le Long said at the Finance Ministry’s Q1/2026 briefing on April 9 that losses sustained over many years while expanding scale or increasing capital raise doubts about the honesty of tax filings and compliance with tax and accounting laws. Regarding the phenomenon of billion-VND revenue with thin margins, the tax agency has implemented many measures to strengthen tax administration for these firms in 2025. However, the pattern of losses for multiple years with slim margins remains widespread. The Tax Authority has also built and tasked provincial and municipal tax administrations and units to implement stronger measures to prevent revenue loss and fraud for chronically loss-making, low-margin, or multi-year-loss enterprises. As noted by Deputy Director Le Long, the causes of persistent losses may stem from both objective and subjective factors, but practice shows some firms continue to expand or invest despite losses. To address this, the tax agency has rolled out a coherent set of measures to enhance tax management for this group. First, tax-law awareness and guidance on tax declarations have been intensified. The tax authority not only requires honest, complete, and accurate declarations but also warns about legal consequences of misreporting, evasion, or tax avoidance. In addition, tax declarations and records are being reviewed more rigorously, with on-site inspections at tax offices increased. If errors are found, the tax authority will guide firms to declare correctly and adjust promptly. Simultaneously, the Tax Department has reviewed and compiled a list of firms with annual revenue of 1,000 billion VND or more that incurred losses for two consecutive years to analyze and identify high-risk cases for inclusion in 2026 targeted inspections. Previously, the Tax Department issued Official Dispatch No. 1927/CT-KTr directing sub-units to tighten governance and accelerate 2026 inspections for this group to timely detect fraud and ensure proper state revenue collection. Audit work will be planned by the Large Enterprise Taxation Office, Electronic Commerce Tax Office, and provincial/city tax departments, with detailed inspection plans for each enterprise under the special topic in April 2026 and to be completed no later than December 2026. During inspections, the tax authority will pay particular attention to the reasonableness of revenue, costs, and profits, especially large or unusual expenses, the timing and basis of revenue recognition, VAT input and output, invoices and supporting documents, cost of goods sold, administration, selling expenses, internal interest, internal services, and contracts with related parties to ensure transactions are independent and aligned with actual business operations.