Business household concerns
From June 1, 2025, Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP of the Government officially took effect, stipulating that households and individuals with a revenue of VND 1 billion/year in some industries ( catering, retail, services, etc.) are required to use electronic invoices generated from cash registers, directly connected to tax authorities. The Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No. 32/2025/TT-BTC to provide detailed instructions on the implementation of this regulation.
However, reality shows that, although not yet becoming a popular trend, the refusal to pay transfers at some small businesses is reflecting the fear of tightening tax management and transparency of cash flow.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (living in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) shared: I often buy bun bo at a restaurant on Su Van Hanh Street (District 10) and transfer money, but 2 days ago, I stopped to buy when the restaurant announced that I would pay in cash. When asked for the reason, the restaurant owner said the bank was at fault.
Some clothing stores in Ho Chi Minh City also changed their accounts to receive money, asking customers to transfer money without recording the content of "buy and sell", not accepting COD orders...
Ms. Dang Khanh Ly - owner of a clothing store in District 5 admitted: "My friend currently no longer accepts CODs, because the shipping side has connected the data with the tax authority at the time. Each COD is fully recorded: Full name of seller, address, collection amount... I sell small-scale, which is quite troublesome and annoying".
Some business households are under pressure because they are worried about being charged additional fees and increased taxes, while they themselves do not fully understand how to implement electronic invoices and the conversion process.
Ms. Bui Thi Thu Ha, owner of a grocery store in Son La, said: "Many times, we have to temporarily close, not because of violations but because we do not clearly understand what the inspection team will check. The general mentality is to avoid it first for safety, because they are worried that if they do wrong, they will be punished.
In fact, most businesses like us previously paid taxes under the fixed annual contract method. During the process of buying goods for resale, the seller is often not required to provide value-added invoices (red invoices), because if there are invoices, the import price will increase significantly, causing loss of competitiveness. Meanwhile, most of the items such as shoes and clothes at traditional markets are cheap, imported at a lower price or floating, almost without full documents.
When the authorities conducted an inspection and required them to present invoices and input documents, many businesses like us were confused, did not prepare in time and were worried about being fined.
Mr. Phan Anh Tuan - a gym student in Me Tri area (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) - said that after the practice session, he often buys drinks or snacks right at the counter in the gym. However, recently, the staff at the counter asked customers to pay in cash, not accepting transfers.
"The employee said that the counter owner was worried that if he received the transfer, the tax authority would later review and compare the revenue without an invoice, and it would be collected back," said Mr. Tuan. According to him, the restaurant's refusal to transfer money makes customers quite inconvenienced, especially when the habit of spending without cash has become popular.
Need to motivate voluntary compliance
Commenting on the fear of tax obligations of small business households, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy - CEO of the Faculty of Finance - Banking, Nguyen Trai University - said: "Not everyone intentionally avoids tax obligations. Many small business households violated not due to fraud, but because they did not understand the regulations or did not receive timely support. If we do not handle the difference in compliance well, it is easy to lead to the mentality of "if you do the right thing, you will suffer losses", eroding the motivation for voluntary compliance".
According to Mr. Huy, tax fairness can be simply understood as: People with the same obligations must contribute equally (equally), people with the ability to contribute more need to share more (equally).
Mr. Huy warned that if the situation of gaps and unfairness in tax obligations is not handled promptly and effectively, it will cause serious consequences.
The first is the decline in confidence in the legal system and governance. When businesses and individuals who are honest in business see that tax evasion and fraud are not detected or are not handled appropriately, they will lose the motivation to comply. From there, it is easy to develop the mentality of "crossing the fence", accepting risks to avoid losses.
Second is to create unfair competition, distorting the market. Enterprises that do not pay enough taxes can lower selling prices and expand market share by defrauding costs, putting pressure on transparent business units.
Third is the invisible increase in social injustice. Mid-range workers and small businesses must always comply fully, while groups with greater potential are more likely to "turn around" better. This is a silent thing but causes society to break up from within.
Mr. Huy emphasized that when discussing tax fairness, it is necessary to focus not on "criticizing" or "considering", but on how to move towards a trustworthy, easy-to-understand system that can accompany taxpayers.
Mr. Huy also said that it is necessary to design policies in the direction of encouraging compliance. Strengthening the mechanism of self-declaration, self-submission, and self-responsibility should be accompanied by legal support and timely and fair policy advice. Honoring and ranking businesses with good contributions will inspire instead of just monitoring and collecting.
Another solution is to increase humane communication about taxes. Tax needs to be associated with the practical rights of people such as schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and technology, so that taxpayers clearly see that "tax is sharing, not a burden".
* The Tax Department of Region I (Hanoi - Hoa Binh) has warned against avoiding transparent transactions by refusing to transfer money or deliberately using vague payment content such as "payment for loans", "shipment", "carfe" ... even collecting additional fees when customers choose to pay through banks.
According to the tax authority, deliberately concealing revenue through non-transparent payments will not reduce tax obligations but also put businesses at risk of being subject to tax sealing, collection, administrative sanctions, and even criminal prosecution if there are signs of tax evasion.
* Deputy Director of the Tax Department Mai Son shared that the Tax sector always clearly defines the responsibility to implement practical support solutions, while constantly innovating, improving processes, applying technology, promoting comprehensive digital transformation, with the highest goal of serving taxpayers conveniently, transparently and effectively.
The Deputy Director suggested that tax authorities at all levels increase dialogue, support business households to familiarise and proficiently use electronic invoices from cash registers, and identify June as the peak month for accompanying implementation nationwide.
