In extreme cases, authorities have temporarily barred individuals from leaving the country for owing as little as 600 đồng (roughly 2 U.S. cents) in taxes.
The Latest: After months of public complaints regarding citizens being temporarily barred from leaving Việt Nam over minimal tax debts, the Government Office issued Document No. 5640 on June 16.
Through this document, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng directed agencies to finalize regulations on tax obligations for individuals exiting the country.
The Details: The document assigns the Ministry of Finance the task to “carefully study practical problems that have arisen in order to amend, supplement, and complete regulations on fulfilling tax-payment obligations in cases of exit from the country.”
- The deputy prime minister required the ministry to submit the completed regulations to the government before June 20.
- He mandated that the regulations must be implemented in accordance with the law, be suitable for practical conditions, and support and facilitate taxpayers.
Earlier, on May 30, the Ministry of Finance acknowledged receiving public complaints about the travel bans and submitted a report to the prime minister for consideration.
The Background: The government directive follows several high-profile notices issued to businesses over minuscule debts.
- In Phú Thọ Province, Tax Office No. 8 notified the legal representative of Vương Duy Co. Ltd. of a potential temporary exit ban over a tax debt of 600 đồng, calculated as of April 6.
- Similarly, Tax Office No. 5 in Quảng Ninh Province issued a notice on April 29 to Đông Á 75 Construction and Trading Co. Ltd. for 82,800 đồng in taxes overdue by 90 days, threatening its legal representative, Lê Đức Nghiệp, with a travel ban.
- In Cần Thơ, Tax Office No. 2 issued a warning to the legal representative of Giàu Hưng Thịnh Trading and Services Co. Ltd. over a 43,757 đồng debt overdue by 90 days as of April 15.
In addition to corporate notices, many individuals reported being blocked from leaving the country at the airport over tax debts as low as a few thousand đồng.
Previously, on March 12, the Ministry of Finance proposed a draft decree guiding the Law on Tax Administration, which suggested barring individual business operators, household business owners, and legal representatives of enterprises or cooperatives who stopped operating at registered addresses but still owed 1 million đồng or more.
Why It Matters: Under Decree 49/2025, individual business operators and household business owners facing administrative tax management enforcement may be temporarily barred from leaving the country only if their tax debt is 50 million đồng or more and overdue by more than 120 days.
- Despite this, a representative of the tax authority stated at a May 22 press conference that bans for small debts were imposed because businesses had a “responsibility to complete dissolution procedures in accordance with regulations” and their “tax-management obligations had not been completed.”
- Tax agencies noted that most small-debt cases involved businesses or household businesses determined by tax authorities to be “no longer operating at their registered address.”
Addressing the public criticism, the Ministry of Finance claimed that citizen complaints and media reports were “not fully reflective of the facts,” asserting that tax authorities proactively issued warnings and canceled bans once obligations were met.
The ministry defended the temporary exit bans as an “effective measure” to raise taxpayers’ legal awareness and “strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of tax management.”
Thành Phương wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on June 18, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
