Vietnamese tax authorities looking to pin down elusive Uber and Big C

July 05, 2016 | 08:45

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Vietnamese tax authorities are looking for a way to tax ride-sharing company Uber, while putting pressure on French and Thai retailers Groupe Casino and Central Group, the old and new owner of supermarket chain Big C Vietnam, to pay the tax incurred from the sale.

At the regular press meeting of the Ministry of Finance on July 2, Nguyen Dai Tri, deputy head of the General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), said the tax authority still has no mechanism for collecting tax from Uber.

According to Tri, the general department has not reached a consensus with related government agencies, namely the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Information and Communications, on the terms of taxing Uber. However, it has not given up on hammering out a fair and effective solution. The aim, he said, is to make Uber pay all the tax it rightfully owes.

What complicates the matter of Uber in Vietnam is that the company not only signs contracts with drivers who belong to registered companies, that meet all requirements to provide transportation services and pay corporate income tax for providing services through Uber. The ride-sharing company also signs contracts with individuals, many of whom do not register with the government to provide transportation services and are thus working illegally.

Regarding the transfer of Big C Vietnam from Casino to Central Group, for which neither companies paid tax, the general department maintained that dues are in order, because Big C Vietnam incurs income from operations in Vietnam.

Central Group started operating Big C in the central province of Thanh Hoa at the beginning of June. Big C Thang Long also sent documents to the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment following the sale, asking to change the representative of the company.

Tri said the companies have to pay the tax before the authorities accept the legality of the sale.

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