Vietnamese Plywood Branch wants to recheck the export of veneer products

Many local exporters specialised in veneer products have been suspected of falsifying prices to reduce export tax.

According to the document, the branch has received plenty of feedback about massive export volumes of these items to China since last October. With the growing cost of materials, many local exporters have been suspect of falsifying prices to reduce export tax.

According to VIFOREST, the export turnover of veneer products in the first three months of this year was about $36.11 million, up 197 per cent on-year. China is the largest export market contributing 90 per cent of the total value, equalling to $32.61 million.

“The current tax rate of the products is 10 per cent. Intentionally declaring false expenses will reduce the national budget and also cause a serious shortage of veneer products in the local market [due to high exports volumes],” noted the document.

The Vietnamese Plywood Branch stated that the cost of veneer materials increased by 10 per cent on-year this year. The price in the northern provinces of Bac Giang, Lang Son, Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang is about VND3.2-3.75 million ($139.13-163) per cubic metre, while it is about VND4.6-4.8 million ($200-208.70) per cu.m in the southern provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, and Dong Nai.

Most local exporters are commercial companies. However, when they fill out export dossiers, they usually declare themselves as veneer processing businesses who directly buy timber products from farmers to avoid value-added tax payments.

Therefore, the Vietnamese Plywood Branch recommended VIFOREST and the MoF to set the minimum price for export articles at around $160 per cu.m for wood-based products and $200 per cu.m for rubber-based products. In addition, the branch also proposed raising the export tax rate for veneer items to 25 per cent, equivalent to the rate for wood-chip items.