During the fulfillment of tax obligations, errors in corporate tax declarations are quite common and may arise from data inaccuracies, improper application of regulations, or changes in legal policies.
I. Current situation related to errors in corporate tax declarations
1. Errors occur across multiple types of taxes and various declaration stages
In practice, errors may arise in almost all types of taxes such as value-added tax (VAT), corporate income tax (CIT), foreign contractor tax, or import-export tax. Common mistakes include:
- Underreporting or incorrect declaration of revenue and expenses
- Applying incorrect tax rates or incentive policies
- Confusion regarding tax periods or accounting figures
- Errors when adjusting tax returns or conducting tax finalization
The occurrence of errors at multiple stages indicates that the internal tax management process of many enterprises is still not sufficiently rigorous.
2. The main cause stems from the complexity of tax policies
One of the main causes leading to errors is that the tax regulatory system frequently changes and contains numerous detailed guidelines. It causes difficulties for enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to promptly update and correctly apply the regulations.
In addition, the professional capacity of the accounting department, the lack of synchronization between accounting systems and tax regulations, or inadequate document management are also factors that increase the risk of errors.
3. Legal and financial consequences are becoming increasingly apparent
Errors in tax declarations not only result in the need for supplementary declarations but may also lead to:
- Tax arrears and late payment interest
- Administrative sanctions for tax violations
- Negative impacts on compliance assessments and corporate reputation
- Disputes arising with tax authorities
In some serious cases, prolonged errors may also affect the enterprise’s financial planning and cash flow.
4. Increasing trend of tax inspection and examination
Currently, tax authorities are strengthening the application of technology and data analysis to detect risks, resulting in a higher likelihood of identifying declaration errors. It requires enterprises to improve their level of compliance and establish more effective internal control systems.
It can be seen that the current situation of errors in corporate tax declarations reflects the gap between legal compliance requirements and the tax governance capacity of enterprises. Properly identifying the causes and extent of such errors is an important basis for proposing remedial solutions and improving tax management mechanisms in the future.
II. Concept of errors in corporate tax declarations
1. What are errors in corporate tax declarations?
Errors in corporate tax declarations refer to a situation where an enterprise prepares, submits, or adjusts tax declaration dossiers inaccurately compared to actual transactions or inconsistently with tax law provisions.
Errors may arise in many stages such as:
- Recording revenue and expense figures
- Determining the tax calculation basis
- Applying tax policies or incentives
- Preparing tax returns and tax finalization reports
In essence, errors are not always intentional but may arise from professional mistakes, lack of information, or changes in legal regulations. However, regardless of the cause, such errors may still result in legal liability and obligations to adjust tax declarations.
2. Common forms of errors in corporate tax declarations today
Practice shows that errors in corporate tax declarations occur in various forms, the most common of which include:
- Errors in figures:
- Underreporting revenue or expenses
- Confusion between tax periods
- Discrepancies between financial statements and tax declarations
- Errors in the application of tax policies:
- Applying incorrect tax rates
- Incorrectly determining eligibility for tax incentives
- Recording expenses that do not qualify for deduction
- Errors in administrative procedures:
- Late submission of tax declaration dossiers
- Lack of appendices or supporting documents
- Incorrect adjustment of tax declarations
These errors may occur individually or simultaneously, thereby increasing the level of legal risk for enterprises.
3. Common causes leading to errors in corporate tax declarations
Errors in tax declarations often arise from both subjective and objective factors, including:
- Complex and frequently changing tax laws: Enterprises find it difficult to promptly update new regulations, resulting in inaccurate application.
- Limitations in professional capacity or accounting resources: Especially in small and medium-sized enterprises, accounting departments often handle multiple responsibilities, increasing the likelihood of mistakes.
- Weak internal control processes: The absence of periodic review and reconciliation mechanisms causes errors to remain undetected in a timely manner.
- Time pressure and workload: The requirement to complete declarations within a short deadline may lead to data inaccuracies or omitted information.
In general, errors in corporate tax declarations are a common case in tax management practice, arising from both legal factors and internal governance capacity. Understanding the concept, identifying the forms of errors, and recognizing their causes are important prerequisites for enterprises to establish effective prevention and handling mechanisms, thereby achieving sustainable tax compliance.
III. Legal regulations related to errors in corporate tax declarations
1. Are errors in tax declarations considered tax evasion?
According to the new provisions of the Law on Tax Administration 2025 (effective from July 1, 2026), Clause 4, Article 45 of the Law on Tax Administration 2025 stipulates 10 acts considered tax evasion.
Accordingly, errors in tax declarations are not automatically considered acts of tax evasion. Only when incorrect declarations are made intentionally to reduce the amount of tax payable or to increase the amount of tax exempted, reduced, or refunded will such acts be identified as tax evasion.
Conversely, errors arising from professional mistakes, incomplete documents, or incorrect application of regulations, where the enterprise proactively submits supplementary declarations and remedies the issue in accordance with the prescribed procedures, are usually only subject to administrative sanctions for incorrect declarations and are not treated as tax evasion.
Thus, the decisive factor distinguishing ordinary errors from tax evasion lies in the degree of fault and the taxpayer’s subjective intent.
2. What are the responsibilities of enterprises when errors occur in tax declarations?
Pursuant to Clause 5, Article 12 of the Law on Tax Administration 2025, where taxpayers discover errors or omissions in tax declaration dossiers or other payable amounts already submitted to the tax authority, they are entitled to submit supplementary declarations within 05 years from the expiry date for submitting the tax declaration dossier or other payable amounts of the tax period containing such errors, in the following cases:
- Before the tax authority or competent authority announces a tax inspection or examination decision
- Where the dossier does not fall within the scope or period of the tax inspection or examination stated in the inspection decision
- Where the dossier does not fall within cases in which the investigating authority requests that no supplementary tax declaration be made for criminal investigation purposes
- Where the taxpayer discovers errors related to the scope or period already inspected or examined, resulting in an increase in tax payable, reduction of tax exemption, reduction, refund, deductible tax, or reduction of overpaid tax, the taxpayer may submit an explanatory dossier to the tax authority. The tax authority is responsible for reviewing the explanatory dossier; if accepted, the tax authority shall issue a notice approving the taxpayer’s adjustment of the tax declaration dossier
- Cases implemented according to conclusions or decisions of competent state authorities relating to the determination of tax obligations. Where supplementary declarations increase the amount of tax payable or reduce deductible, exempted, reduced, or refunded taxes, the taxpayer shall be handled similarly to cases detected by tax inspections or examinations by competent authorities
In addition, enterprises must retain relevant dossiers and documents to prove that such adjustments comply with regulations. Proactively remedying errors may help reduce sanctions.
3. How are the regulations on supplementary tax declarations and adjustments to tax declaration dossiers applied when errors are detected?
Pursuant to Clause 5, Article 12 of the Law on Tax Administration 2025, where taxpayers discover errors or omissions in tax declaration dossiers or other payable amounts already submitted to the tax authority, they are entitled to submit supplementary tax declaration dossiers and declarations of other payable amounts within 05 years from the expiry date for submitting the tax declaration dossier or other payable amounts of the tax period containing such errors.
The supplementary tax declaration dossier is prepared in accordance with Point 1, Appendix I issued together with Decree No. 126/2020/NĐ-CP, including:
- Supplementary tax return form No. 01/KHBS issued together with Appendix II of Circular No. 80/2021/TT-BTC.
- Written explanation for supplementary declaration form No. 01-1/KHBS issued together with Appendix II of Circular No. 80/2021/TT-BTC.
- The tax declaration dossier of the tax period containing errors, which has been supplemented and adjusted.
The tax authority shall examine and process the taxpayer’s tax declaration dossier in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration and its guiding documents. The tax authority shall send a notice of acceptance or rejection of the dossier to the electronic information portal selected by the taxpayer for preparing and submitting the dossier (including the General Department of Taxation’s electronic portal, the electronic portal of the competent state authority, or the T-VAN service provider’s portal) no later than 01 working day from the date stated in the notice of receipt of the electronic tax declaration dossier.
4. How are sanctions for incorrect declarations that do not result in a tax shortfall regulated?
Pursuant to Article 12 of Decree No. 125/2020/NĐ-CP, penalties for incorrect declarations that do not result in a tax shortfall are prescribed as follows:
- A fine ranging from 500,000 VND to 1,500,000 VND shall be imposed for making incorrect declarations or incomplete declarations of information in tax dossiers that are not related to the determination of tax obligations, except for the acts specified in Clause 2 of this Article.
- A fine ranging from 1,500,000 VND to 2,500,000 VND shall be imposed for making incorrect declarations or incomplete declarations of information on tax returns and appendices attached to tax returns that are not related to the determination of tax obligations.
- A fine ranging from 5,000,000 VND to 8,000,000 VND shall be imposed for one of the following acts: Incorrect declarations or incomplete declarations of information related to determining tax obligations in tax dossiers; acts specified in Clause 3, Article 16 and Clause 7, Article 17 of this Decree.
- Remedial measures include:
- Mandatory re-declaration and submission of supplementary documents in the tax dossier for the acts specified in Clauses 1, 2, and Point a, Clause 3 of this Article;
- Mandatory adjustment of carried-forward losses and deductible input value-added tax carried forward to the next period (if any) for the acts specified in Clause 3 of this Article.
Accordingly, for acts of incorrect declaration that do not result in a tax shortfall, the statute of limitations for administrative sanctions is 02 years from the date the violation is committed.
IV. Questions related to errors in corporate tax declarations
1. Can an enterprise be exempted from fines if it timely submits supplementary declarations and corrects errors?
In many cases, if an enterprise independently discovers errors and submits supplementary declarations before the tax authority announces a tax inspection or examination decision, the enterprise may not be subject to sanctions for incorrect declarations and may only be required to fully pay the tax shortfall and late payment interest (if any).
This regulation is intended to encourage taxpayers to proactively comply with the law and voluntarily remedy errors, thereby reducing the burden of handling violations for management authorities.
2. Does the tax authority have the right to impose tax assessment where an enterprise makes incorrect declarations?
Pursuant to Point a, Clause 2, Article 24 of the Law on Tax Administration 2025, taxpayers shall be subject to tax assessment when falling into one of the cases of tax law violations, including failure to register for tax, failure to declare tax, failure to submit supplementary tax dossiers upon request of the tax authority, or incomplete, untruthful, or inaccurate tax declarations regarding the tax calculation basis.
Tax assessment is a management measure aimed at ensuring accurate and sufficient state budget collection in cases where declared data is unreliable.
3. What should enterprises do to limit legal risks when errors occur in tax declarations?
When detecting errors, enterprises should take the following steps:
- Reviewing all dossiers and determine the scope of discrepancies
- Submitting supplementary declarations in a timely manner
- Preparing clear explanatory documents
- Strengthening internal controls to prevent repeated errors
Early and transparent handling helps minimize the risk of severe penalties or disputes with tax authorities.
4. Will an enterprise still be penalized if incorrect declarations do not result in a tax shortfall?
Where incorrect declarations do not result in a tax shortfall, administrative sanctions may still be imposed under Article 12 of Decree No. 125/2020/NĐ-CP. However, the level of sanctions is generally lighter than in cases involving tax shortages and may be considered for mitigation if the enterprise proactively remedies the violation.
5. How does the law handle errors arising from changes in tax policies?
Where errors arise due to changes in legal provisions or unclear guidance, tax authorities usually consider the nature of the matter, the degree of fault, and objective factors in determining the appropriate form of handling.
In practice, if the enterprise can prove that the application of regulations resulted from an objective misunderstanding and that timely corrections were made, the level of handling may be mitigated or the enterprise may only be required to adjust the dossier.
V. Why should enterprises seek legal consultation from NPLaw when facing issues related to errors in corporate tax declarations?
When errors occur in tax declarations, consulting lawyers at NPLaw helps enterprises quickly identify the true nature of the issue, assess legal risks, and choose appropriate handling solutions. With experience in taxation and administrative disputes, NPLaw supports enterprises from reviewing dossiers, submitting supplementary declarations, and providing explanations to tax authorities to establishing long-term compliance procedures, thereby protecting lawful rights and minimizing unnecessary costs.
The above information is for reference purposes only. Should you require detailed consultation regarding your specific case, please contact NPLaw Firm for immediate legal advice.
