Promoting the pivotal role of the Tax and Customs sector, contributing to the development of Thanh Hoa province

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh suggested that the provincial Tax and Customs sector should strongly shift from a management mindset to a service mindset, creating and concretizing Resolution No. 68 of the Politburo on private economic development; making tax policies transparent, creating an open investment environment, and eliminating the "ask - give" mindset.

On the afternoon of July 25, the Standing Committee of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee held a thematic working conference with the Provincial Tax Department and the Customs Branch of Region X on the implementation of tasks in the first 6 months of the year and deployment of tasks for the last 6 months of 2025.

Attending the conference were comrades: Nguyen Doan Anh, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Lai The Nguyen, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Do Minh Tuan, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Trinh Tuan Sinh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee; Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Council, Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee and a number of relevant departments and branches.

The leader of the Provincial Tax Department presented the report.

According to the report of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Tax Department, as of July 23, 2025, the total state budget revenue of the whole province and the whole industry is estimated at 21,633 billion VND, equivalent to 82.4% of the Central estimate and 78.7% of the estimate assigned by the Provincial People's Council, an increase of 1,076 billion VND over the same period in 2024. Of which, revenue from land use fees accounts for the highest proportion with 9,501 billion VND, reaching 111.8% of the Central estimate, accounting for 44% of the total revenue of the whole industry.

However, by the end of June 2025, the total tax debt of the whole province had reached VND 5,972 billion, an increase of VND 792 billion (15.5%) compared to the end of 2024, accounting for 21% of the annual revenue estimate - far exceeding the 8% threshold set by the Ministry of Finance .

The recoverable debt alone increased by 632 billion VND, mainly land use fees at auctioned areas with completed infrastructure but not yet due. Many enterprises have large tax debts such as Thanh Hoa Sun Joint Stock Company, FLC Group...

In the inspection and examination work, the Tax Department has only completed 17% of the annual plan; the results of tax collection and payment to the State budget are still low compared to the potential. Some civil servants are still limited in their expertise and have not demonstrated a spirit of service in the process of handling procedures for taxpayers.

The leader of the Customs Branch of Region X presented the report.

According to the report of the Customs Branch of Region X, in the first 7 months of 2025, the total import-export turnover in the area is estimated to reach more than 9.3 billion USD, up 2.79% over the same period. Of which, exports reached 3.68 billion USD (up 21.89%) and imports reached 5.62 billion USD (down 6.4%).

However, total state budget revenue from import-export activities only reached VND 12,192 billion, equivalent to 67.7% of the estimate, down 8.4% over the same period. The main source of revenue is imported crude oil from Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Plant (accounting for 79.5% of total revenue), but due to the decline in world oil prices (currently around USD 70/barrel, compared to USD 85/barrel in 2024), the revenue has been severely affected.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Do Minh Tuan chaired the discussion.

Discussing at the conference, representatives of enterprises, agencies and units raised difficulties in state budget collection, business management, tax debt management, management of business households and business individuals; some tax collection areas have not been really effective; there are still cases of officials and civil servants causing difficulties for taxpayers.

Besides, there are difficulties in import and export activities; prevention and combat of smuggling, trade fraud and handling of violations; administrative procedure reform, digital transformation in customs management...

Mr. Cao Tien Doan, Chairman of the Provincial Business Association, spoke at the discussion.

Mr. Mai Xuan Lam, Chairman of Thanh Hoa Textile and Garment Association spoke at the discussion.

The opinions also reflect the difficulties and obstacles from the practical implementation of policies and laws on tax and customs that directly affect the investment and business environment and competitiveness. At the same time, many solutions are contributed to promote tax collection and import and export, contributing to the sustainable growth prospects of Thanh Hoa province.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh delivered a concluding speech at the conference.

Concluding the conference, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh emphasized: This is a thematic conference of special significance in the context of implementing the 5-year socio-economic development plan for 2021-2025, with many urgent requirements on mobilizing and effectively using financial resources. Tax and Customs are two core forces in the national financial system, playing a central role in generating state budget revenue - the foundation for development investment, ensuring social security, and strengthening national defense and security.

The Provincial Party Secretary commented that in the first 7 months of 2025, with great efforts, the Thanh Hoa Tax and Customs sector has achieved positive results. The total budget revenue of the province is estimated at more than 33.8 trillion VND, equal to 74% of the estimate, ranking 9th in the country. This result is a clear demonstration of the spirit of drastic action and close coordination between all levels, sectors and the business community.

Tax and Customs delegates attend the conference.

However, according to the Provincial Party Secretary, there are still shortcomings and limitations in budget collection. Specifically, the increase in domestic revenue only reached 5% compared to the same period, much lower than the national average (34%). When excluding land use fees, actual revenue decreased by 3.1%, which clearly reflects the lack of sustainability and heavy dependence on cyclical revenues such as real estate and Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Plant.

Customs delegates attending the conference.

The Provincial Party Secretary pointed out the shortcomings that need to be overcome immediately, such as: the situation of inadequate guidance, causing difficulties for businesses; the behavior of "extra payment" and "greasing" when carrying out tax and customs procedures; cumbersome procedures; the unstable electronic transaction system and the loose and unsynchronized inter-sectoral coordination in budget collection management, which has not met practical requirements.

He emphasized that recently, the Provincial Party Committee has received many complaints from businesses about the situation of "paying additional fees outside of regulations" in customs clearance of goods when carrying out import and export activities and requested the Tax and Customs sectors to seriously inspect, handle and rectify public service discipline.

To successfully achieve the target of GRDP growth of 11% or more in 2025, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh suggested that, with the joint efforts, consensus, and high determination of the entire political system, the Tax and Customs sectors need to focus on organizing an effective operating apparatus, focusing on serving businesses, quickly stabilizing the organization according to the new structure; strengthening internal democracy; resolving difficulties and problems in the process of handling Tax and Customs administrative procedures.

Along with that, the Tax and Customs sector needs to strongly shift from a management mindset to a service mindset, creating and concretizing Resolution No. 68 of the Politburo on private economic development; making tax policies transparent, creating an open investment environment, and eliminating the "ask - give" mindset.

Promote the application of technology and administrative reform; deploy electronic invoices with codes and invoices from cash registers; analyze smart risks in inspections and checks to reduce hassles; and increase electronic payments.

Expand revenue sources and tighten management of potential sectors, review and update revenue sources from e-commerce and digital business; closely manage sectors with revenue losses such as minerals, transportation, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Prevent revenue loss, recover outstanding debts, handle illegal invoices, strengthen specialized inspections, promptly detect fraud and tax evasion; closely coordinate between inter-sectoral forces, and strictly handle violations.

Conference delegates.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh also suggested that the Tax sector should support business households in converting to enterprises; exempt and reduce fees, support accounting, access preferential policies, and strive to have 40,000 enterprises in the province by 2030.

Along with assigned professional tasks, the Tax and Customs sector needs to pay attention to building a clean and strong Party organization; strictly implementing the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity.

The Provincial Party Secretary also requested that the business community and business households need to uphold their sense of responsibility and proactively dialogue with authorities to promptly reflect and resolve difficulties.

The head of the Provincial Party Committee believes that, promoting the tradition of solidarity, officials, civil servants and public employees of the Tax and Customs sectors will continue to innovate, be creative, have high determination, make great efforts and take drastic actions to excellently complete the task of collecting state budget revenue in 2025 and the entire period of 2021-2025.

Minh Hieu

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phat-huy-vai-tro-tru-cot-cua-nganh-thue-va-hai-quan-dong-gop-vao-su-phat-trien-cua-tinh-thanh-hoa-256071.htm