Tax authorities clean up IDs to target shell businesses

The General Department of Taxation is tackling tax identification number cleanup to target shell businesses and streamline processes for compliant companies. Deputy Director General Le Long explained the "Cleaning Up Tax Identification Numbers—Unblocking Business Impediments" initiative aims to promote compliance and assist taxpayers while strengthening risk screening to crack down on illegal activities.

As of June 2026, nearly 600,000 businesses in the country fell into two categories: those that ceased operations but hadn't deactivated their tax identification numbers (status 03) and those not operating at their registered addresses (status 06). This backlog has become a major obstacle, prolonging administrative procedures and increasing legal risks for business owners.

Tax officials emphasized that procedures for restoring tax identification number validity, deactivating numbers, dissolving businesses, and terminating operations will not be exploited to legitimize tax or invoice law violations. The tax department has adopted a modern approach using application screening and risk classification, distinguishing between compliant businesses needing support and high-risk entities suspected of invoice trading or tax evasion.

The eTax Mobile application has been upgraded to notify legal representatives of tax obligations and allow direct reporting of impersonation or stolen personal information. The tax sector has collaborated with law enforcement and business registration authorities to standardize legal representative identification and revoke licenses for businesses fulfilling their tax obligations.

In the first eight months of the year, nearly 95,000 tax identification numbers were deactivated, more than doubling the number from the same period in 2025.