Tax agencies given leeway to fix car, bike prices

The Ministry of Finance is planning to allow tax agencies nationwide to adjust retail prices of cars and motorbikes when the products are offered at lower prices than they should for tax evasion purposes.

Under a recently drafted decree, manufacturers and distributors of vehicle products will be fined for under-invoicing, news website VnExpress reported Friday.

In such cases prices would be fixed again by tax agencies based on information provided by customs agencies, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association and local media, as well as previous tax and profit figures of the businesses, it said.

Last year, the General Customs Department decided to set higher minimum taxable prices for more than 600 imported car models, following allegations that local importers were under-invoicing them to evade taxes.

Car sales in Vietnam rose seven percent in 2009 from 2008 to 119,460 vehicles, the Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a report released this week.