Since Uber B.V left Vietnam, it did not only leave behind a gap in the ride hailing market but also a tax debt and controversial legal issues.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation, since 2014 to 2016, Uber B.V did not make any tax declaration despite doing business in Vietnam.
Upon the completion of its inspection, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation had decided to collect the total tax amount of $2.9 million from Uber B.V, which was consistent with Circular 111 and Circular 92 of the Ministry of Finance.
At the recent semi-annual meeting of the taxation sector, Tran Ngoc Tam, Head of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation admitted that they are currently struggling with the management of Uber's tax collection as the company had sold all of its business operation in Vietnam to Grab.
Previously, leaders of the Ministry of Finance affirmed that when Grab acquired Uber, they were responsible for paying this tax amount instead of Uber.
Nevertheless, according to Grab Vietnam, the responsibility to pay tax lies with Uber as a part of the acquisition deal, Uber pledged to be responsible for resolving all issues related to outstanding tax liabilities in Vietnam.
Moreover, the collection was constantly interrupted as Uber B.V had sued Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation two times.
Additionally, Uber B.V did not have any legal entity or bank account in Vietnam, so when the company officially terminated its operations in Vietnam, it became more difficult to collect tax.
Without having bank account in Vietnam, coercive measures to deduct money of Uber B.V from its bank account cannot be done in accordance to regulations.
As a result, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation had requested Uber B.V in the Netherlands to fulfill this tax obligation.
Although the lawsuit against the taxation department is still ongoing, Uber B.V has sold its market share in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam for Grab and withdrawn from the market from April 8.
Therefore, even when the taxation department won this case against Uber B.V, it will still be extremely difficult to collect taxes from the company.
