Business owners and self-employed individuals will be subject to exit bans if they owe overdue taxes of at least 50 million VND ($2,000) and have failed to pay for over 120 days.

New decree on exit bans for tax debtors

The Vietnamese government has issued Decree No. 49/2025/ND-CP (Decree 49), which sets thresholds for imposing exit bans due to tax debts. This decree took effect on February 28, 2025.

Decree 49 outlines the criteria for applying travel restrictions based on the amount and duration of tax debt, as well as the procedures for notifying individuals and lifting the exit bans.

According to the decree, individuals engaged in business activities or heads of household businesses will face an exit ban if they are subject to tax enforcement measures and owe at least 50 million VND ($2,000) in overdue taxes for more than 120 days.

Additionally, legal representatives of enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative unions will be restricted from leaving the country if they owe at least 500 million VND ($20,000) in overdue taxes beyond the 120-day deadline.

Expanded scope of travel restrictions

The exit ban also applies to business owners, self-employed individuals, and legal representatives of entities that are no longer operating at their registered addresses. If they fail to pay overdue taxes within 30 days of receiving a tax enforcement notice, the exit ban will be enforced.

Furthermore, Vietnamese nationals emigrating abroad, Vietnamese expatriates, and foreign nationals departing Vietnam with outstanding overdue tax debts will also be subject to exit bans.

Digital tax enforcement measures

When a taxpayer falls under compulsory tax enforcement, the tax authority directly overseeing the individual must immediately notify them electronically via their tax e-transaction account.

If electronic notification is unsuccessful, the tax authority will publish the notice on its official website. If the tax remains unpaid 30 days after notification, the tax authority will issue an official request to the immigration authority to enforce the exit ban.

Once the tax debt is settled, the tax authority will immediately issue a notice lifting the exit ban, and the immigration authority will process the removal within 24 hours.

All notifications regarding exit bans and their removal will be exchanged digitally between the tax and immigration authorities. If electronic transmission is not possible, paper documents will be sent to enforce or lift the exit ban.

Hanh Nguyen