New tax inspection procedure under Decision No. 1161/QD-CT: Effective from 14/8/2026, replacing Decision No. 970/QD-TCT

8/25/2026

On 14/8/2026, the Tax Department (Ministry of Finance) issued Decision No. 1161/QD-CT promulgating the Tax Inspection Procedure, which took effect immediately on the signing date and replaced the Tax Inspection Procedure under Decision No. 970/QD-TCT dated 14/7/2023 (Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 1161/QD-CT). This is the first tax inspection procedure developed under the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15, Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP and Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC.

This newsletter focuses on the procedure applicable to taxpayers that are organizations (Part I of the Procedure).

1. Effective date and transitional provisions

Clause 2, Article 2 of Decision No. 1161/QD-CT divides tax inspections into 3 groups based on the date on which the tax inspection decision was issued:

Tax inspection decisions issued before 01/7/2026, for which no inspection conclusion or handling decision has been issued: continue to be implemented under the Law on Tax Administration No. 38/2019/QH14 and the Procedure under Decision No. 970/QD-TCT (Point a, Clause 2, Article 2).
Tax inspection decisions issued from 01/7/2026 to before 14/8/2026, for which no inspection conclusion or handling decision has been issued: are implemented under the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15; from 14/8/2026, any subsequent steps not yet carried out shall follow the new Procedure (Point b, Clause 2, Article 2).
Tax inspection decisions issued from 14/8/2026: are fully implemented under the new Procedure (Point c, Clause 2, Article 2).

2. Scope of inspection applicable to organizations

The Procedure covers 2 forms of tax inspection:

Tax inspection at the tax authority's office: applicable to taxpayers whose tax dossiers are classified as high-risk (Clause 1, Article 2 of the Procedure).
Tax inspection at the taxpayer's premises: applicable in 8 groups of cases (Clause 2, Article 2 of the Procedure):
- Tax refund inspection: dossiers subject to inspection before tax refund; post-refund inspection within 5 years from the date of issuance of the tax refund decision;
- There are indications of violations of tax laws;
- Inspection under annual plans or thematic inspection programs;
- At the request or proposal of competent authorities or persons;
- High-risk taxpayers undergoing division, separation, merger, consolidation, conversion of enterprise type, bankruptcy, dissolution, termination of operations, equitization, termination of tax identification number validity, or relocation of business premises;
- At the request of handling tax complaints or denunciations;
- Tax exemption or reduction dossiers of high-risk taxpayers;
- Cases transferred from inspection at the tax authority's office pursuant to Point b, Clause 2, Article 22 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15.

3. Tax inspection at the tax authority's office (Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Procedure)

Principles (Article 6 of the Procedure): tax dossiers are inspected based on risk management and compliance management, with priority given to information technology applications and online, remote inspection using electronic data (with reference to Clause 1, Article 22 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15).

3 sources for compiling inspection lists (Article 7 of the Procedure):

List of high-risk tax dossiers generated from the Tax Compliance and Risk Management Subsystem;
List of high-risk taxpayers in the management and use of invoices;
Lists compiled through tax administration practice: tax officers may rely on indicators such as invoices, unusual fluctuations in revenue, expenses or cash flows, or information lawfully shared by third parties (banks, inspectorates, audit authorities, etc.) to prepare an Inspection Proposal Form (Clause 3, Article 7 of the Procedure).

3-step handling process (Clause 2, Article 8 of the Procedure):

Step 1 – File review: reconcile indicators in the tax return; reconcile the tax return with accompanying documents and with the previous period's return; review input and output e-invoices; and assess compliance with tax regulations. Dossiers showing no indication of violation are approved for filing; dossiers showing indications of incorrect declaration proceed to Step 2.
Step 2 – First notice (Form No. 01/KTT enclosed with Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC): request the taxpayer to provide explanations and additional information and documents; the explanation period must not exceed 10 working days from the date of issuance of the notice.
Step 3 – Second notice (Form No. 02/KTT): issued within 5 working days if the first explanation does not provide sufficient grounds or if the taxpayer fails to provide an explanation; the explanation period must also not exceed 10 working days. The tax authority may issue no more than 2 notices requesting an explanation.

Handling after the second notice (Point c.2, Clause 2, Article 8 of the Procedure): where a taxpayer is operating at its registered address but fails to provide an explanation, fails to submit an additional declaration, or provides an explanation but cannot substantiate that the declared tax amount is correct, the tax authority shall take one of the following two actions:

Make a tax assessment, if sufficient grounds for assessment are available; or
Transfer the case to a tax inspection at the taxpayer's premises, together with an Information and Dossier Transfer Form; the receiving unit must carry forward the data and information already reconciled during the inspection at the tax authority's office.

Notable point – Decision on tax inspection at the tax authority's office (Clause 3, Article 8 of the Procedure):

Applicable where, after file review and the first and second explanations, the tax authority has sufficient grounds to determine the violation, the nature of the violation and the estimated amount of tax to be collected retrospectively;
The inspection decision is made using Form No. 04/KTT enclosed with Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC; the inspection duration must not exceed 10 working days;
Upon completion of the inspection, the inspection team and the taxpayer sign the Tax Inspection Minutes (Form No. 05/KTT);
The implementation process is similar to an inspection at the taxpayer's premises (announcement of the decision, inspection, preparation of minutes, reporting, handling of violations and dossier retention).

Taxpayer rights during the explanation stage:

Provide explanations directly at the tax authority's office, work online, conduct electronic transactions or submit written explanations by post (Clause 5, Article 8 of the Procedure);
Request postponement of the explanation deadline due to force majeure (Clause 4, Article 8 of the Procedure).

4. Tax inspection at the taxpayer's premises

Risk-based inspection planning (Articles 9 and 10 of the Procedure; Article 17 of Circular No. 94/2026/TT-BTC):

At least 90% of cases are selected through compliance analysis and risk classification: taxpayers are ranked from highest to lowest risk, together with consideration of taxpayers that have not undergone a tax inspection for more than 5 years;
No more than 10% are selected randomly;
Inspection plans and thematic inspection programs (including after adjustment) must be published on the tax authority's website or notified to taxpayers no later than 30 days from the date the approval or adjustment decision is issued (Article 14 of the Procedure).

7 cases of unscheduled inspection for which no plan is required (Article 12 of the Procedure):

At the request of handling tax complaints or denunciations;
At the direction of the Head of the tax authority or the head of the superior tax authority, or at the request or proposal of a competent authority or person;
High-risk taxpayers in cases of division, separation, merger, consolidation, conversion of enterprise type, bankruptcy, dissolution, termination of operations, equitization, termination of tax identification number validity, or relocation of business premises;
Taxpayers showing indications of violations of tax laws;
Tax exemption or reduction dossiers of high-risk taxpayers;
Pre-refund inspection;
Inspection proposed following an inspection at the tax authority's office.

Inspection decision and announcement (Article 16 and Clause 1, Article 17 of the Procedure):

All inspections at the taxpayer's premises require a Tax Inspection Decision (Form No. 06/KTT enclosed with Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC), clearly stating the inspection contents and the tax periods under inspection applicable to each case;
The inspection decision must be sent to the taxpayer no later than 3 working days from the date of issuance;
The inspection must commence no later than 10 working days from the date of issuance of the Decision, unless the Decision is cancelled or the inspection is postponed;
The taxpayer has the right to request postponement of the inspection in writing, clearly stating the legitimate reason and proposed postponement period (Point b, Clause 4, Article 16 of the Procedure);
Where a taxpayer is operating normally but refuses to receive the Decision or deliberately evades compliance: the inspection team shall prepare an administrative violation record and impose penalties under Article 15 of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP (as amended and supplemented by Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP); if non-compliance continues, the tax authority shall consider tax enforcement measures and tax assessment under Articles 36 and 37 of Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP (Clause 5, Article 16 of the Procedure).

Inspection duration (Point b, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Procedure):

Ordinary cases: no more than 20 days from the date the Decision is announced; may be extended once for no more than 20 days;
Enterprises with related-party transactions: no more than 40 days; may be extended once for no more than 40 days;
Where information must be collected or exchanged with foreign tax authorities: the inspection may be extended but must not exceed 2 years;
Periods during which the inspection is suspended are not included in the inspection duration.

Document provision obligation – 6 working-hour deadline (Point d, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Procedure):

If dossiers, documents, invoices, vouchers or accounting books are provided more than 6 working hours after receipt of the inspection team's request, or are provided incompletely or inaccurately, the inspection team shall prepare an administrative violation record and impose penalties under Article 15 of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP (as amended by Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP);
For entities using accounting software: the inspection team shall require accounting books to be provided in electronic data format readable by commonly used office software, without requiring paper printouts.

Tax Inspection Minutes (Clause 3, Article 17 of the Procedure):

The Tax Inspection Minutes are prepared using Form No. 14/KTT enclosed with Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC; the draft minutes are announced publicly and handed over to the taxpayer for comments and explanations;
The explanation, finalization and signing of the minutes must be completed within 5 working days from the end of the inspection at the taxpayer's premises;
At least 4 originals of the minutes must be prepared, each having equal legal validity; the minutes serve as the basis for issuing a Decision on Administrative Penalties for Tax Violations, an Inspection Conclusion and other administrative decisions on tax administration;
Issues concerning mechanisms or policies that are pending guidance from competent authorities are recorded in a separate section and excluded from the inspection results; once guidance is received, an appendix to the minutes is prepared (Form No. 16/KTT).

Handling of inspection results (Clause 4, Article 17 of the Procedure):

Within 3 working days from the date the minutes are signed: the inspection team leader reports the inspection results together with a draft Decision on Administrative Penalties (Form MQD02 enclosed with Decree No. 68/2025/ND-CP) or an Inspection Conclusion (Form No. 17/KTT);
Deadline for issuing the Penalty Decision: 7 working days if the taxpayer does not request an explanation; 1 month if an explanation is requested or circumstances must be verified; 2 months for cases involving particularly serious circumstances or multiple complex circumstances (Point c, Clause 4, Article 17 of the Procedure);
Where no additional tax collection or penalty is required: the Head of the tax authority signs the Inspection Conclusion within 7 working days from the date the minutes are signed;
Where tax evasion with signs of a criminal offence is detected: within 5 working days from the date of detection, the dossier is submitted to the Head of the tax authority for consideration of referral to the investigation authority (Point h, Clause 4, Article 17 of the Procedure).

Re-inspection (Article 18 of the Procedure; Clause 6, Article 22 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15):

The Tax Department may re-inspect cases handled by the Large Enterprise Tax Sub-department, the E-commerce Tax Sub-department, and provincial and municipal tax authorities; provincial and municipal tax authorities may re-inspect cases handled by Local Tax Offices;
Limitation period for re-inspection: 2 years from the date of signing the inspection conclusion or the decision on handling administrative violations in tax administration;
The sequence and procedures for re-inspection must follow all steps applicable to an ordinary inspection under Article 17 of the Procedure.

5. Online and remote inspection using electronic data (Article 32 of the Procedure)

Part IV of the Procedure specifically regulates electronic transactions between the inspection team and the taxpayer;
Notices, minutes (including minutes announcing the Tax Inspection Decision and Tax Inspection Minutes), decisions, and the taxpayer's dossiers and accounting books may all be sent and received as electronic documents through the Tax Department's electronic communication portal;
Electronic documents have the same legal validity as paper documents (Clauses 1 and 3, Article 32 of the Procedure).

6. Notes for household businesses, individual business operators and individuals earning income subject to Personal Income Tax

The tax inspection procedures applicable to taxpayers that are household businesses and individual business operators (Part II, Articles 19 to 28) and to individuals earning income subject to Personal Income Tax (Part III, Articles 29 to 31) are set out in separate parts, with separate processes and forms, within Decision No. 1161/QD-CT.

Readers may refer directly to the relevant parts of Decision No. 1161/QD-CT.

💡 Recommendations for enterprises

Review ongoing inspections to determine the applicable transitional group (before 01/7/2026; from 01/7/2026 to before 14/8/2026; or from 14/8/2026) under Clause 2, Article 2 of Decision No. 1161/QD-CT.
Standardize accounting books and supporting documents in electronic data formats that can be extracted quickly, because the deadline for providing documents at the inspection team's request is only 6 working hours.
Establish an internal procedure for responding to tax authority notices requesting explanations within 10 working days, together with supporting documents substantiating the declared figures.
Monitor annual inspection plans published on the tax authority's website to prepare proactively.
Conduct periodic self-assessments of tax risks (invoices, unusual fluctuations in revenue, expenses and cash flows), as these are among the indicators used by tax authorities to compile inspection lists.

>>> Download Decision No. 1161/QD-CT

This newsletter has been prepared by Crowe Vietnam for general information purposes and does not replace professional advice for any specific case. Enterprises should refer to the original legal documents and consult professional advisors before applying the information to actual circumstances.