PROCEDURES, AUTHORITY & PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT TO PROTECT BUSINESSES Tax audits are a normal part of state administration. But for businesses: • It creates pressure • Affects employee morale • Affects reputation • Can cause significant financial risks Common mistakes: 1️⃣ Panic 2️⃣ Hiding information 3️⃣ Providing more than requested information 4️⃣ Emotional arguments From 2026, tax management will be based on data risk → higher likelihood of being selected for audit if the system is not clean.

Tax optimization is not tax evasion This article clearly distinguishes tax evasion, aggressive loophole use, and lawful optimization. INDUSVINA’s focus is to help businesses use the law properly to reduce tax pressure, manage risk, and strengthen the financial system over the long term. — INDUSVINA Perspective

Key Takeaways Being profitable does not automatically mean having cash on hand; tax obligations still become due in real money. The four tax groups that affect cash flow most directly are VAT, corporate income tax, personal income tax, and contractor tax/import tax. The CFO must build a 12-month tax forecast to see ahead across revenue, collections, payroll, and tax obligations. Tax funds must be ring-fenced and should never be used for short-term investment or to patch operating cash shortages. Professional businesses do not wait until year-end to be surprised; they control tax cash flow from the beginning of the year.

From 2026: • Clear statute of limitations for penalties: 2-5 years • Supplementary declarations only 5 years • Centralized data transmission for electronic invoices • E-commerce controlled by platform Businesses no longer have a “gray area”. But reality shows: Many businesses don't lose because of the law. But they lose because: • Business owners improperly interfere with accounting • Forced reduction of recorded revenue • Accepting invalid expenses • Viewing taxes as a “way to evade” rather than an obligation

Main points at a glance: From 2026 onward, the tax environment is increasingly driven by e-invoicing, centralized data, platform connectivity, algorithm-based risk grouping, and industry-margin analytics. AI can be applied immediately to revenue anomaly detection, risky invoice analysis, tax obligation forecasting, and internal tax-audit simulation. A five-layer digitalization model includes: ERP-connected e-invoicing, bank connectivity, CFO dashboards, dual-layer digital archiving, and automated reminders for the five-year correction window. AI does not replace the CFO. AI is a tool for alerting, analyzing, and forecasting; humans remain responsible for judgment and final decisions. Well-digitalized enterprises can detect problems early, reduce reassessment risk, avoid penalties and late-payment interest, and raise their financial and legal management standards.

Main takeaways: A company may survive one weak contract, one loss-making project, or one delayed payment, but once trust is lost, the damage spreads across the entire system. Tax is one of the clearest measures of trust because it directly reflects the company’s honesty, discipline, and ethical standards in financial management. A transparent financial culture does not mean paying more tax. It means not misreporting revenue, not creating fake expenses, not hiding risk, and not shifting responsibility to employees. Transparency creates four long-term competitive advantages: stronger bank credit, greater partner confidence, better talent retention, and greater peace of mind for leadership. From 2026 onward, centralized data and data-driven risk analysis will make transparency not just an ethical choice, but a survival strategy.

The same VND 20 billion profit can appear under very different legal forms: Single company Parent–subsidiary structure Household business FDI enterprise Each model comes with a different tax logic. Therefore, when discussing tax strategy, a business should not only ask, “How much tax do we pay?” It should first ask: “What structure are we operating under, and is that structure still suitable for our current stage of development?”

If Article 12 is the “time limit for rectification,” then the 2- to 5-year statute of limitations for penalties is the “legal risk boundary.” Many businesses mistakenly believe that after 2 years they are safe, or that after 5 years they will not be subject to retroactive collection. The reality is much more complex. Let's go into detail following the correct structure: Clause – Timeline – Number – Real-world situation – Prevention methods. — INDUSVINA Perspective

Main summary: 2026 is not only about legal changes, but about a change in the management model: from manual post-audit practices to centralized data-driven risk governance. The previous 17 articles form the 5 layers of the finance & tax operating system: understanding the law, internal control, cash flow management, data digitalization, and leadership mindset. Proactive businesses do not wait for inspections before taking action; they conduct internal reviews first, forecast ahead, and control operations with data. Financial transparency not only reduces legal risk but also creates real money through better interest rates, higher borrowing limits, and stronger business valuation. To reach the world in the 2026–2030 period, Vietnamese businesses must build a culture of transparency as a core operating standard.