Source: thuongtruong.com.vn
According to the General Department of Customs, the export value of wood and wood products in November 2022 reached 1.1 billion USD, down 8.3% compared to October 2022 and down 14.6% compared to November. 2021. In which, the export of wood products was estimated at 713 million USD, down 8.1% compared to October 2022 and down 23% compared to November 2021. Accumulated from the beginning of the year to the end of November 2022, the export value of wood and wood products is estimated at 14.6 billion USD, up 9% over the same period in 2021; In which, the export value of wood products is estimated at 10.1 billion USD, up 0.8% over the same period in 2021.
Uncertainties due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine leading to supply chain constraints, logistical problems and sharp inflationary pressures, along with the devaluation of major currencies against the US dollar, are among the main factors. hindering factors leading to the slow growth of the wood industry in 2022.
In which, wooden furniture is always the main export item in the structure of exported wood and wood products in the first 10 months of 2022, the export value of this item grows strongly, contributing to promoting the wood industry. positive growth.
However, many of Vietnam’s main import markets for this group of products such as the US, EU and UK are under high inflation pressure, which slows down the demand for this product group. Therefore, the growth rate of wooden furniture export value slowed down in 10 months of 2022, reaching 8.5 billion USD, increasing only 3.5% over the same period in 2021 (in the same period last year). In 2021, this group of products achieves a growth rate of 21.7 percent, accounting for 62.8% of the total export value of wood and wood products.
The export proportion of most items in the structure of wooden furniture decreased, except for kitchen furniture. In which, wooden frame chairs were the item with the strongest decrease, reaching 2.5 billion USD, down 14.1% over the same period in 2021, accounting for 18.5% of the total export value of wood and products. wood, down 5.5 percentage points over the same period in 2021.
Notably, in the first 10 months of 2022, the export value of wood chips, wood pellets, wooden doors and fine art furniture has a high growth rate, however, the export value of these items accounts for a small proportion of the domestic market. structure of wood products and export wood products.
To reduce difficulties for wood industry enterprises, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just asked the Ministry of Finance to direct agencies to support businesses in the implementation of policies related to value-added tax (VAT).
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has sent an official letter to the Ministry of Finance proposing to remove difficulties in VAT refund for wood industry enterprises.
Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has received document No. 107 from the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association on removing difficulties in confirming the origin of planted forest wood in VAT refund.
Contents of the document recommending difficulties and problems in verifying the origin for VAT refund for wood products originating from domestically planted forests under the direction of the General Department of Taxation in Document No. 429; No. 2124, No. 2928, No. 4569. This leads to bottlenecks in production and export of wooden products originating from domestically planted forests.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in recent years, wood harvested from domestic plantations has been the main and important source of supply, meeting about 75% of the demand for raw materials, helping Vietnam’s wood processing and export industry. continuously growing, in 2021, the export value will reach 16.3 billion USD, up 19.8% compared to 2020.
According to the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 20 of Circular No. 27 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on management and traceability of forest products, timber originating from scattered trees, gardens, and domestically planted forests has been guaranteed to be safe. With legal origin, people decide on their own the exploitation, make their own lists of forest products, freely circulate and do not have to certify the origin of the state management agencies.
Thus, it is not appropriate to verify the origin of domestically harvested timber by the method of inspection and verification through the Commune People’s Committee and relevant agencies of the tax authority.
In addition, document No. 2124 of the General Department of Taxation identifies businesses and industries that are at risk in VAT refund, which is only assessed on the basis of plywood manufacturing and trading companies.
However, at present, enterprises processing and exporting interior and exterior wood products, wood chips and pellets are considered to be at high risk of VAT refund.
Therefore, tax authorities need to have more thorough assessments in classifying and applying risks to wood products, especially for reputable processing and exporting enterprises.
According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 73, Article 75 of the Law on Tax Administration, 2019: Tax refund dossiers belonging to the category of high tax risk according to the classification of risk management in tax administration are dossiers subject to pre-tax refund inspection. .
The time limit for processing tax refund dossiers is 40 days from the date the tax administration agency gives a written notice of the acceptance of the dossier, the tax administration agency must decide whether to refund the taxpayer or not. tax refund to taxpayers if the dossier is not eligible for tax refund.
Therefore, the fact that tax authorities conduct verification of the timber origin of forest owners who are households and individuals and settle VAT refunds for many months has caused difficulties for enterprises in the wood processing and exporting industry. .
In order to reduce difficulties and create favorable conditions for businesses, especially in the context of the prolonged effects of the Covid-19 epidemic and the difficult economic situation in the country and the world, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed the Ministry of Finance. consider and direct agencies to support businesses in implementing policies related to VAT.
