Business Beat
Tiger Beer enjoyed gratuitous publicity when dozens of stories appeared in the press about its latest marketing gimmick. It ran a campaign under which lucky tipplers might find unexpected gifts under beer bottle caps; a picture of a car under a cap meant winning one.A group of five men got lucky when one of the caps of a bottle they drank from carried the picture of a Land Cruiser car worth some US$54,000. Unfortunately, the man who organised and paid for the party did not get that bottle; one of his friends did, and claimed the car was his. The host understandably disagreed and the argument as to who should get the car went as far as to reach the press. Well, it is a shame that a costly prize breeds greed and kills friendship.
It has led people to half joke that nobody would invite friends to have a bottle of beer anymore; or if they did, they would first sign an agreement on dividing the gift to avoid quarrels. It is also a shame that lawyers joined in the debate as if everybody could forget all sense of fair play when big money was involved.
Things got worse when Tiger Beer said last week that there were at least 600 caps misprinted, which might confuse customers. So, the next time, before arguing with friends the cap is yours, make sure it is the real thing first.
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The police have uncovered several tax frauds involving more than a hundred companies in the past weeks. While the modus operandi of the swindlers has not been new, the scale has been unprecedented.
It started with something as petty as making fake seals of Chinese companies. They then faked signatures of Chinese business people, to create forged purchase documents. The con men then "set up" bogus companies with "offices" in several provinces; and the companies’ only function? Issuing receipts, mostly for farm commodities, and fake export documents, with the buyers being non-existent Chinese companies.
As export commodities are exempt from VAT, the "sellers" then used the fake documents to claim tax refunds, sometimes of billions of dong.
It seems that the swindlers made all kinds of acquaintances "owners" of these companies – many of them are farmers and porters.
An investigation is on and the scale of fraud is expected to be much bigger than has been uncovered yet – much of the iceberg, it appears, is underwater.
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Another tax-related issue, in Phu Nhuan District, HCM City, has been seen as a propitious sign by local businesses – a sign that the Government is serious in cracking down on corrupt tax men. An official was arrested for demanding a bribe.
The "tax balance" for the financial year is dreaded in business circles, when officials come around to work out taxes owed by businesses for the previous year. At a time when regulations are constantly evolving, it is easy for unscrupulous officials to pick holes in corporate tax returns, for nobody is quite sure of the latest requirements. For instance, a single missing signature in the payroll is sufficient for the salary expenditure to be rejected; an abbreviation in an invoice can void a whole shipment of goods. In short, businesses are completely at the mercy of tax officials for deciding the amount due.
When the final figure is arrived at – often much higher than what businesses had declared and paid – corrupt tax collectors demand bribes to drop the new claims. This tea money is often half the amount due.
The Phu Nhuan District tax official was arrested after a company owner, unable to stomach such blatant corruption, informed the police, when he was asked for some money.
Perhaps, businesses would do well to take it as a lesson – not to give in to graft. They might end up paying more tax but will help put an end to this blackmailing practice and create a healthy environment for fair competition.
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The State Bank of Viet Nam no doubt thinks it has done the right thing in changing the definition of non-performing loans with commercial banks. It may even be a step in the right direction for making the financial system more healthy. However, it is set to bring a lot of confusion in its wake.
According to the new definition, when a borrower fails to pay when payment is due, the loan becomes non-performing. But for a bank which may have thousands of clients who have borrowed just a few million dong, it creates a huge work load.
For instance, hundreds of borrowers may not pay an instalment on the day it is due, simply because they have not received their monthly salary. The bank has to, according to the new regulations, immediately shift these accounts to the non-performing category. If the borrowers pay the next day, it has to shift them back all over again.
The bank would also have to sign fresh contracts with the clients. Also, bad debt statistics would never be accurate. — VNS
