The Tax Department of Long An Province has issued a decision to recover VND 66.7 billion (approximately $2.8 million) in taxes and fees from La Vie LLC, primarily for environmental resource taxes from 2016 to 2020.

The conclusion follows a tax audit of La Vie, a company headquartered in Khanh Hau Ward, Tan An City, Long An Province, which owns the popular La Vie mineral water brand.

La Vie, established in 1992, specializes in producing natural mineral water and bottled drinking water.

In addition to its main office in Long An, the company, with a charter capital of VND 29 billion, has branches in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Hung Yen.

Key audit findings

The Long An Tax Department found no violations regarding value-added tax (VAT).

However, issues were identified in corporate income tax, where La Vie failed to adjust reductions for provisions related to inventory devaluation and did not follow the Ministry of Finance's guidelines.

This misreporting resulted in insufficient tax payments for the 2018–2020 period.

Regarding resource taxes, La Vie was found to have incorrectly claimed tax incentives under the Resource Tax Law and miscalculated taxable resource volumes, again deviating from the Ministry of Finance's guidelines.

For environmental protection fees, the company miscalculated both fee collection and resource volumes subject to fees, violating government Decree 164.

The audit revealed that La Vie owes:

VND 61.5 billion ($2.57 million) in resource taxes for 2016–2020.
VND 3.4 billion ($142,000) in corporate income taxes.
VND 1.7 billion ($71,000) in environmental protection fees.

Additionally, the department adjusted a corporate income tax reduction for 2017, granting the company a rebate of VND 485 million ($20,000).

Required corrective actions

La Vie has been ordered to pay the outstanding taxes, fees, penalties, and late payment charges.

The company must also ensure future tax declarations and calculations for corporate income taxes, resource taxes, and environmental protection fees comply with legal requirements.

This case underscores the importance of strict compliance with tax laws and government regulations for businesses operating in Vietnam.

Anh Phuong