Uber dispute ends as firm pays back taxes, fines

By Le Chi September 10, 2018 | 12:53 am PT

A HCMC taxman has confirmed that ride hailing firm Uber has paid all its outstanding dues.

Nguyen Nam Binh, deputy director of the HCMC Tax Department, told VnExpress that the Netherlands-based ride hailing firm has paid VND53 billion ($2.3 million) in back taxes and fines.

In September 2017, the department asked the Vietnamese branch of Uber International to pay VND66.68 billion ($2.91 million) in back taxes and fines.

Uber did not agree with this demand and only paid VND 13.3 billion. The company complained to the Ministry of Finance that it should not be subject to certain taxes under Vietnam’s agreement on double taxation avoidance with the Netherlands.

However, the Ministry of Finance issued an official reply, which rejected Uber’s argument. In response, the company filed two lawsuits against the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department.

On August 17, Uber withdrew its lawsuit over HCMC’s demand for $2.3 million in back taxes and fines.

Uber officially left Vietnam on April 8 this year after selling its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab.

Of the VND66.68 billion that Uber paid, VND10.3 billion is tax fines, VND51.48 billion is back taxes, and VND4.9 billion is late payment fees.