Vietnam Turns to AI for Tax Debt Collection and Enforcement

The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department has launched an artificial intelligence-powered call center designed to automate tax debt reminders, enforcement notifications and taxpayer support, giving one of Vietnam’s largest tax authorities a new tool for managing millions of taxpayer accounts.

The system will initially focus on tax debt collection and enforcement communications, including notices involving temporary exit restrictions for certain taxpayers with outstanding obligations. The department is also expanding tax notifications into banking applications and digital wallets, an effort intended to reach taxpayers through platforms they use regularly and reduce missed government notices.

For receivables management professionals, the initiative provides a notable government-sector example of AI being deployed directly into the collection communication process. Rather than limiting AI to taxpayer questions or internal analytics, Ho Chi Minh City is using automated voice technology as part of outbound debt and enforcement communications.

AI Takes on Tax Debt Collection

The Ho Chi Minh City system is designed to support both outbound and inbound communications, with inbound call handling scheduled for a later phase.

In its first phase, tax authorities will review taxpayers who require notification and use the system to proactively contact them regarding outstanding tax obligations and potential enforcement measures. The AI system can also provide basic information such as outstanding tax debt amounts and travel restriction status.

According to reporting on the launch, approximately 90% of basic taxpayer inquiries are expected to be capable of automated handling. More complicated matters will be directed to tax officials. Incoming automated assistance can be operated, while outbound communications will occur during designated periods.

Calls can be connected with a taxpayer’s phone number and tax identification information. Communications can also be recorded and transcribed for subsequent analysis and processing.

Tax Department Director Doan Minh Dung said the technology is intended to reduce repetitive work for tax officials while allowing employees to devote more time to complicated taxpayer matters.

The approach builds on a broader AI strategy that the department has been developing with technology providers. In November 2025, the agency announced cooperation with FPT Corp. and Vietnam Payment Solutions JSC, or VNPAY, involving AI-assisted workflow automation, risk analysis and digital taxpayer services.

Tax Notices Extend to Banks and Digital Wallets

The department is simultaneously developing another communication channel that could be particularly relevant to organizations managing large receivables portfolios: delivering tax information through banking and digital payment platforms.

Taxpayers already have access to channels including postal mail, email, SMS, government websites and the eTax Mobile application. Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has described eTax Mobile as a platform for tax registration, filing, payment and liability inquiries, and the national tax department introduced an AI-powered chatbot for the application in late 2025.

Ho Chi Minh City is now seeking to supplement those channels with banking applications and e-wallets. When tax information is issued, taxpayers may receive a notification through a participating payment platform and then use eTax Mobile to review additional details or complete the appropriate procedure.

The expansion comes as Vietnam more closely integrates tax administration with digital payment infrastructure. Under rules implemented in 2026, business households and individual businesses are required to electronically report certain business-related bank accounts and e-wallet information to tax authorities.

The result is an increasingly interconnected system in which tax obligations, government communications and payment channels can be accessible through the same digital ecosystem.

Travel Restrictions Raise the Stakes for Accurate Notifications

The AI program’s ability to communicate potential temporary exit restrictions adds an enforcement component beyond conventional payment reminders.

Vietnam recently specified circumstances under which tax debt can result in a temporary prohibition on leaving the country. Under Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP, certain individual business operators and household business owners can face an exit suspension when they are subject to tax enforcement and have at least 50 million Vietnamese dong in qualifying tax debt that has remained unpaid for at least 120 days beyond the statutory deadline.

For legal representatives of certain enterprises and cooperatives, the applicable debt threshold is 500 million dong under specified circumstances. Other provisions apply to taxpayers who no longer operate at their registered addresses and certain foreign nationals or people departing Vietnam for settlement abroad.

The notification issue is significant because traditional delivery methods can fail when taxpayers move without updating their addresses or do not regularly access government applications.

The new call center is intended in part to reduce the possibility that taxpayers first discover an exit restriction when attempting to travel.

The department has also registered its caller identification information with telecommunications companies so recipients can distinguish official tax department calls from potential impersonation attempts.

Ho Chi Minh City Faces a Large Collection Operation

The technology is being introduced as the city’s tax authority faces significant revenue and debt recovery objectives.

Ho Chi Minh City has set a tax revenue target of more than 800 trillion Vietnamese dong for 2026, nearly 30% above its 2025 level. National tax officials have also directed the city to intensify recovery of outstanding obligations, including a goal of recovering 80% of collectible tax debt.

The size of the taxpayer population creates an additional operational challenge. The department manages hundreds of thousands of businesses and business households along with millions of individual taxpayers.

Officials have previously identified automation as necessary to handle that scale. The department’s earlier AI initiatives included plans to use the technology for risk analysis, fraud detection, information cross-referencing, tax calculations and assistance for government employees reviewing regulations and specialized documents.

Once the new call center’s initial debt collection phase is operating consistently, officials plan to expand automation into reminders involving tax declarations, payments and tax return finalization.