The General Department of Taxation plans to debut its e-tax application for mobile devices, Etax-mobile, in August to facilitate taxpayers particularly amid the complicated developments of COVID-19. So far, about 99% of enterprises in the country are using electronic tax services. However, the proportion is much lower among individuals due to inconvenient support software. This is why the department began the development of Etax-mobile. In the immediate future, the application will be provided for individual use on iOS and Android platforms.
In addition to supporting functions provided on the e-tax system via the web platform, the application will provide enhanced user experience services, additional search functions, and links to banks’ payment applications, according to a news report. The department said that, with 60 million individuals having tax codes, the use of Etax-mobile will help taxpayers easily access related administrative procedures and communicate with tax authorities. They can transparently and conveniently fulfil their tax obligations anywhere.
Apart from making tax payment procedures online, there are a number of unified, nationwide IT platforms that were created to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has mobilised many resources to build technology platforms to support epidemic prevention and control in the country.
Up to now, the Ministry has deployed six technology platforms to serve the prevention and control of the epidemic, including:
- A medical declaration system that manages access to public places by QR Code
- A COVID-19 vaccination management platform
- A platform to manage test sample collection and returning test results
- A platform to support tracing those who have contact with COVID-19 infected cases
- A quarantine monitoring platform
- A data analysis platform to serve leadership and management activities
Three of the six platforms must be shared nationwide. The platforms developed by the National Centre for Technology for COVID-19 Prevention and Control include the medical declaration and management system, the platform to manage test sample collection, and the vaccination management platform.
OpenGov Asia reported earlier on the Vietnam Health Declaration (VHD), developed by Viettel. The app will continuously monitor close contacts with COVID-19 patients or F1 cases, who are under home quarantine.
The mobile app will help Ho Chi Minh City to keep track of the self-quarantined, make sure they strictly observe rules set by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and get updates about their health conditions. The app has been used by the MOH to monitor how individuals entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions observe quarantine rules on a trial basis. It uses a combination of GPS signals and facial recognition technology to check the whereabouts of individuals under home quarantine and if they do not adhere to protocols or leave the house. The home-quarantined persons will be required to register their mobile number and a Face ID, along with the location of their houses.
On 3 August, MIC held an online conference to disseminate information about experiences in implementing these platforms nationwide. The Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyen Huy Dung noted that technology is an indispensable tool, the country’s current platforms must be improved, and there is a need to have nationwide technology platforms. MOH and MIC have agreed to jointly deploy the National Technology Centre for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Dung proposed setting up a technology group directed by the departments of Health and Information and Communications in each province.