Saigon Zoo owes nearly 850 billion, at risk of closing, still has money in the bank

Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is facing the risk of having to temporarily suspend operations due to tax debt of nearly 850 billion VND, of which overdue tax debt collection is more than 787 billion VND...

On December 10, speaking with Dan Tri reporter, Ms. Vu Thi Huong Giang - Director of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden said that the unit is worried about the risk of temporarily suspending operations when it is forced to collect nearly 850 billion VND in tax arrears.

According to Ms. Giang, in 2014, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee signed a decision to lease land to the Zoo with an area of 158,117m2 for public use under an annual payment regime for a period of 50 years. The District 1 Tax Department announced the land rent for the entire area, the total amount per year is 163.3 billion VND.

"The Zoo is renting land from the city with an area of 158,117 square meters. However, the unit is currently only using 5,590 square meters for business services. The remaining land is used for barns, park landscapes and public services not for profit. The Zoo has proposed to the city to pay taxes on the land used for business purposes," said the female director.

Up to now, the District 1 Tax Department has announced that the tax debt of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden Company Limited as of October 31 is more than 846 billion VND. Of which, the overdue amount that must be enforced for tax debt collection is more than 787 billion VND.

Ms. Giang said that tax debt enforcement is a regulation of tax law but must issue a notice of enforcement according to the law. The authorities' enforcement by closing invoices and accounts will cause difficulties for the unit because no one sells animal food. More than a week ago, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee chaired a meeting to hear a report on the incident, the unit also presented the origin of the land and why the debt arose.

According to the leaders of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, after the meeting earlier this year with departments, branches, and units, they also submitted documents to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, but so far there has been no announcement. In addition, they have also made a written report on the problems, proposing to temporarily suspend enforcement and collect the above debt, because when the decisions are adjusted, the debt will no longer exist.

Ms. Giang added that the entrance fee is too low, and if it were higher, it would cause difficulties for students and workers. Currently, the unit really needs to upgrade the roads in the campus but does not have the money to do so. These tasks require a comprehensive support mechanism from the city, but have not been considered yet.

According to the first 6-month revenue report of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the zoo's undistributed profit after tax was 12.5 billion VND. Total assets are 859 billion VND, but 80% of that is in construction costs in progress. In terms of revenue, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens reached 73.4 billion VND, down 9.5% compared to the same period last year. After deducting expenses, the profit was only 4.68 billion VND, down 12% compared to the same period last year.

Although both profit and revenue decreased, the Zoo still completed 58.3% of the revenue target and 75% of the profit target for the whole year. Thus, the Zoo's revenue target for the whole year is only about 125.9 billion, the profit target is only about 6.24 billion.

Of the total assets of 859 billion VND of the Zoo, 727 billion VND is long-term assets. This asset is mainly in the unfinished construction cost item of about 688 billion VND.

Also in the financial report, the balance sheet of the Zoo has 5.3 billion VND in cash and 63.4 billion VND in bank deposits, along with receivables from customers of 1.6 billion and more than 1 billion VND respectively. Regarding debt, the unit has to pay more than 25 billion VND, but mainly taxes and payments to the state and to employees.

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