Hoa Sen Group Fined and Ordered to Pay Over 1.5 Billion VND in Tax Arrears

Hoa Sen Group (HSG), a leading corporation listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), has recently announced its receipt of a penalty decision from the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department. The decision, numbered 3351/QĐ-XPHC, pertains to administrative tax violations identified during the 2021-2022 audit period.

The violations include the declaration of input invoices for expenses not related to production or business activities, insufficient documentation as per regulations, and overtime payments to employees exceeding the 300-hour annual limit. These actions resulted in an increase in taxable income by over VND 5 billion in 2021, leading to an additional corporate income tax (CIT) liability of more than VND 1 billion. In 2022, the taxable income decreased (reducing losses) by over VND 2.1 billion.

As a consequence, Hoa Sen Group has been fined nearly VND 201.2 million for incorrect declarations, as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 16 of Decree No. 125/2020/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2020, issued by the Government.

Additionally, the company is required to rectify the situation by paying the outstanding CIT for 2021, amounting to over VND 1 billion, along with late payment penalties totaling nearly VND 306.9 million.

The late payment penalties are calculated up to October 13, 2025. Hoa Sen Group is responsible for calculating and remitting any additional late payment fees from this date until the actual payment of the outstanding taxes and penalties to the State Budget.

In total, Hoa Sen Group is obligated to pay over VND 1.5 billion in fines and back taxes to the State Budget. Furthermore, the company must reduce its reported losses by more than VND 2.1 billion.

In a separate development, on October 22, 2025, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Luân, an independent board member of Hoa Sen Group, successfully sold 100,000 HSG shares.

Following this transaction, Mr. Luân’s holdings in HSG decreased from 173,600 shares to 73,600 shares, reducing his ownership stake from 0.028% to 0.012% of the company’s capital.

Based on the closing price of HSG shares on October 22, 2025, at VND 16,550 per share, it is estimated that Mr. Luân earned nearly VND 1.7 billion from this sale.