The General Department of Taxation (GDT).
The General Department of Taxation (GDT) is sourcing for an advanced IT system in Singapore to modernise the Kingdom’s tax system and improve its collection process and efficiency.
GDT director-general Kong Vibol led a delegation on a three-day learning visit from November 27 to 29 in Singapore and toured the country’s data management centre Starhub and Vertiv (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
The delegation learnt data management and maintenance, the efficiency of applying technology for tax matters via smart devices, data analysis and the utilisation of Artificial Intelligent (AI) to improve the overall quality of the GDT.
The visit reflected that GDT’s continuous efforts to modernise its taxation system by adopting automation to quicken the process for taxpayers and the department.
The government recently announced the target of increasing its tax revenue by 20 per cent next year.
At the Fourth Tax 2019 Forum held at the Great Duke Hotel in late November, Vibol said he had successfully modernised the departments’ IT management system to ensure transparency in managing taxpayers’ data.
“I think we now have a tax system that is supported by IT which ensures fast and accurate services.
“The E-filing programme stores data automatically and does automated calculations. And, previously there was bribery involved to avoid paying taxes, but now we have a transparent system,” he said.
At the same time, Vibol said to increase more tax revenue, the GDT will audit companies operating in Cambodia at least once a year.
The purpose, he said, is to assess company risk as the department has observed that many had forged tax payments. However, he did not name them.
A GDT report noted that the government collected $2.4 billion in tax revenue in the first 10 months of 2019 – a 28.31 per cent increase from the $1.873 billion recorded in the same period a year ago.
Over the last five years, Cambodia has experienced a tax revenue growth of 20 per cent per annum.
In 2014, tax revenue collection was $1.06 billion and it increased to $1.3 billion in 2015, $1.5 billion in 2017, 1.97 billion in 2018, and rose to $2.19 billion in 2018.
