Ho Chi Minh City tax agency launches AI-powered call center to remind taxpayers of debts, exit bans

The 'Thue TP.HCM' call center was officially launched Saturday as part of the tax authority's efforts to apply AI and digital payment solutions to tax administration.

In its initial phase, the call center will make automated calls and send messages reminding taxpayers to pay outstanding taxes and notifying them of temporary exit bans.

Doan Minh Dung, head of the tax department, said the call center would provide tax information quickly and accurately while helping protect taxpayers from scams involving people impersonating tax authorities or tax officials.

The system will also free tax officials from repetitive tasks so they can focus on providing in-depth advice and support to taxpayers, Dung said.

Nguyen Hoa Bac, head of the department's Data Governance and Risk Management Division, said the agency currently manages more than 650,000 business households, 350,000 enterprises and 8 million individual taxpayers.

Given the large number of taxpayers, Bac said many people had unexpectedly been subject to temporary exit bans over tax debts or had been listed as legal representatives of companies without knowing it.

In many cases, taxpayers failed to update their addresses after moving, so they did not receive notices about tax debts or exit restrictions in time and only learned about them at airports, he said.

In May 2026, Vietnam Television's VTV9 reported the case of Mai The Hoang, a city resident who only learned at the airport that he had been subject to a temporary exit ban over tax debts owed by two businesses for which he was listed as director.

Bac underscored that the 'Thue TP.HCM' brand name will help taxpayers identify calls from the call center as official communications from the city's tax department and distinguish them from scam calls.

The tax department will also work with banks and e-wallet providers to deliver notifications through digital payment platforms, in addition to the eTax Mobile app.

Initially, the department will review information on tax debts and temporary exit bans and notify affected taxpayers, as many people subject to such restrictions remain unaware of them.

In the second phase, the call center will remind taxpayers to file tax declarations, pay taxes and finalize taxes, including those with multiple sources of income.

In the third phase, the system will handle incoming calls from taxpayers.

Outbound calls will avoid early mornings, lunch breaks, with each call lasting no more than three minutes.

To prevent fraud, the call center's AI assistant will remind taxpayers that tax authorities do not send payment links via text messages or email.

Taxpayers should make payments only through official channels such as eTax Mobile, Internet Banking or the National Public Service Portal.

Several taxpayers tested the call center at Saturday's launch ceremony and praised its natural-sounding voice and polite handling of calls.