Chương I Nghị định 119/2018/NĐ-CP: Quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree deals with the use of e-invoices for provision of goods and services; duties and powers of tax authorities at all levels and entities or bodies related to the use and management of e-invoices; rights, obligations and responsibilities of entities, organizations and individuals in the use and management of e-invoices.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Organizations, enterprises and individuals selling goods and providing services that are covered by this Decree shall include the followings:

a) Enterprises established and operated under the provisions of the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Credit Institutions, the Law on Insurance Business, the Law on Securities, the Law on Petroleum, and other legislative documents, in the form of a Joint Stock Company, Limited Liability Company, Partnership Business or Sole Proprietorship Business;

b) State-owned public service units selling goods and providing services;

c) Organizations established and operated under the Law on Cooperatives;

d) Other organizations;

dd) Business households or individuals.

2. Organizations and individuals purchasing goods and services.

3. Organizations providing e-invoice services.

4. Tax authorities at all levels and organizations or individuals involved in the use and management of sales and service invoices.

Article 3. Definition

For the purposes of this Decree, terms used herein shall be construed as follows:

1. Invoice means an accounting document which is created by an organization or individual selling goods or providing services to keep a record of information about provision of goods or services in accordance with accounting legislation.

2. Electronic invoice (e-invoice) means an invoice which is represented in the electronic data form, is created by an organization or individual selling goods or providing services, shows information about these goods or services, digital signatures and electronic signatures as per this Decree by using electronic instruments, even including those invoices created by POS cash registers with network connections for transmission of electronic data to tax authorities.

3. Unauthenticated e-invoice means an electronic invoice that an organization selling goods or providing services sends to the buyer in the absence of a tax authority's authentication code, even including those that are created by POS cash registers with network connection for transfer of electronic data to tax authorities.

4. Authenticated e-invoice means an electronic invoice that is assigned an authentication code by the tax authority before an organization or individual selling goods or providing services sends it to the buyer, including those which are created by POS cash registers with network connections for transfer of electronic data to tax authorities.

5. A tax authority’s authentication code inscribed on an e-invoice is composed of a transactional number which is a sole numerical series and a chain of characters which is invented by the tax authority based on the information provided by the seller on the e-invoice.

6. E-invoice created by a POS cash register means an invoice which is originally created by a POS cash register with a network connection for online transfer of electronic data using the standard data format determined by the tax authority.

7. Use of digital certificates, digital signatures and electronic signatures shall comply with legislative regulations on electronic transactions.

8. Organization providing e-invoice services includes organizations providing e-invoice solutions, organizations providing such services as receiving, transmitting and storing e-invoice data and other services related to e-invoices.

9. Use of an illegal e-invoice means the use of an e-invoice without applying for the registration for the use of that e-invoice with the tax authority; the sending of an unauthenticated e-invoice to the buyer in the event of use of an authenticated e-invoice; the sending of an unauthenticated e-invoice to the buyer after receiving the notification of revocation of unauthenticated e-invoices.

10. Illegal use of an e-invoice means the fraudulent creation of an e-invoice; the use of the e-invoice designed for this good or service for another one; the creation of an e-invoice reflecting the payment value lower than the actual value; the rotation of an e-invoice for another use during the transportation of goods in circulation.

11. Revocation of an e-invoice means an act of making this e-invoice become invalid.

12. Destruction of an e-invoice means an act of making information contained in that e-invoice inaccessible and unreferrable.

13. E-invoice database means a collection of informative data about invoices which is owned by the management of organizations, enterprises and individuals upon sale of goods and provision of services.

Article 4. Principles of e-invoicing, use and management of e-invoices

1. When selling goods and providing services, the seller (except business households or individuals defined in clause 6 Article 12 of this Decree) must issue an authenticated or unauthenticated e-invoice to the buyer by using the standard data format regulated by the tax authority and fill in all information required by this Decree, irrespective of value of each sale or provision.

In case of using the POS cash register for sale of goods or provision of services, the seller must apply for registration for use of e-invoices sent by the POS cash register with network connection for online transfer of electronic data to the tax authority.

2. Registration, management and utilization of e-invoices for sale of goods or provision of services must conform to legislative regulations on electronic transactions, accounting, taxation and those provisions laid down herein.

3. The e-invoice data about sale of goods or provision of services shall be collected to build the e-invoice database used for the purposes of tax management and meeting the needs of concerned organizations or individuals for e-invoice information.

4. Issuing the tax authority's authentication code available for use in an e-invoice shall be based on the information that enterprises, business organizations, households and individuals write on that e-invoice. Enterprises, business organizations, households and individuals shall be held responsible for accuracy of the information inscribed on an e-invoice.

5. An e-invoice that is created by a POS cash register with network connection for transfer of electronic data to the tax authority shall conform to the following principles:

a) That e-invoice must be recognizable as the e-invoice printed by a POS cash register with network connection for transfer of electronic data to the tax authority;

b) Digital signature on that e-invoice can be optional;

c) The spending on provision of goods or services written in the invoice (or is described in the scanned invoice or the information search result on the e-invoice page in the Web Portal of the General Department of Taxation) which is created a POS cash register may be defined as an expense that is supported by an adequate number of legal invoices and evidencing documents upon determination of tax obligations.

Article 5. E-invoice types

E-invoices shall be classified into the following types:

1. Value-added tax e-invoice which is an invoice that may be used by providers of goods or services for their value-added tax declaration made by employing the credit method. In this case, this type of e-invoice shall include those invoices created by POS cash registers with network connections for transfer of electronic data to tax authorities.

2. Sales e-invoice which is an invoice that may be used by providers of goods or services for their value-added tax declaration made by employing the direct method. In this case, this type of e-invoice shall include those invoices created by POS cash registers with network connections for transfer of electronic data to tax authorities.

3. Other e-invoices, including electronic stamps, electronic tickets, electronic cards, electronic receipts, electronic goods dispatch and consignment note, or electronic evidencing documents which carries other names but contains information specified in Article 6 of this Decree.

4. E-invoices referred to in clause 1, clause 2 and clause 3 of this Article shall be issued by using the standard data format regulated by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 6. E-invoice contents

1. E-invoices shall contain the following information:

a) Invoice title, invoice code, invoice form code, invoice number;

b) The seller’s name, address and tax identification number;

c) The buyer’s name, address and tax identification number (where the buyer's tax identification number is available);

d) Name, measurement unit, quantity, unit price of goods or services; amount before VAT, rate of VAT being charged, total amount with VAT calculated at specific VAT rates, total VAT amount, total sum inclusive of VAT with respect to an VAT tax invoice;

dd) Total sum;

e) The seller’s digital signature and electronic signature;

g) The buyer’s digital signature and electronic signature (if any);

h) E-invoicing time;

i) The tax authority’s authentication code, required with respect to an e-invoice with the tax authority's code;

k) Fees and charges remitted into the state budget and other related contents (if any).

2. The Ministry of Finance shall elaborate on contents of e-invoices and cases in which it is unnecessary to present all contents stated in clause 1 of this Article.

Article 7. E-invoicing time

1. Time of issue of an e-invoice for sale of goods is the time of transfer of the right to own or use goods to the buyer, irrespective of whether the payment of the invoiced amount is made or not.

2. Time of issue of an e-invoice for provision of services is the time of completion of provision of services or the time of issue of the service invoice, irrespective of whether the payment of the invoiced amount is made or not.

3. In case where multiple deliveries are required, or each goods item or service phase is accepted, it shall be mandatory to issue an invoice showing quantity, value of a good or service for each respective delivery or acceptance.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall consult regulations of the law on value-added tax and tax management to give specific guidance on the e-invoicing time in other cases and provisions laid down in this Article.

Article 8. E-invoice format

The Ministry of Finance shall promulgate specific regulations on the standard data format of the sales and service e-invoices.

Article 9. Legal e-invoices, illegal e-invoices

1. An e-invoice shall be considered legal if it meets the following requirements:

a) It conforms to provisions laid down in clause 5 Article 4, Article 6, 7, 8 hereof;

b) Integrity of information inscribed on that e-invoice must be ensured.

2. An e-invoice shall be considered illegal if it fails to meet requirements set out in clause 1 of this Article or it falls into cases referred to in clause 9 and clause 10 Article 3 hereof.

Article 10. Conversion of e-invoices into paper vouchers

1. Legal e-invoices may be converted into paper vouchers.

2. Contents of an e-invoice which is converted into a paper voucher must correspond to those of the paper document.

3. In case where an electronic invoice is converted into a paper voucher, the paper voucher shall be retained for book and monitoring purposes only in accordance with the law on accounting and the law on electronic transactions, and shall not be valid for use in transactions or payments, except for cases where invoices are created from POS cash registers with network connections for electronic data transfer to tax authorities under the provisions of this Decree.

Article 11. Preservation, storage and destruction of e-invoices

1. E-invoices must be preserved and stored by electronic means.

2. Entities, organizations and individuals shall be entitled to select and use methods of storage and archival of e-invoices suitable to their business conditions and technological applicability.

3. E-invoices must be stored and archived to ensure:

a) Safety, security, integrity, completeness, avoidance of any change or deviation during the storage and archival period;

b) They are stored and archived for a period specified in the accounting legislation;

c) They can be printed out or searched upon request.

4. Unless otherwise prescribed by regulations issued by competent state authorities, an e-invoice whose storage life expires shall be destroyed. The destruction of e-invoices must avoid causing any impact on the integrity of the invoice data messages that have not been destroyed and the normal operation of the information system.

Article 12. Use of e-invoices for sale of goods and provision of services

1. Enterprises, economic or other organizations shall use authenticated e-invoices for their provision of goods or services, regardless of value of each provision of goods or services.

2. If enterprises doing business in the following sectors: electricity, petroleum, post and telecommunications, air transport, road transport, rail transport, sea transport, inland water transport, clean water, finance and credit, insurance, healthcare, electronic commerce, supermarket business, commerce, and enterprises or economic organizations, which have already transacted or will transact with tax authorities via electronic means, develop information technology infrastructure and use accounting software and e-invoicing software systems that meet the needs of e-invoicing and access to e-invoices, store e-invoice data in accordance with regulations and ensure the electronic data transfer to buyers and tax authorities, unauthenticated e-invoices may be used (except for the case stated in clause 3 of this Article and the case in which the registration for use of authenticated e-invoices is required) for their provision of goods or services, irrespective of value of each provision of goods or services.

3. Enterprises, economic or other organizations that pose high risks related to taxes shall be required to use authenticated e-invoices for their provision of goods or services, regardless of value of each provision of goods or services.

4. Business households or individuals keeping accounting records, regularly hiring at least 10 employees and earning the preceding year’s revenue which equals at least 03 (three) billion dong in the agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, industry or construction sector, or gaining the preceding year’s revenue equaling at least 10 (ten) billion dong in the commerce and service sector, shall be obliged to use authenticated e-invoices for their provision of goods or services, irrespective of value of each provision of goods or services. If business households or individuals that are not bound to use e-invoices keep their accounting records and wish to use e-invoices, they may use authenticated e-invoices as prescribed by laws.

5. Business households or individuals doing business in such sectors as restaurant, hotel, modern medicine retailing, retailing of fast-moving consumer goods and online provision of services to consumers at certain areas having disadvantageous conditions shall have access to pilot authenticated e-invoices which are created by POS cash registers with network connections for electronic data transfer to tax authorities from 2018. Based on the piloting outcomes, the official use of e-invoices shall be allowed across the nation.

6. If business households and individuals that do not satisfy the regulatory requirements that bind them to use authenticated e-invoices as set out in clause 4 of this Article, but need invoices issued to their customers, or if enterprises, economic or other organizations obtains the tax authority’s approval to use e-invoices to issue to their customers, they shall be entitled to receive authenticated e-invoices from the tax authority at each time when a transaction occurs, and shall be obligated to make tax declaration and payment before the tax authority grants them access to e-invoices at each time when a transaction occurs by using the Form No. 06 hereto appended.

7. The Ministry of Finance shall elaborate on cases where use of authenticated e-invoices, or authenticated e-invoices created from POS cash registers with network connections for electronic data transfer to tax authorities, are allowed; shall give guidance on use of e-invoices by those enterprises or organizations posing high risks related to taxes; shall build connections for electronic data transfer from commercial banks or national electronic payment web portals to tax authorities; shall provide guidance on the grant of access to authenticated e-invoices and on the declaration made for determination of tax obligations when the tax authority issues these e-invoices at each time when a transaction occurs, as well as on other necessary contents in conformity with regulatory requirements.

Article 13. Provision of e-invoice services

1. When providing services related to authenticated e-invoices, the General Department of Taxation shall not charge enterprises, economic organizations, business households or individuals falling into the following situations for these services:

a) Small- and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, business households and individuals that operate at areas facing socio-economic difficulties or extreme socio-economic difficulties;

b) Small- and medium-sized creative startups prescribed by soft laws and business households or individuals that are transformed into enterprises (except those stated in point a of this clause) within a period of 12 months after their establishment;

c) Business households or individuals. Business households or individuals earn the preceding year’s revenue which equals at least 03 (three) billion dong in the agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, industry or construction sector, or gain the preceding year’s revenue equaling at least 10 (ten) billion dong in the commerce and service sector, as provided in clause 4 Article 12 hereof within a period of 12 months from the month of use of authenticated e-invoices under the provisions of this Decree;

d) Other small- and medium-sized enterprises which are defined according to the requests of the People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces, and the regulations of the Ministry of Finance, except enterprises operating at economic zones, industrial parks or hi-tech zones;

dd) Those falling into other cases in which they are entitled to incentive policies under the decision issued by the Ministry of Finance.

2. The General Department of Taxation shall provide or entrust e-invoice service providers to provide authenticated e-invoices for free for those specified in clause 1 of this Article.

3. Organizations providing e-invoice services shall be allowed to charge for their services as agreed upon under the contract between service providers and customers that may be enterprises, economic organizations, business households or individuals that are not prescribed in clause 1 of this Article.