Are e-invoices retained by electronic instruments in Vietnam?

Are e-invoices retained by electronic instruments in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 6 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as prescribed:

Storage and retention of Invoices and Documents

1. Invoices and documents must be stored and retained ensuring:

a) Safety, confidentiality, integrity, completeness, and remain unchanged and unaltered throughout the retention period;

b) Correct and complete retention time as prescribed by accounting laws.

2. e-invoices and e-documents are stored and retained by electronic instruments. Agencies, organizations, and individuals have the right to choose and apply forms of storage and retention of e-invoices, e-documents suitable to their operational characteristics and technological application capabilities. e-invoices and documents must be ready for printing or be searchable upon request.

3. Invoices printed by the tax authority, self-printed documents must be stored and retained in accordance with the following requirements:

a) Invoices and documents not yet issued must be retained and stored in retention facilities according to the retention and storage policies of valuable documents.

b) Invoices and issued documents in accounting units must be retained according to regulations for storing and preserving accounting documents.

c) Invoices and issued documents in organizations, households, individuals not being accounting units must be retained and stored as personal property of that organization, household, or individual.

e-invoices are stored and retained by electronic instruments.

Agencies, organizations, and individuals have the right to choose and apply a form of storage and retention of e-invoices suitable to their operational characteristics and technological application capabilities. e-invoices must be ready for printing or retrieval upon request.

Are e-invoices retained by electronic instruments in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are requirements for authenticated e-invoices in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 17 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:

Issuing authenticated e-invoices

1. Issuing authenticated e-invoices

a) Businesses, economic organizations, other organizations, households, individuals doing business as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of this Decree, if access the General Department of Taxation’s e-portal to issue invoices, shall use the account granted during registration to perform:

- Issuing sales invoices and service provision invoices.

- Digitally signing issued invoices and submitting them for tax authority coding.

b) Businesses, economic organizations, other organizations, households, individuals doing business using authenticated e-invoices through an e-invoice service provider organization shall access the e-information portal of the service provider organization or use the organization's e-invoice software to perform:

- Issuing sales invoices and service provision invoices.

- Digitally signing issued invoices and submitting them through the service provider organization for tax authority coding.

2. Invoice Coding

a) Invoices coded by tax authorities must ensure:

- Complete content regarding e-invoices as prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree.

- Correct formatting for e-invoices as stipulated in Article 12 of this Decree.

- Accurate registration information according to Article 15 of this Decree.

- Not falling into cases of cessation of using authenticated e-invoices as regulated in Clause 1, Article 16 of this Decree.

b) The tax code issuance system of the General Department of Taxation automatically performs invoice coding and sends back coding results to the sender.

3. Businesses, economic organizations, other organizations, households, individuals selling goods, providing services, are responsible for sending tax authority-coded e-invoices to the buyer. The method of sending and receiving invoices is conducted following the agreement between the seller and buyer, ensuring compliance with e-transaction laws.

Invoices coded by the tax authority must meet the following requirements:

- Complete content regarding e-invoices as prescribed.

- Correct format for e-invoices as prescribed.

- Accurate registration information as prescribed.

- Not falling into cessation of use cases as prescribed.

When are authenticated e-invoices issued separately in Vietnam?

Pursuant to point a Clause 2 Article 13 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP providing for issuance separately as follows:

For Sales Invoices:

Issuance with tax authority codes separately applies in cases:

- Households, individuals doing business as stipulated in Clause 4 Article 91 Tax Administration Law 2019, not meeting conditions to use tax authority-coded e-invoices but require invoices to provide to customers;

- Non-business organizations engaging in sales or service provision transactions;

- Businesses post-dissolution, bankrupt, and terminated tax code still engaging in asset liquidation needing invoices to provide to buyers;

- Businesses, economic organizations, households, individuals subject to direct VAT payment in cases:

+ Halting business activities but not completing procedures to terminate the tax code, needing invoices for asset liquidation to provide to buyers;

+ Temporarily ceasing business activities needing invoices to provide customers for contracts signed before the tax authority’s business suspension notice;

+ Subject to tax authority's enforcement halting invoice use.

For Value-Added Invoices:

Issuance with tax authority codes separately applies in cases:

- Businesses, economic organizations, other organizations paying deducted VAT in cases:

+ Halting business activities but not completing procedures to terminate the tax code needing invoices for asset liquidation to provide to buyers;

+ Temporarily ceasing business activities requiring invoices for contracts signed before the tax authority’s business suspension notice;

+ Subject to tax authority's enforcement halting invoice use.

- Organizations, state agencies not subject to deducted VAT paying have property auctions, where the auction price including VAT is publicly disclosed in the approved auction dossier, are issued value-added invoices to provide buyers.