Is an air freight charge receipt considered an invoice in Vietnam?

Is an air freight charge receipt considered an invoice in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 5, Article 8 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, which stipulates various types of invoices including the air freight charge receipt, the regulations are as follows:

Types of Invoices

Invoices stipulated in this Decree include the following types:

1. Value-added tax invoice, which applies to organizations declaring value-added tax by deduction method, used for activities such as:

a) Selling goods and providing services domestically;

b) International transportation activities;

c) Exporting into duty-free zones and cases considered as export;

d) Exporting goods and providing services abroad.

2. Sales invoice, which applies to organizations and individuals such as:

a) Organizations and individuals declaring and calculating value-added tax by direct method, used for activities:

- Selling goods and providing services domestically;

- International transportation activities;

- Exporting into duty-free zones and cases considered as export;

- Exporting goods and providing services abroad.

b) Organizations and individuals in duty-free zones selling goods and providing services domestically and when selling goods and providing services among organizations and individuals within duty-free zones, and exporting goods and providing services abroad, must state on the invoice “For organizations and individuals in the duty-free zone.”

3. Electronic invoices for selling public assets are to be employed when selling the following assets:

a) Public assets at agencies, organizations, units (including state-owned housing);

b) Infrastructure assets;

c) Public assets assigned by the State for enterprises to manage, not calculated as state capital component in enterprises;

d) Assets of projects using state capital;

đ) Assets for which ownership is established as belonging to the entire populace;

e) Public assets revoked by decision of competent authority;

g) Materials, supplies retrieved from handling public assets.

4. Electronic invoices for selling national reserve goods are employed when agencies and units within the national reserve system sell national reserve goods per legal regulations.

5. Other types of invoices, include:

a) Stamps, tickets, cards having forms and content as prescribed in this Decree;

b) Air freight charge receipts; documents for collecting international transportation fees; bank service fee receipts, excluding cases provided in point a of this clause, having form and content prepared based on international customs and related legal regulations.

6. Documents printed, issued, used, and managed like invoices include delivery notes cum internal transport notes, delivery notes for goods sent for consignment.

7. The Ministry of Finance provides guidance on displaying invoice samples for entities mentioned in Article 2 of this Decree to refer to during implementation.

From the above regulation, it is evident that if the air freight charge receipt is formatted and contented in accordance with international norms and related legal regulations, it is considered an invoice.

Is an air freight charge receipt considered an invoice in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

What are regulations on storage and retention of invoices in Vietnam?

As per Article 6 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the procedures for storing and retaining invoices are as follows:

- Invoices and documents are stored and retained ensuring:

+ Safety, confidentiality, integrity, completeness, and no alteration or distortion during the storage period;

+ Stored correctly and for the appropriate duration as stipulated by accounting laws.

- Electronic invoices and documents are stored and retained electronically. Agencies, organizations, and individuals have the right to choose and apply a method of storing and retaining electronic invoices and documents that suits their operational characteristics and technological capabilities. Electronic invoices and documents must be ready to be printed or accessed upon request.

- Invoices printed by tax authorities, printed documents, or self-printed must be stored and retained according to the following requirements:

+ Unissued invoices and documents are stored and preserved in warehouses in accordance with storage policies for valuable documents.

+ Issued invoices and documents within accounting units are stored according to document storage and preservation regulations.

+ Issued invoices and documents within organizations, households, or individuals that are not accounting units are stored and preserved as personal assets of those organizations, households, or individuals.

What acts are prohibited in the field of invoices in Vietnam?

According to Article 5 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the prohibited acts in the field of invoices are:

- For tax officials:

+ Causing inconvenience or difficulty for organizations and individuals purchasing invoices and documents;

+ Engaging in concealment or collusion with organizations or individuals to use illegal invoices and documents;

+ Accepting bribes during inspections and audits concerning invoices.

- For organizations and individuals selling, providing goods and services, or those with related rights and obligations:

+ Engaging in fraudulent acts such as using illegal invoices, or unlawfully using invoices;

+ Obstructing tax officials performing their duties, specifically acts obstructing that harm the health or dignity of tax officials during inspections and audits concerning invoices and documents;

+ Illegally accessing, altering, or destroying information systems related to invoices and documents;

+ Bribing or engaging in other acts related to invoices and documents for illicit gain.