Is it mandatory to include the buyer's TIN on a VAT invoice in Vietnam?

Is it mandatory to include the buyer's TIN on a VAT invoice in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 5, Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, regulations concerning the name, address, and TIN of the buyer on the invoice are as follows:

- If the buyer is a business entity with a TIN, the name, address, and TIN of the buyer must be recorded on the invoice as stated in the enterprise registration certificate, branch operation certificate, business household registration certificate, taxpayer registration certificate, tax identification notification, investment registration certificate, or cooperative registration certificate.

In cases where the buyer's name or address is too long, sellers are allowed to abbreviate certain common nouns on the invoice such as "Phường" to "P"; "Quận" to "Q", "Thành phố" to "TP", "Việt Nam" to "VN" or "Cổ phần" to "CP", "Trách nhiệm Hữu hạn" to "TNHH", "khu công nghiệp" to "KCN", "sản xuất" to "SX", "Chi nhánh" to "CN"… ensuring that the house number, street name, ward, commune, district, city, and the accurate name and address of the enterprise can be identified, and are consistent with the enterprise's business registration and taxpayer registration.

- If the buyer does not have a TIN, then it is not necessary to display the buyer's TIN on the invoice. In certain cases where goods are sold or services are provided to individual consumers, as stipulated in Clause 14, Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the buyer's name and address need not be shown on the invoice.

- When goods are sold or services are provided to foreign customers visiting Vietnam, the information regarding the buyer's address can be replaced with information about the customer's passport number or entry/exit document and nationality.

Therefore, according to the above regulations, it can be seen that recording the buyer's TIN on a VAT invoice is mandatory only if the buyer has a TIN. If the buyer does not have a TIN, there is no need to record the buyer's TIN on the invoice, making it non-mandatory.

Is it mandatory to include the buyer's TIN on a VAT invoice in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Shall VAT invoices be used in international transportation activities in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 1, Article 8 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP concerning the types of invoices.

Type of Invoice

Invoices under this Decree include the following types:

1. Value-added tax invoices are designated for organizations declaring value-added tax under the deduction method used for activities such as:

a) Selling goods, providing services domestically;

b) International transportation activities;

c) Exporting to non-tariff zones and cases considered as export;

d) Exporting goods, providing services abroad.

.....”

Referring to the above provision, it can be seen that VAT invoices are currently used for the following activities:

- Selling goods, providing services domestically.

- International transportation activities.

- Exporting to non-tariff zones and cases considered as export.

- Exporting goods, providing services abroad.

Therefore, it can be concluded that VAT invoices can be used in international transportation activities.

*Note: VAT invoices apply to organizations declaring VAT under the deduction method.

What is the regulation on the format of electronic VAT invoices in Vietnam?

Pursuant to the regulations in Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the regulation on the format of electronic VAT invoices is as follows:

- The format of electronic invoices is a technical standard that specifies the data type, data length for information fields to serve the transmission, storage, and display of electronic invoices. The format of electronic invoices uses the XML format (XML stands for "eXtensible Markup Language"), created to share electronic data between information systems.

- The format of electronic invoices includes two components: the component containing the business data of the electronic invoice and the component containing the digital signature data. For electronic invoices with the tax authority's code, there is an additional component containing data related to the tax authority's code.

- The General Department of Taxation develops and publishes the component containing the business data of electronic invoices, the component containing the digital signature data, and provides tools to display the contents of electronic invoices in accordance with this Decree.

- Organizations and enterprises selling goods or providing services when transmitting electronic invoice data to the tax authority by direct submission must meet the following requirements:

+ Connect with the General Department of Taxation through a private leased line or MPLS VPN Layer 3 channel, including one main transmission channel and one backup transmission channel. Each transmission channel must have a minimum bandwidth of 5 Mbps.

+ Use Web Service or Message Queue (MQ) with encryption as the method for connection.

+ Use the SOAP protocol to package and transmit data.

- Electronic invoices must fully and accurately display the contents of the invoice to ensure there is no misunderstanding, enabling the buyer to read it using electronic devices.