Is the e-invoice issued separately without a digital signature valid in Vietnam?

Is the e-invoice issued separately without a digital signature valid in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 13 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, regulations are as follows:

Application of e-invoices for goods sale and service provision

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2. Regulations on issuing and declaring tax liability when the tax authority issues e-invoices with the tax authority’s code separately:

a) Type of invoice issued separately

a.1) Issuing e-invoices with the tax authority’s code separately is applicable in the following cases:

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- Enterprises that have dissolved, gone bankrupt, or terminated their tax identification number have asset liquidation that requires an invoice for the buyer;

- Enterprises, economic organizations, households, and individuals subject to value-added tax under the direct method in the following cases:

+ Temporarily suspending business activities but have not completed the procedures to terminate the tax identification number and require an invoice for asset liquidation for the buyer;

+ Temporarily suspending business activities but require invoices to deliver to customers for contracts signed before the tax authority’s notification of business suspension;

+ Being coerced by the tax authority to stop using invoices.

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At the same time, Clause 14, Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP stipulates:

Invoice contents

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14. Some cases in which e-invoices do not necessarily need to have full contents:

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b) For e-invoices issued by the tax authority separately, it is not necessarily required to have the digital signature of the seller and the buyer.

c) For e-invoices of goods sold at supermarkets and commercial centers where the buyer is an individual not engaged in business, the invoice does not necessarily need to have the name, address, and tax identification number of the buyer.

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For enterprises, economic organizations, households, and individuals subject to value-added tax under the direct method coerced by the tax authority to stop using invoices, they are issued e-invoices with the tax authority's code separately.

Furthermore, such e-invoices are not necessarily required to have the digital signature of the seller and the buyer.

Thus, e-invoices issued separately without a digital signature, when meeting the conditions and contents of the invoice, are considered valid.

Is the e-invoice issued separately without a digital signature valid in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are the regulations on the digital signatures of the seller and buyer on e-invoices in Vietnam?

The digital signature of the seller (enterprise) on e-invoices is regulated in Clause 7, Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:

- For invoices printed by the tax authority, the invoice must have the signature of the seller, the seal of the seller (if any), and the signature of the buyer (if any).

- For e-invoices:

If the seller is an enterprise or organization, the seller's digital signature on the invoice is the digital signature of the enterprise or organization; if the seller is an individual, the individual's digital signature or the digital signature of the authorized person is used.

For e-invoices that do not necessarily need to have the digital signature of the seller and the buyer, compliance with Clause 14 of this Article is required.

When is the time for digital signing on e-invoices in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 9, Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, regulations are as follows:

Invoice contents

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9. The time for digital signing on e-invoices is when the seller and buyer use the digital signature to sign on the e-invoice, which is displayed in the format of day, month, year of the Gregorian calendar. If the e-invoice already created has a different signing time than the time of invoice creation, the tax declaration time is the time of invoice creation.

10. The tax authority's code for e-invoices with the tax authority’s code is regulated in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Decree.

11. Fees, charges belonging to the state budget, commercial discounts, promotions (if any) according to the guidelines at Point e, Clause 6 of this Article, and other related contents (if any).

12. The name and tax identification number of the organization printing the invoice for invoices printed by the tax authority.

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Thus, the time for digital signing on e-invoices is when the seller and buyer use the digital signature to sign on the e-invoice, which is displayed in the format of day, month, year of the Gregorian calendar.

In cases where the e-invoice already created has a different signing time than the time of invoice creation, the tax declaration time is the time of invoice creation.