What format do e-invoices use? Are e-invoices required to have digital signatures in Vietnam?

Is an e-invoice required to have a digital signature in Vietnam?

Based on Article 8 of Circular 78/2021/TT-BTC regarding e-invoices as follows:

authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority

1. authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority must ensure the principles stipulated in Article 11 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP.

2. Enterprises, households, and individuals doing business and paying tax by the declaration method who provide goods and services directly to consumers according to the business model (shopping centers; supermarkets; retail of consumer goods; food and beverages; restaurants; hotels; retail of pharmaceuticals; entertainment services, and other services) can choose to use e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority or e-invoices with codes, e-invoices without codes.

3. authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority have the following contents:

a) Name, address, and tax code of the seller;

b) Buyer’s information if requested by the buyer (personal identification code or tax code);

c) Name of goods, services, unit price, quantity, payment price. In case organizations and enterprises pay tax by the credit method, it must clearly state the selling price excluding VAT, VAT tax rate, VAT tax amount, and total payment amount including VAT;

d) Invoice issuance time;

dd) Tax authority code.

4. Solution for issuing tax authority code on e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority: The tax authority code is automatically issued according to a character range for each business establishment specified in Clause 2 of this Article when registering to use authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority and ensures no duplication.

5. Responsibilities of the General Department of Taxation

a) Develop, publish the data content of authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority, and the transmission and receipt method with the tax authority as stipulated in Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP and guide taxpayers to connect, transfer e-invoice data to the tax authority;

b) Direct the Tax Departments in provinces and centrally-run cities based on the actual subjects in the area to cooperate with relevant units to build a project to connect information from POS cash registers to manage retail revenues of households and individuals doing business to report to the General Department of Taxation to submit to the Ministry of Finance for approval after reaching consensus with the People's Committees of provinces and cities for implementation;

c) Develop a roadmap for applying authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority as stipulated in this Article;

d) Guide the implementation of using tax authority code issued for authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority to participate in prize drawings.

6. Responsibilities of the seller when using authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority:

a) Register to use authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority as stipulated in Article 15 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP;

b) Issue authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register as stipulated in Article 11 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP and this Article;

c) Be responsible for using the character range of the tax authority code issued when issuing authenticated e-invoices generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority to ensure continuity and uniqueness;

d) Transfer the e-invoice data with a tax authority code generated from a POS cash register to the tax authority on the same day through an organization providing the service of receiving, transmitting, and storing e-data.

An e-invoice with a tax authority code generated from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority ensures the principles stipulated in Article 11 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:

Principle 1. Recognize invoices printed from a POS cash register that are digitally connected to the tax authority;

Principle 2. Not required to have a digital signature;

Principle 3. Expenses for purchasing goods and services using invoices (or photocopies of invoices or query information from the General Department of Taxation's portal about invoices) generated from a POS cash register are determined as expenses with sufficient legal invoices and documents when determining tax obligations.

Thus, it can be seen that according to the above regulation, in principle, e-invoices are not required to have a digital signature.

What format do e-invoices use? Are e-invoices required to have digital signatures in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What format do e-invoices use in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP which stipulates as follows:

e-invoice format

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

2. The format of e-invoices consists of two components: the component containing business data of e-invoices and the component containing digital signature data. For authenticated e-invoices, there is an additional component containing data related to the tax authority code.

3. The General Department of Taxation builds and publishes the components containing business data of e-invoices, the component containing digital signature data, and provides a tool to display the contents of e-invoices according to the regulations in this Decree.

4. Organizations and enterprises selling goods and providing services when transferring e-invoice data to the tax authority by sending directly must meet the following requirements:

a) Connect with the General Department of Taxation through a dedicated line or MPLS VPN Layer 3 channel, including 1 primary transmission line and 1 backup transmission line. Each transmission line has a minimum bandwidth of 5 Mbps.

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

c) Use the SOAP protocol to package and transmit data.

5. e-invoices must be displayed fully and accurately the contents of the invoice to ensure no misleading interpretations so that the buyer can read them using e-means.

Thus, according to the above regulations, e-invoices will use the e-invoice format using the XML document markup language (XML stands for "eXtensible Markup Language").

What is a legal e-invoice in Vietnam?

According to the provisions in Clause 7, Article 3 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, a legal e-invoice is an invoice that ensures accuracy and completeness in terms of format and content as stipulated in Decree 123/2020/ND-CP.