What is a fake e-invoice? What methods are used to destroy invoices printed by the tax authority in Vietnam?
What is a fake e-invoice in Vietnam?
According to Clause 8, Article 3 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:
Explanation of Terms
In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:
1. Invoice is a financial document created by organizations or individuals selling goods or providing services to record information on the sale of goods or provision of services. The invoice is presented in the form of an e-invoice or an invoice printed by the tax authority.
2. e-invoice is an invoice with or without a tax authority code expressed in e-data created by organizations or individuals selling goods or providing services by e-means to record information on the sale of goods or provision of services as prescribed by the law on accounting and tax, including cases where the invoice is generated from cash registers connected to transfer e-data to tax authorities, in which:
a) An e-invoice with a tax authority code is one that is assigned a code by the tax authority before the organization or individual selling goods or providing services sends it to the buyer.
The tax authority code on the e-invoice includes a transaction number, which is a unique sequence of numbers generated by the tax authority’s system, and a character string encoded by the tax authority based on the seller's information recorded on the invoice.
b) An e-invoice without a tax authority code is one issued by the organization selling goods or providing services to the buyer without a tax authority code.
3. An invoice printed by the tax authority is a paper invoice printed by the tax authority for sale to organizations and individuals who are eligible and permitted to purchase invoices from the tax authority as stipulated in Article 23 of this Decree for use in the sale of goods or provision of services.
4. Document is a material used to record information on deductible taxes, payments of taxes, fees, and charges from the state budget according to the law on tax management. Documents as stipulated in this Decree include documents for personal income tax deductions and receipts for taxes, fees, and charges presented in e-form or printed form.
5. e-documents include types of documents and receipts as stated in Clause 4 of this Article, expressed in e-data generated by organizations or individuals with tax withholding responsibilities for taxpayers or by organizations collecting taxes, fees, and charges provided for payers by e-means as prescribed by the laws on fees, charges, and taxes.
6. Self-printed and printed documents include types of documents and receipts as stated in Clause 4 of this Article, expressed in paper form by the tax authority or by organizations collecting taxes, fees, and charges printed according to a template for use, or self-printed on e-data-processing equipment, cash registers, or other devices during tax withholding, tax collection, fee collection, or charge collection according to the laws on fees, charges, and taxes.
7. Legal invoices and documents are those that ensure correctness, completeness in form and content according to the provisions of this Decree.
8. Fake invoices and documents are those printed or created following the template of invoices and documents already notified for issuance by other organizations or individuals or printed, created with duplicate numbers of the same invoice sign, document, or falsified e-invoices and e-documents.
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Thus, according to the above regulations, a fake e-invoice is an invoice printed or created in accordance with the template of invoices and documents already notified for issuance by other organizations or individuals, or printed, created with duplicate numbers of the same invoice sign or document, or falsified e-invoices.
What is a fake e-invoice? What methods are used to destroy invoices printed by the tax authority in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)
How much is the fine for using fake e-invoices in Vietnam?
According to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:
Acts of using illegal invoices and documents; using invoices and documents illegally
- The use of invoices and documents in the following cases is considered to be using illegal invoices and documents:
a) Fake invoices and documents;
b) Invoices and documents that have not come into valid use or have expired;
c) Invoices being suspended from use during the enforcement period by invoice suspension methods, except for cases allowed to be used according to the tax authority's notice;
d) e-invoices not registered for use with the tax authority;
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Thus, the act of using fake invoices is considered using illegal invoices.
Additionally, Clause 1, Article 28 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP provides penalties for the act of using illegal invoices, using invoices illegally as follows:
Penalties for using illegal invoices, using invoices illegally
- A fine ranging from 20,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND is imposed for the act of using illegal invoices and using invoices illegally as prescribed in Article 4 of this Decree, except as stipulated at point đ Clause 1 Article 16 and point d Clause 1 Article 17 of this Decree.
- Measure to remedy consequences: Revocation of used invoices shall be imposed.
According to the above regulations, the act of using fake e-invoices can be fined from 20,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND, and may lead to the application of remedial measures of revoking the used invoices.
Note: The above fines are for organizations. The fines for individuals with the same violation are half the fines for organizations based on Clause 5, Article 5 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP.
What methods are used to destroy invoices printed by the tax authority in Vietnam?
According to Clause 11, Article 3 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:
- Destruction of invoices, documents:
+ Destruction of e-invoices, e-documents is a measure to ensure that e-invoices, e-documents no longer exist on the information system, and they cannot be accessed or referred to for the information contained therein.
+ Destruction of invoices printed by the tax authority, destruction of self-printed and printed documents is carried out using methods such as burning, cutting, shredding, or other forms of destruction to ensure that the invoices, documents that have been destroyed cannot be reused in terms of information and data thereon.
Thus, according to the above regulations, the destruction of invoices printed by the tax authority uses methods such as burning, cutting, shredding, or other forms of destruction.
