What is the destruction of e-invoices? What are regulations on destroying tax authority-ordered printed invoices in Vietnam?

What is the destruction of e-invoices in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 12, Article 3 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:

Definition of terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

...

10. Cancellation of invoices and documents means making these invoices and documents unusable.

11. Destruction of invoices and documents:

a) Destruction of e-invoices and documents is a measure to make e-invoices and e-documents no longer exist on the information system, inaccessible, and unrecoverable.

b) Destruction of invoices printed by the tax authority, destruction of self-printed invoices, involves measures like burning, cutting, shredding, or other destruction forms ensuring that the invoices, documents cannot be reused.

12. The organization providing e-invoice services is an organization providing solutions in generating, transmitting, receiving, storing, processing the data of e-invoices with or without tax authority codes. This includes providing solutions to sellers and buyers; connecting, transmitting, and storing e-invoice data with the tax authority.

Thus, it can be seen that the destruction of e-invoices means making these e-invoices no longer exist and unusable in the information system.

What is the destruction of e-invoices? What are regulations on destroying tax authority-ordered printed invoices in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are the regulations regarding the destruction of tax authority-ordered printed invoices in Vietnam?

Based on Article 27 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:

- Enterprises, economic organizations, households, and individual businesses with invoices that are no longer in use must destroy these invoices. The deadline for destroying invoices is no later than 30 days from the date of notification to the tax authority. If the tax authority notifies that the invoice is no longer valid (except in cases of enforcement of tax debt), the businesses must destroy the invoices, and the deadline for destruction is no later than 10 days from the date the tax authority announces the invalidity or from the date the lost invoice is found.

Additionally, invoices that have already been issued by accounting units are destroyed according to accounting laws.

Unissued invoices that are evidence in legal cases are not destroyed and are handled according to the law.

- The destruction of invoices by enterprises, economic organizations, households, individual businesses is done as follows:

+ A list of invoices to be destroyed must be made by enterprises, economic organizations, households, and individual businesses.

+ Enterprises, economic organizations must establish an Invoice Destruction Council, including representatives from the leadership and the accounting department. Households, individual businesses are not required to set up a council when destroying invoices.

+ Members of the Invoice Destruction Council must sign the destruction report and are legally responsible for any errors.

Moreover, the invoice destruction dossier includes:

- Decision to establish the Invoice Destruction Council, except for households and individual businesses;

- Invoice inventory list for destruction detailing: Invoice name, invoice form symbol, invoice symbol, quantity of invoices destroyed (from number... to number... or detailing each invoice number if the numbers are non-sequential);

- Invoice destruction report;

- Notification of invoice destruction results must include: type, symbol, number of invoices destroyed from number... to number, reason for destruction, date and time of destruction, destruction method according to Form 02/HUY-HDG Appendix IA issued with this Decree.

The invoice destruction dossier is retained by the enterprise, economic organization, household, individual business using the invoices. Particularly, the Notification of Destruction Results is made in two copies, one kept and one sent to the direct managing tax agency within 5 days of invoice destruction.

• The tax authority's invoice destruction is carried out as follows:

- The Tax Authority destroys invoices printed by the Tax Department that have been issued but not sold or not distributed, but will not be used further.

- The General Department of Taxation is responsible for prescribing the destruction procedures for invoices printed by the Tax Department.

Are cooperatives in areas with extremely disadvantaged areas in Vietnam exempt from service fees for e-invoices?

The provision of e-invoice services is regulated in Article 14 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:

- Cases of using e-invoices with a tax code where service fees are not required within 12 months from the start of using e-invoices include:

+ Small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, households, and individual businesses in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions or those with extremely disadvantaged areas.

++ Areas with difficult socio-economic conditions or extremely disadvantaged areas are as listed in the appendix of investment incentive areas attached to Decree 118/2015/ND-CP (replaced by the list of investment incentive areas provided in Appendix III issued with [Decree 31/2021/ND-CP]([object%20Object])).

+ Other small and medium-sized enterprises as suggested by the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, except for those operating in economic zones, industrial zones, and high-tech parks.

++ The General Department of Taxation performs or delegates to a service provider the provision of e-invoices with a tax code free of charge for the above-mentioned entities.

- Enterprises, economic organizations, households, and individual businesses not in the cases stipulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP using e-invoices with or without tax codes through service providers must pay service fees as per the contract signed between the parties.

Thus, it can be seen that cooperatives in areas with extremely disadvantaged areas are among the cases where service fees are not required for 12 months if these cooperatives use e-invoices with a tax code from the start of using e-invoices, but they are not entirely exempt.