When is the invoicing time for organizations trading real estate in case the ownership is not yet transferred in Vietnam?

When is the invoicing time for organizations trading real estate in case the ownership is not yet transferred in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Point d, Clause 4, Article 9 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the regulation for the time of issuing invoices for organizations trading real estate in case the ownership is not yet transferred is as follows:

Invoicing time

...

4. The invoicing time for specific cases is as follows:

...

d) For organizations trading real estate, infrastructure construction, and housing construction for sale and transfer:

d.1) If ownership or usage rights have not been transferred: If money is collected according to the project implementation schedule or the payment schedule stated in the contract, the invoicing time is the date of money receipt or as per the payment agreement in the contract.

d.2) If ownership or usage rights have been transferred: The invoicing time follows the regulation in Clause 1 of this Article.

đ) The invoicing time for businesses purchasing air transportation services via websites and e-commerce systems is established according to international practice, not exceeding 5 days following the date the air transportation service document is issued on the system.

e) For activities related to exploration, extraction, and processing of crude oil: The invoicing time for selling crude oil, condensate, and products processed from crude oil (including product consumption activities under commitments of the Government of Vietnam) is the time at which the buyer and the seller determine the official selling price, regardless of whether payment has been received.

For activities related to the sale of natural gas, associated gas, and coal gas transported via pipelines to buyers, the invoicing time is when the buyer and seller determine the monthly delivered gas volume but no later than 7 days after the seller sends notice of the monthly gas delivery volume.

...

The invoicing time for organizations trading real estate in case the ownership is not yet transferred is regulated as follows:

In instances where money is collected according to the project implementation schedule or the payment schedule stated in the contract, the invoicing time is the date of money receipt or as per the payment agreement in the contract.

What are the penalties for violations against regulations on issuance of invoices upon sale of goods in Vietnam?

According to Article 24 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, supplemented by Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 102/2021/ND-CP, the penalties for violations regarding invoice issuance when selling goods and services are as follows:

(1) Warning penalty for one of the following acts:

- Issuing an invoice at the wrong time but not delaying tax obligations and with mitigating circumstances;

- Continuously issuing invoices from a smaller to a larger number but using different invoice books (using a book with a higher sequence number and not yet using a book with a lower sequence number) and the organization or individual cancels the books with the lower sequence numbers upon discovery;

- Issuing the wrong type of invoice according to the regulation provided to the buyer or declared for tax, and both the seller and buyer discover the mistake and issue the correct type of invoice according to the regulation before the competent authority announces decisions to inspect or audit at the taxpayer's premises and it does not affect the determination of tax obligations.

(2) Fines from 500,000 VND to 1,500,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Not issuing a summary invoice according to the law on invoices for goods sold and services provided.

- Not issuing an invoice for goods and services used for promotion, advertising, samples; goods and services used for donation, gifting, exchange, or as payment to employees, except for internally transferred goods, internal consumption for continuous production processes.

(3) Fines from 3,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for issuing invoices at the wrong time but not delaying tax obligations, except for cases of issuing invoices at the wrong time without delaying tax obligations and with mitigating circumstances;

(4) Fines from 4,000,000 VND to 8,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Issuing invoices at the wrong time according to the law on invoices for goods sold and services provided, except for cases of:

+ Issuing invoices at the wrong time but not delaying tax obligations and with mitigating circumstances;

+ Issuing invoices at the wrong time but not delaying tax obligations, except for cases of not delaying tax obligations and with mitigating circumstances.

- Issuing invoices not in sequence from smaller to larger numbers as regulated, except for cases of continuously issuing invoices from smaller to larger numbers but using different books (using a book with a higher sequence number and not yet using a book with a lower sequence number) and the organization or individual cancels the books with the lower sequence numbers upon discovery;

- Issuing an invoice dated before the date of purchasing invoices from the tax authority;

- Issuing the wrong type of invoice according to the law on invoices for goods sold and services provided and issued to the buyer or declared for tax, except for cases of discovering and issuing the correct type of invoice according to the regulation before the competent authority announces decisions to inspect or audit at the taxpayer's premises and not affecting the determination of tax obligations;

- Issuing electronic invoices without notification of acceptance from the tax authority or before the tax authority permits the use of electronic invoices with or without the tax authority's code;

- Issuing invoices for goods and services during the suspension of business operations, except for issuing invoices to customers for contracts signed before the notification of business suspension;

- Issuing electronic invoices from cash registers without connection and transmission of electronic data to the tax authorities.

- Issuing invoices without recording full required contents on the invoice according to the regulation.

(5) Fines from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for failing to issue an invoice when selling goods or supplying services to the buyer as required, except for failing to issue invoices for goods and services used for promotion, advertising, samples; goods and services used for donation, gifting, exchange, or as payment to employees, except for internally transferred goods, internal consumption to continue the production process.

(6) Remedial measure: Requiring the issuance of invoices according to regulation for the acts specified at point d, clause 4, clause 5 of Article 24 Decree 125/2020/ND-CP when the buyer requests.

* Note: The above penalties apply to violating organizations; in case of individuals (including households and business households) committing similar acts, the penalty is equivalent to half that of organizations. (According to Clause 4, Article 7 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP)

What are the principles for issuing invoices upon sale of goods or provision of services in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP on the principles for issuing invoices upon sale of goods or provision of services as follows:

- When selling goods or providing services, the seller must issue an invoice to deliver to the buyer (including cases where the goods and services are used for promotion, advertising, samples;

- Goods and services used for donation, gifting, exchange, or as payment to employees and internal consumption (except for internally transferred goods to continue the production process);

- Export goods under loan, borrowing, or return form) and must record all necessary contents as regulated in Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP; in case of using electronic invoices, must follow the standard data format by the tax authority as specified in Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP.