When is the invoicing time in case of provision of passenger transport services by taxis equipped with using taxi fare calculation software in Vietnam?

When is the invoicing time in case of provision of passenger transport services by taxis equipped with using taxi fare calculation software in Vietnam?

According to the provisions at point m, clause 4, Article 9 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, the timing for issuing invoices in cases where passenger transport by taxi using metering software is as follows:

Invoicing time

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4. The timing for issuing invoices in certain specific cases is as follows:

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m) For passenger transport by taxi using metering software as per legal regulations:

- At the end of the trip, businesses or cooperatives engaged in passenger transport by taxi using metering software are required to send trip information to customers and the tax authority in the tax authority's data format. The information includes: the name of the transport business unit, vehicle license plate, trip distance (calculated in km), and total amount payable by the passenger.

- If customers request electronic invoices, they should update or send complete information (name, address, tax code) into the software or service provider. Based on the information provided by the customer, the businesses or cooperatives engaged in passenger transport by taxi using metering software shall issue the trip invoice to the customer while simultaneously transmitting the invoice data to the tax authority as prescribed in Article 22 of this Decree.

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Thus, the time of invoice issuance for enterprises or cooperatives in the passenger transport sector by taxi using metering software is at the end of the trip, where the enterprise or cooperative engaged in this business is obliged to send trip information to the customer and the tax authority in the specified data format.

When is the invoicing time in case of provision of passenger transport services by taxis equipped with using taxi fare calculation software in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

Is it mandatory to issue invoices when selling goods and services in Vietnam?

Based on clause 1, Article 90 of the Tax Administration Law 2019, the principles for creating, managing, and using electronic invoices are as follows:

Principles for Creating, Managing, and Using Electronic Invoices

1. When selling goods or providing services, the seller must issue an electronic invoice to deliver to the buyer according to the standard data format and must duly complete content as prescribed by tax law, accounting law, regardless of the value of each sale or service provision.

2. In cases where the seller uses a cash register, the seller is required to register for electronic invoices generated from cash registers connected to transmit electronic data to the tax authority.

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Simultaneously, clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP provides guidance on principles for issuing invoices as follows:

Principles for Creating, Managing, and Using Invoices and Documents

1. When selling goods or providing services, the seller must issue invoices to deliver to buyers (including cases of goods and services used for promotion, advertisement, sample goods; goods, services used for gifting, donation, exchange, and payment of salaries to employees and internal consumption (excluding internal circulation of goods for further production); release of goods under forms of lending, borrowing, or returning goods) and must complete the content as prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree, in the case of electronic invoices, they must follow the standard data format of the tax authority as prescribed in Article 12 of this Decree.

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From the above regulations, it can be observed that the issuance of invoices when handling the business of goods and services is mandatory, except for cases of internal circulation of goods for continued production.

What is the penalty for not issuing invoices when selling goods and services in Vietnam?

Under the provisions of clause 5, Article 24 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, not issuing an invoice when selling goods or providing services to the buyer as prescribed results in a fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000.

Additionally, clause 2, Article 24 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP prescribes two acts of not issuing invoices subject to different fine levels:

(1) Not issuing a consolidated invoice as prescribed by the law on sales invoices and service provision.

(2) Not issuing an invoice for goods and services used for promotion, advertisement, sample goods; goods, services used for gifting, donation, exchange, payment of salaries to employees, except for internally circulated goods, internal consumption continued for production process.

The penalty for these two cases is a fine ranging from VND 500,000 to VND 1,500,000.

Note: According to clause 5, Article 5 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP and clause 4, Article 7 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, the above fines apply to organizations, the penalty for organizations is twice that applied to individuals.

Moreover, according to point c, clause 1, Article 17 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, failure to issue invoices when selling goods or services (except where tax has been declared for the value of sold goods and services in the corresponding tax period) if deemed by the Tax Authority as an act of tax evasion, will be sanctioned as follows:

- A fine equivalent to one times the tax evaded applies to a taxpayer with one or more mitigating circumstances;

- A fine equivalent to 1.5 times the evaded tax applies to a taxpayer with no aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

- A fine equivalent to two times the tax evaded applies to a taxpayer with one aggravating circumstance.

- A fine equivalent to 2.5 times the evaded tax applies to a taxpayer with two aggravating circumstances.

- A fine equivalent to three times the evaded tax applies to a taxpayer with three or more aggravating circumstances for actions under clause 1 of this Article.