Vietnam: Are e-invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business clients required to have the buyer's electronic signature?
- What are the contents of gas and oil e-invoices in Vietnam?
- Are e-invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business clients in Vietnam required to have the buyer's electronic signature?
- In case of retailing of oil and gas, when will e-invoices be issued to buyers upon completion of each sale in Vietnam?
What are the contents of gas and oil e-invoices in Vietnam?
The contents of invoices in general as well as gas and oil e-invoices in particular are specified in Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:
- Name, reference number and form number of the invoice. To be specific:
+ The invoice name shall comply with the provisions in Article 8 hereof shown on each invoice
+ Form number and reference number of the invoice shall comply with regulations of the Ministry of Finance..
- Names of copies of tax authority-ordered printed invoices shall comply with regulations of the Ministry of Finance.
- Invoice number
+ Invoice number is an ordinal number written on the invoice when it is issued by the seller.
If a business entity has multiple points of sale or multiple establishments using the same type of e-invoices of the same reference number by adopting the random access method from an e-invoicing system, invoices shall be issued in ascending order from the date on which the digital or electronic signature is added to the invoice.
+ If the aforementioned rules are not followed, the electronic invoicing system shall ensure that the numbers are generated in chronological order, every invoice number is unique and has no more than 8 digits.
- The seller’s name, address and TIN
Invoices shall contain the same seller's name, address and TIN as those written on the certificate of enterprise registration, certificate of branch registration, certificate of household business registration, taxpayer registration certificate, TIN notification, investment registration certificate, or certificate of cooperative registration.
- The buyer’s name, address and TIN
+ If the buyer is a business establishment that has a TIN, the buyer’s name, address and TIN shall be written on the invoice shall be same as those written on the certificate of enterprise registration, certificate of branch registration, certificate of household business registration, taxpayer registration certificate, TIN notification, investment registration certificate, or certificate of cooperative registration.
+ If the buyer does not have a TIN, the invoice will not have the buyer's TIN.
- The name, unit, quantity, unit price, amount payable exclusive of VAT, VAT rate, total VAT amount calculated by each VAT rate, total VAT payable and total amount payable inclusive of VAT.
- Signatures of the buyer and the seller:
+ Tax authority-ordered printed invoices must bear the seller’s signature and seal (if any) and the buyer’s signature (if any).
+ With regard to e-invoices:
In case the seller is an enterprise or organization, the seller’s digital signature on the invoice is the digital signature of such enterprise or organization; in case the seller is an individual, it will be the digital signature of the individual or another person authorized by the individual.
In case an electronic invoice does not necessarily have the seller’s and the buyer’s digital signatures, the provisions in Clause 14 of this Article 3 shall apply.
- The issuance date of the invoice shall comply with the provisions in Article 9 hereof and be written in "ngày, tháng, năm” (day/month/year) format of the calendar year.
- The date of the digital signature on an e-invoice is the date on which the seller or buyer adds his/her digital signature to that e-invoice and expressed in "ngày, tháng, năm” (day/month/year) format of the calendar year. If the date of a digital signature on an issued e-invoice is different from the issuance date of the e-invoice, the tax declaration date shall be the issuance date of that e-invoice.
- The tax authority’s authentication codes on authenticated e-invoices shall comply with the provisions in Clause 2 Article 3 hereof.
- Fees and charges payable to state budget, discounts and sales promotions (if any) shall comply with the provisions in Point e Clause 6 of this Article and relevant contents (if any).
- Name and TIN of the invoice printing service provider shall be specified in tax authority-ordered printed invoices.
- Text, numbers and currencies on invoices:
+ The text on an invoice must be written in Vietnamese language. If foreign language text is necessary, it must be placed between parentheses ( ) or next to the Vietnamese text, in which case it must be smaller than the Vietnamese text. If the text has to be written in Vietnamese without diacritics, it must not cause the readers to misunderstand its contents.
+ Numbers on the invoice must be written in Arabic numerals: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The seller may decide whether to use a period (.) as thousands separator and a comma (,) as a decimal separator, or vice versa.
+ The currency on invoices shall be VND, expressed as “D".
Are e-invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business clients in Vietnam required to have the buyer's electronic signature?
According to the provisions of Point c, Clause 14, Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, cases where the contents of invoices are notr required to be complied with are:
Contents of invoices
...
14. Exceptions:
a) An electronic invoice does not necessarily have the buyer’s electronic signature, even if goods/services are sold overseas. In case the buyer is a business establishment and both the buyer and the seller agrees to use digital or electronic signatures on the e-invoice issued by the seller, the invoice shall bear the buyer’s and the seller’s digital or electronic signatures as agreed.
b) E-invoices separately issued by tax authorities do not necessarily bear the buyer’s and the seller’s digital signatures.
c) The e-invoice issued by a supermarket or shopping mall to a non-business buyer does not necessarily bear the buyer’s name, address and TIN.
E-invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business individuals do not necessarily bear the name, form number, reference number, and number of the invoice; the buyer’s name, address, TIN, electronic signature; the seller’s digital or electronic signature; VAT rate.
Thus, according to the above provisions, e-invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business individuals do not necessarily bear the name, form number, reference number, and number of the invoice; the buyer’s name, address, TIN, electronic signature; the seller’s digital or electronic signature; VAT rate.
In case of retailing of oil and gas, when will e-invoices be issued to buyers upon completion of each sale in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Point i, Clause 4, Article 9 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:
Invoicing time
...
4. Invoicing time in some specific cases:
...
i) In case of retailing of oil and gas, e-invoices shall be issued to buyers upon completion of each sale. The seller shall retain e-invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business individuals and business individuals, and make sure they can be accessed at the request of competent authorities.
Thus, in case of retailing of oil and gas, e-invoices shall be issued to buyers upon completion of each sale.
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