Vietnam: What are the instructions on the electronic invoice format in 2023? Is the contract formatted like an electronic invoice? Is it possible to format contracts similarly to electronic invoices?
What are the definitions of an electronic invoice and an electronic record in accordance with the law in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, “e-invoice” means an invoice, with or without the tax authority’s authentication code, in the form of electronic data, issued by the goods seller or service provider by using electronic instruments to record information on the sale of goods or the service provision in accordance with regulations of the Law on accounting and the Law on taxation, including the invoices generated by POS cash registers that are digitally connected to tax authorities. To be specific:
- “Authenticated e-invoice” means an e-invoice that is granted an authentication code by the tax authority before it is sent to the buyer by the goods seller or service provider.
The authentication code on an e-invoice is a unique serial number generated by the tax authority’s system and a series of characters encoded by the tax authority based on the information specified by the seller on the invoice.
- “Unauthenticated e-invoice” means an e-invoice that is sent to the buyer by the goods seller or service provider without the tax authority’s authentication code.
According to Clause 1, Article 17 of the Law on Accounting 2015, electronic records are:
- Electronic records are considered accounting records if they have the contents specified in Article 16 of Law on Accounting 2015 and are displayed in the form of electronic data, encrypted and not changed during transmission through the computer network or telecommunications network or by a storage device such as magnetic tape, magnetic disc, or payment cards.
Is it possible to format contracts similarly to electronic invoices in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP as follows:
E-invoice format
1. The e-invoice format is the technical standard for type of data, length of data of information fields serving transmission, storage, and display of e-invoices. E-invoices shall be XML (extensible Markup Language) documents, which are meant to share electronic data between IT systems.
2. The data of an electronic invoice consists of two components: information about the transaction and the digital signature. Authenticated e-invoices shall also contain the data of the tax authority’s code.
...
Accordingly, the e-invoice format is the technical standard for the type of data, length of data of information fields serving transmission, storage, and display of e-invoices. E-invoices shall be XML documents.
In particular, XML is an abbreviation of the English phrase "extensible Markup Language" created for sharing electronic data between IT systems.
- The data of an electronic invoice consists of two components: information about the transaction and the digital signature.
Authenticated e-invoices shall also contain the data of the tax authority’s code.
Specifically, in Official Dispatch 4038/CTHN-TTHT 2023 as follows:
... The e-invoice format uses XML (Extensible Markup Language) documents and must be fully and accurately displayed the contents of the invoice as prescribed in Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP
For electronic record format: Contracts and debt notices are not under the authority of tax authorities...
See the full Dispatch 4038/CTHN-TTHT here: Download
Thus, according to the definitions of an electronic invoice and an electronic record, since the contract is represented in the form of electronic data encrypted and used for transactions, the contract is not an electronic invoice format.
How are invoices in Vietnam classified?
Pursuant to Article 8 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, invoices include the following types:
(1) Value-added tax (VAT) invoice is an invoice that may be used by organizations making VAT declaration by employing the credit-invoice method for the following activities:
- Domestic sale of goods or provision of services;
- Provision of international transport services;
- Export of goods to free trade zones and other cases considered as export of goods;
- Export of goods or provision of services in a foreign market.
(2) Sales invoice is an invoice that may be used by the following organizations and individuals:
- Organizations or individuals that declare and calculate VAT by employing the direct methods for the following activities:
+ Domestic sale of goods or provision of services;
+ Provision of international transport services;
+ Export of goods to free trade zones and other cases considered as export of goods;
+ Export of goods or provision of services in a foreign market.
- Organizations or individuals in free trade zones that sell goods or provide services to the domestic market, sell goods or provide services to other organizations/individuals in free trade zones, or sell goods or provide services to a foreign market. In such cases, invoices must bear the phrase “Dành cho tổ chức, cá nhân trong khu phi thuế quan” ("For organizations/individuals in free trade zones”).
(3) Public property electronic sales invoice is used when selling the following types of property:
- Public property at authorities, organizations or units (including state-owned houses);
- Infrastructure property;
- Public property that is managed by enterprises as assigned by the Government, excluding state capital invested in enterprises;
- Property of state-funded projects;
- Property under the established all-people ownership;
- Public property appropriated under decisions issued by competent regulatory authorities or officials;
- Raw materials and supplies obtained from the disposal of public property.
(4) Electronic sales invoice on national reserve goods is used when a state reserves agency or unit sells national reserve goods in accordance with regulations and laws.
(5) Other invoices, including:
- Stamps, tickets and cards in the form and containing contents prescribed herein;
- Air freight receipts; receipts of international transport charges; receipts of banking service charges, except the cases prescribed in Point a of this Clause where a record whose format and contents are made according to international practices and regulations of relevant laws.
(6) Records printed, issued, used and managed in the same manner as invoices, including delivery and internal transfer notes, and delivery notes for goods sent to sales agents.
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