Vietnam: Summary of penalties for violations against regulations on issuance of invoices upon sale of goods or provision of services

Violations

Penalties

Issuing invoices at the wrong time, but not to the extent of causing any deferred fulfillment of tax obligations, under any mitigating circumstance

Cautions

Issuing a continuous series of invoices in ascending numerical order by exercising disagreeing invoicing authorizations (i.e. exercising authorizations to issue greater numbered invoices and not exercising authorizations to issue less numbered invoices) although entities or individuals have managed to cancel invoice books containing less numbered invoices after discovery of such situation

Issuing wrong types of invoice that have already handed to buyers or been used for completion of tax declaration procedures although sellers and buyers have discovered the issuance of the wrong types of invoice and replaced them with the correct ones before competent authority’s issuance of their decisions to conduct tax inspection and examination at the defaulting taxpayer’s offices or premises, and this situation does not affect the determination of tax obligations

Failing to issue general invoices in accordance with laws on invoices for sale of goods or provision of services

Fines ranging 

from VND 500,000 to VND 1,500,000

Failing to invoice promotional, advertising or sample goods or services; goods and services used as gifts, donations, presents, swaps or employee’s payment-in-kind wages, except for internally circulated or consumed goods for further production purposes

Issuing invoices at the wrong time, but not to the extent of causing any deferred payment of tax obligations, except as prescribed in point a of clause 1 of this Article

Fines ranging 

from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000

Issuing invoices at the wrong time in breach of laws on invoices for sale of goods or provision of services, except as provided in point a of clause 1 and 3 of this Article

Fines ranging 

from VND 4,000,000 to VND 8,000,000

Issuing invoices without conforming to the statutory ascending numerical sequence, except when the penalty in the form of caution prescribed in point b of clause 1 of this Article is imposed

Issuing invoices with the invoicing dates coming ahead of the dates of purchase of invoices from tax authorities

Issuing invoices not conforming to classifications prescribed in laws on invoices for sale of goods and provision of services if these invoices have already been handed to buyers or used for the completion of tax declaration procedures, except in the case of imposition of the penalty in the form of caution as provided in point c of clause 1 of this Article

Issuing e-invoices when having not yet receiving notices of consent from tax authorities or before the dates of consent to using e-invoices with/without tax authority’s codes from supervisory tax authorities

Issuing invoices for sale of goods and provision of services during the period of temporary business closure, except when issuing invoices to clients for the purpose of implementing contracts signed before the date of notification of such temporary business closure

Issuing e-invoices by using cash registers without network connection or transfer of electronic data to tax authorities

Failing to issue invoices upon sale of goods or provision of services to buyers as required by laws, except the acts prescribed in point b of clause 2 of this Article

Fines ranging 

from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000