Responsibilities of sellers of goods/services using authenticated e-invoices in Vietnam

Responsibilities of sellers of goods/services using authenticated e-invoices in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Responsibilities of sellers of goods/services using authenticated e-invoices in Vietnam

Responsibilities of sellers of goods/services using authenticated e-invoices in Vietnam according to Article 22 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP are as follows:

- Manage names and passwords of the accounts which have been issued by the tax authority.

- Create sales or service e-invoices sent to buyers, tax authorities and e-invoice service providers, and bear legal liability for accuracy and legitimacy of these e-invoices.

- Transmit data about issued unauthenticated e-invoices to tax authorities via the web portal of the General Department of Taxation (directly or via an e-invoice service provider).

 Method and time for e-invoice data transmission

++ E-invoice data shall be transmitted by using the e-invoice datasheet (form No. 01/TH-HDDT in Appendix IA enclosed with Decree 123/2020/ND-CP) by the same deadline for submission of the VAT declaration in the following cases:

+++ Service provision in the following fields: postal and telecommunications, insurance, finance and banking, air transport and securities.

+++ Sale of electricity, clean water if customers’ codes or TINs are available.

The seller shall prepare a datasheet of e-invoices issued in the month or quarter (from the first day to the last day of the month or quarter) according to form No. 01/TH-HDDT in Appendix IA enclosed with Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, send it to the tax authority together with the VAT return in accordance with the Law on Tax administration 2019 and its instructional documents.

If the quantity of invoices is considerable, the e-invoice datasheet may be divided according to the standard data format prescribed by the tax authority in order to ensure the data transmission.

The seller shall provide information on invoice cancellation/correction directly on the e-invoice datasheet in the following period without sending notice of erroneous e-invoices, using Form No. 04/SS-HDDT in Appendix IA enclosed with Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, to the tax authority.

If an invoice is issued for total revenue to a non-business individual in a day or month according to the list of goods/services sold, the seller shall transmit e-invoice data (without the list of goods/services sold) to the tax authority.

In case of sale of oil and gas, the seller shall include data about every sales invoice issued to buyers in the day in the e-invoice datasheet which shall be sent to the tax authority within the same day.

++ Transmission of invoices for sale of goods/services not mentioned in Point a1 of Clause 3, Article 22, Decree 123/2020/ND-CP.

The seller shall concurrently send the invoices that contain adequate information to the buyers and the tax authority.

+ Enterprises and business entities shall transmit e-invoice data to the tax authority using the data format prescribed in Article 12 hereof and instructions of the General Department of Taxation, whether directly (if technically capable) or via an e-invoice service provider.

++ Direct transmission

+++ Enterprises and business entities using invoices in large quantities, have IT systems that satisfy the standard data format requirements specified in Clause 4 Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, and wish to transmit e-invoice data directly to tax authorities shall send written request accompanied by evidencing documents to the General Department of Taxation.

+++ In case a parent company that has an e-invoice data management system wishes to transmit the entire e-invoice data, including those of its subsidiaries, to the tax authority via the web portal of General Department of Taxation, it shall send a list of subsidiaries to General Department of Taxation for technical connection.

++ Transmission via e-invoice service providers:

Enterprises and business entities other than those mentioned in Point a of Clause 3, Article 22, Decree 123/2020/ND-CP shall sign contracts with e-invoice service providers, which will transmit their e-invoice data to tax authorities. Based on the signed contracts, enterprises and business entities shall transfer their e-invoice data to e-invoice service providers which will then transmit such e-invoice data to tax authorities.

- Store and ensure the integrity of all e-invoices; comply with legislative regulations on assurance of safety and security for the electronic data system.

- Bear the inspection, audit and checking conducted by tax authorities and competent regulatory authorities in accordance with laws.

2. Regulations on e-invoice format in Vietnam

Regulations on e-invoice format according to Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP are as follows:

- The e-invoice format is the technical standards 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.

- The data of an electronic invoice consists two components: information about the transaction and the digital signature. Authenticated e-invoices shall also contain the data of the tax authority’s code.

- The General Department of Taxation shall develop and announce the format of transaction-related information, digital signatures and tools for display of e-invoices prescribed herein.

- The following requirements must be met when sellers directly transmit data to tax authorities:

+ Connect to the General Department of Taxation via a separate channel or MPLS VPN Layer 3, including 1 main channel and 1 backup channel. Each channel has a minimum bandwidth of 5 Mbps.

+ Use an encrypted Web Service or Message Queue (MQ) for connection.

+ Use Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to compile, transmit and receive data.

- Contents of e-invoices shall be fully and accurately displayed, ensure readers can read them with electronic devices.

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