CIRCULAR

GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME ARTICLE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S DECREE NO. 119/2018/ND-CP DATED SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 ON ELECTRONIC INVOICES

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax administration dated November 29, 2006 and the Law on amendments to the Law on Tax administration;

Pursuant to the Law on Value-added tax dated June 03, 2008 and the Law on amendments to the Law on Value-added tax;

Pursuant to the Law on Accounting November 20, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Electronic transaction November 29, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Information technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP dated September 12, 2018 on electronic invoices;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 87/2017/ND-CP dated July 26, 2017 defining functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the request of the Director of the General Department of Taxation,

The Minister of Finance promulgates a Circular to provide guidance on implementation of some Article of the Government's Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP dated September 12, 2018 on electronic invoices:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides guidance on implementation of some Article of the Government's Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP dated September 12, 2018 on electronic invoices (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP), including: contents of electronic invoices, issuance dates of electronic invoices, formats of electronic invoices, application of electronic invoices, provision of electronic invoice-related services, management of electronic invoices, development and management of electronic invoice database, providers of electronic invoice-related services.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Organizations, enterprises, households and individuals selling goods and/or providing services, Including:

a) Joint-stock companies, limited liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships established and run in accordance with the Law on Enterprises, the Law on credit institutions, the Law on Insurance Business, the Law on Securities, the Law on Petroleum and other legislative documents;

b) Public service agencies having business operation;

c) Organizations established and run in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives;

d) Other organizations;

dd) Household businesses and individual businesses.

2. Buyers of goods/services.

3. Providers of electronic invoice-related services, including: providers of electronic invoice-related solutions, electronic invoice transmission and storage services, and other electronic invoice-related services.

4. Tax authorities, other organizations and individuals relevant to management, registration and use of invoices.

Article 3. Contents of electronic invoices

1. Contents of an electronic invoice include:

a) Name, symbol, code, number of the invoice

a.1) The invoice name shall comply with Article 5 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP. For instance: VAT invoice, sales invoice, delivery note, stamp, ticket, card, etc.

a.2) Invoice code

Invoice code is a digit from 1 to 4 depending on the type of invoice:

- 1: VAT invoice

- 2: Sales invoice

- 3: Delivery note.

- 4. Other invoices, including electronic stamps, electronic tickets, electronic cards, electronic receipts and other electronic documents that have the contents specified in this Article.

a.3) Invoice symbol

Invoice symbol contains 6 characters indicating whether the invoice bears the tax authority’s identification code, year of issuance of the invoice. 6 characters:

- The first character: C if the invoice bears a tax authority’s authentication code (hereinafter referred to as “authenticated invoice”); K if the invoice does not bear a tax authority’s authentication code (hereinafter referred to as “unauthenticated invoice”).

- The next two characters are last two digits of the year in which the invoice is issued, written in Arabic numerals. Example: 19 if the invoice is issued in 2019; 21 if the invoice is issued in 2021.

- Next character is either T, D, L or M depending on the type of the invoice. To be specific:

+ T: electronic invoices registered with tax authorities by enterprises, organizations, household businesses and individual businesses.

+ D: special electronic invoices that do not have some mandatory contents of the “T” invoices.

+ L: electronic invoices issued separately by tax authorities.

+ M: electronic invoices generated by cash registers.

- The last two characters shall be decided by the seller, or YY if not specified.

- The symbol and code of the invoice shall be written on the upper right corner of the invoice or a noticeable position.

- Examples:

+ “1C21TAA” – an authenticated VAT invoice issued in 2021 and registered with the tax authority.

+ “2C21TBB” – an authenticated sales invoice issued in 2021 and registered with the tax authority.

+ “1C22LBB” – an authenticated VAT invoice issued in 2022 and issued separately by the tax authority.

+ “1K22TYY” – an unauthenticated VAT invoice issued in 2022 and registered with the tax authority.

+ “1K22DAA” – an unauthenticated VAT invoice issued in 2022 and does not have some mandatory content of those registered with the tax authority.

+ “3K22TAB” – an unauthenticated delivery note invoice issued in 2022 and registered with the tax authority.

a.4) Invoice number

- Invoice number is an ordinal number written on the invoice when it is issued by the seller. An invoice number consists of 8 digits, from 1 to 99 999 999, written in Arabic numerals, begins on January 01 or the first day on which the invoices are used and ends of December 31. Numbers in invoice symbols and codes shall be issued in ascending order.

- 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.

b) The seller’s name, address and TIN

The invoices shall contain the same seller's name, address as those written on the certificate of enterprise registration, certificate of branch registration, certificate of business household registration, taxpayer registration certificate, TIN notification, or investment registration certificate.

c) The buyer’s name, address and TIN (if any):

c.1) If the buyer is a business organization that has a TIN, it shall be written on the invoice in accordance with the certificate of enterprise registration, certificate of branch registration, certificate of business household registration, taxpayer registration certificate, TIN notification, or investment registration certificate.

c.2) If the buyer does not have a TIN, the invoice will not have the buyer's TIN. In case of sale of special goods/services to an individual mentioned in Clause 3 of this Article, his/her name and address are not mandatory on the invoice. In case of sale of goods/services to a foreigner in Vietnam, his/her information and address may be replaced with information in his/her passport or travel document and his/her nationality.

d) The name, unit, quantity, unit price, amount payable exclusive of VAT, VAT rate, total VAT payable and total amount payable inclusive of VAT:

d.1) Name, unit, quantity, unit price

- Name: written on the invoice in Vietnamese language. If the goods fall into different categories, their names shall contain the categories e.g. Samsung phone, Nokia phone, etc. In case the right to use or ownership of the goods has to be registered, the invoice shall bear the number or symbol of the goods that is needed for registration e.g. chassis number, engine number of a vehicle; address, level, dimensions and number of stories of a house, etc. For goods/services that are periodically purchased like electricity, water, telecommunications services, television services, IT services or insurance, the invoice shall specify the purchase cycle.

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 goods/services have a pLU code, both the name and the pLU code must be written on the invoice.

- Unit: determined by the seller according to the nature of the goods. It can be a unit of measurement (tonne, kg, g, mg, tael, once, piece, box, can, pack, tube, m3, m2, m...). The unit of services is the time of provision of the services and contents of the services.

- Quantity: written by the seller in Arabic numerals before the unit.

- Unit price: written by the seller according to the unit.

d.2) VAT rate: varies according to the type of goods/services as prescribed by VAT laws.

d.3) The amount payable exclusive of VAT, VAT payable, amount payable inclusive of VAT shall be written in Arabic numerals and expressed as VND currency, unless the goods/services are paid for in a foreign currency without having to be converted into VND.

The total amount payable on the invoice shall be written in Arabic numerals and expressed as VND currency, unless the goods/services are paid for in a foreign currency without having to be converted into VND.

In case a discount or promotion is offered by the seller, the electronic invoice must specify the discount or promotion. The price on which VAT is imposed (VAT-exclusive price) in case of discount or promotion shall be determined in accordance with VAT laws.

dd) Buyer’s and seller's digital or electronic signatures

- 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 the buyer is a business establishment and both the buyer and the seller agree to use digital or electronic signatures on the electronic invoice issued by the seller, the buyer shall add the digital or electronic signature to the invoice accordingly.

- Electronic invoices do not necessarily have digital or electronic signatures of the buyer and the seller as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

e) Issuance dates of electronic invoices

The issuance date of an electronic invoice shall be the date on which the digital or electronic signature is added to the invoice by the seller and shall be written in “ngày, tháng, năm” format (e.g. "ngày 30 tháng 4 năm 2019” and follow with instructions in Article 4 of this Circular.

g) The tax authority’s code on authenticated invoices shall comply with Clause 5 Article 3 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

h) Fees and charges payable to state budget, discounts and promotions (if any) shall follow instructions in Point d.3 of this Clause and other instructions (if any).

2. Text, numbers and currencies on electronic invoices

a) The text on an electronic 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 content.

b) Numbers on t he 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 “đ".

- If a foreign currency is used in accordance with foreign exchange laws, the unit price, amounts payable exclusive and inclusive of VAT shall be written in the foreign currency. The seller shall write the exchange rate of the foreign currency to VND in accordance with the Law on Tax administration and its instructional documents.

- Use international currency symbols e.g. USD, EUR.

- If the goods/services are paid for in a foreign currency in accordance with foreign exchange laws, the total amount payable shall be written in the foreign currency instead of converted into VND.

3. 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 electronic invoice issued by the seller, the invoice shall bear the buyer’s and the seller’s digital or electronic signatures.

b) The electronic invoice issued by a supermarket or shopping mall to a non-business buyer does not necessarily bear the buyer’s name, address and TIN.

c) Electronic invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business individuals do not necessarily bear the invoice name, code, symbol, number; the buyer’s name, address, TIN, electronic signature; the seller’s digital or electronic signature; VAT rate. The seller shall retain electronic invoices for sale of oil and gas to non-business individuals; make sure they can be accessed at the request of competent authorities.

dd) Electronic invoices in the form of stamps, tickets or cards do not necessarily contain the seller’s digital or electronic signature (except for those authenticated by tax authorities), the buyer’s information, VAT rate, VAT amount. Invoices for pre-priced stamps, tickets and cards do not need to contain the unit, quantity and unit price.

dd) Electronic air tickets issued via websites and e-commerce systems to buyers that are non-business individuals following international practice do not necessarily bear the invoice symbol, code, number, VAT rate, the buyer’s TIN, address and the seller’s digital or electronic signature.

In case a business or non-business organization buys air tickets, the electronic air tickets issued via websites or e-commerce systems to individuals of that organization following international practice are not considered electronic invoices. Airliners and their agents shall issue electronic invoices with sufficient information and provide them for their buyers.

e) Invoices for construction and installation; construction of houses for sale under instalment plans do not necessarily bear the unit, quantity and unit price.

g) Electronic deliver notes shall bear the deliverer’s name, vehicle, sending address, receiving address; do not necessarily bear the tax rate, tax amount and total amount payable.

h) Invoices for interline payment between airliners issued in accordance with regulations International Air Transport Association (IATA) do not necessarily have the invoice symbol, code, the buyer’s name, address, TIN, electronic signature, unit, quantity, unit price.

4. Other contents of electronic invoices

a) In addition to the contents specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this Article, enterprises, organizations, household businesses and individual businesses may add their logos, brands, trademarks or photos to the invoices. The invoice may contain information about the sale contract, delivery order, customer code and other information.

b) Electronic deliver notes shall bear the following information:

- The sender’s name; the delivery order.

- The receiving address, the deliverer’s name and vehicle.

- The recipient’s name.

- The receiving address.

5. Some invoice templates are provided in Appendix 1 hereof, for reference only.

6. Circular No. 72/2014/TT-BTC on refund of VAT on personal belongings carried by foreigners and Vietnamese people residing overseas upon their exit from Vietnam shall apply to VAT invoices used as tax refund claims.

Article 4. Issuance dates of electronic invoices

1. Issuance dates of electronic invoices for sale of goods/services, goods that are delivered multiple times or divided into multiple phases are determined in accordance with Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 7 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

2. Issuance dates of electronic invoices in other cases:

a) The issuance date of electronic invoices for periodic supply of electricity, water, telecommunications services, television services, IT services or insurance is within the 7 days after the day on which the meter is recorded or the end of the cycle. The cycle shall be agreed upon between the service provider and the buyer.

b) The issuance date of electronic invoices for construction and installation is the date of commissioning and acceptance of the work or item, whether the payment has been collected or not.

c) For organizations trading real estate, building infrastructure, houses for sale:

c.1) Before the right ownership or use is transferred: an electronic invoice shall be issued every time an instalment is made in accordance with the agreement or contract.

c.2) In case the right ownership or use has been transferred: an electronic invoice shall be issued on the date specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

d) An electronic invoice for air tickets issued via websites or e-commerce systems shall be issued within 05 days from the day on which the ticket is issued on the website or e-commerce platform.

3. For exploration and extraction of crude oil, condensate, natural gas, associated gas and coal gas, issuance dates of electronic invoices shall comply with Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 7 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP, whether the payment has been collected or not.

Article 5. Electronic invoice format

1. The electronic invoice format is the technical standards for type of data, length of data of information fields serving transmission, storage and display of electronic invoices. The electronic 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 consist of two components: information about the transaction and the digital signature. Authenticated electronic invoices shall also contain the data of the tax authority code.

3. General Department of Taxation shall announce the format of transaction information, digital signatures and tools for display of electronic invoices prescribed in this Circular.

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

a) Connect to 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.

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

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

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

Article 6. Use of electronic invoices in sale of goods and services

1. The cases in which authenticated invoices and unauthenticated invoices are used are specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Article 12 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

When unauthenticated invoices are used as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 12 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP, the codes of electricity supply, oil and gas, postal and telecommunications services, air transport, road transport, rail transport, sea and waterway transport, water supply, finance, credit, insurance, health, e-commerce, supermarket business, trade shall be level-4 codes according to the List of fields and business lines in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 27/2018/QD-TTg dated June 7, 2018. E-commerce business shall have the same code of retailing over the Internet; supermarket business shall have the same code of retailing in supermarket and convenience stores; trade in goods shall have the same codes as retailing and wholesaling of the goods.

2. Authenticated electronic invoices generated by cash registers that are digitally connected to the tax authorities may be used by:

a) The enterprises and organizations mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article if they register for use of electronic invoices generated by cash registers.

b) The household businesses and individual businesses specified in Clause 5 Article 12 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

3. Use of electronic invoices in cases of high tax risk:

a) Sellers of goods/services posing high tax risk specified in Point b of this Clause shall use authenticated invoices, regardless of the value of each sale.

b) An enterprise posing high tax risk means an enterprise whose equity is below 15 billion VND and:

b.1) does not have the right to ownership or right to use of: the factory, warehouse, vehicles, stores and other facilities.

b.2) operates in the field of soil, stone, sand, gravel extraction.

b.3) has suspicious bank transactions according to anti money laundering laws.

b.4) earns revenues from selling goods/services to another enterprise whose owner is the former’s owner’s parent, spouse, sibling, or the cross ownership among which amounts for more than 50% of the total revenue written on the annual corporate income tax statement.

b.5) fails to submit the tax declaration dossier or submits the tax declaration dossier after 90 days from the deadline or from the commencement date of the business according to the certificate of business registration; suspends business operation beyond the duration notified to the tax authority and the tax authority finds that the enterprise has business operation but does not declare tax; ceases to run business at the registered address without informing the tax authority or the tax authority fails to verify the permanent or temporary residence of the enterprise’s owner or legal representative.

b.6) changes the address of its business location 2 times or more within 12 months without notice or fails to declare and pay tax at the new location.

b.7) has been buying invoices from the tax authority and is allowed by the tax authority to use authenticated invoices.

b.8) over the last 01 year:

- receives a decision on administrative penalties from the tax authority and a fine of at least 20 million for use of illegal invoices or illegal use of invoices that leads to tax evasion, tax fraud, late payment of tax, understatement of tax

- receives 02 decisions on administrative penalties from the tax authority and a total fine of at least 8 million VND for invoice-related offences;

- receives 03 decisions on administrative penalties from the tax authority.

c) General Department of Taxation shall establish and promulgate or request a competent authority to promulgate criteria for determination or risks; establish nation-wide procedures and systems for application of information technology in order to identify risks during issuance and use of invoices.

d) Supervisory tax authorities (Provincial Departments of Taxation and Sub-departments of taxation) shall request enterprises and business organizations posing high tax risk to use authenticated electronic invoices.

dd) An enterprise or business organization posing high tax risk shall use authenticated invoices for 12 consecutive months. After 12 months, if the enterprise or business organization wishes to use unauthenticated electronic invoice and the tax authority finds that it is eligible, it may apply for permission to use unauthenticated electronic invoices in accordance with Article 20 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

4. Issuance and tax declaration upon tax authority’s separate provision of authenticated electronic invoices

a) The following types of invoices to be provided separately:

a.1) Authenticated sales invoices shall be separately provided for:

- Household businesses and individual businesses specified in Clause 6 Article 12 Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP;

- Non-business organizations that sell goods or services on an occasional basis;

- Any enterprise that liquidates its assets after its dissolution, bankruptcy or TIN invalidation and thus needs to provide invoices for the buyers;

- Any enterprise, business organization, household business or individual business that pays VAT directly and:

+ ceases business operation without completing procedures for TIN validation, liquidates assets and thus needs to provide invoices for the buyers;

+ suspends business operation and to provide invoices for customers to execute the contracts concluded before the date on which the tax authority notifies the suspension;

+ is banned from using electronic invoices by the tax authority.

a.2) Authenticated VAT invoices shall be separately provided for:

- Any enterprise, business organization, household business or individual business paying VAT following credit-invoice method and:

+ ceases business operation without completing procedures for TIN validation, liquidates assets and thus needs to provide invoices for the buyers;

+ suspends business operation and to provide invoices for customers to execute the contracts concluded before the date on which the tax authority notifies the suspension;

+ is banned from using electronic invoices by the tax authority;

- In case a state-owned organization that does not pay VAT following credit-invoice method sells its assets at auction and the selling prices are inclusive of VAT according to the auction documents approved by a competent authority, VAT invoices shall be provided for giving to the buyers.

b) Enterprises, business organizations, other organizations, household businesses and individual businesses eligible for provision of separate authenticated invoices shall submit the application for provision of authenticated invoices (form No. 06 in Appendix of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the tax authority and enter the tax authority’s electronic invoice system to generate electronic invoices.

After the applicant has fully declared and paid VAT, personal income tax, corporate income tax, other taxes and fees (if any), the tax authority shall authenticate the electronic invoices generated by the applicant.

The applicant shall be held responsible for the accuracy of information on the invoices authenticated separately by the tax authority.

c) Tax authorities providing separate authenticated invoices.

c.1) For organizations and enterprises: The tax authority in charge of the area where the organization or enterprise applies for taxpayer registration, the area in which the organization is headquartered according to the decision on establishment, or the area in which goods/services are sold.

c.2) For household businesses and individual businesses:

- A household business or individual business with a fixed business location shall submit the application for provision of authenticated invoices to the Sub-department of taxation of the district where the business is located.

- A household business or individual business without a fixed business location shall submit the application for provision of authenticated invoices to the Sub-department of taxation of the district where they register or reside.

5. Application of electronic invoices and electronic delivery notes in some cases:

a) For import entrustment, if the trustee has paid VAT during the import process, electronic invoices shall be used when the goods are delivered to the trustor. If VAT is not paid during the import process, the trustee shall prepare an electronic delivery note, which will be used for circulation of the goods on the market.

b) Export entrustment:

- When delivering the goods to the trustee, the trustor shall use the electronic delivery note.

- After the customs authority confirms that the goods have been exported in reality and the trustee has confirmed the quantity and value of goods exported in reality, the trustor shall issue an electronic VAT invoice, which will be used for declaring VAT and claiming VAT refund, or issue an electronic sales invoice. The trustee shall provide the electronic VAT invoice or sales invoice for the buyer.

c) Use of electronic VAT invoices or sales invoices by exporters (including export processors)

When delivering goods to the border checkpoint or customs post where export procedures are followed, the export shall use the electronic delivery note as document for goods circulation. After the export procedures are completed, the exporter shall issue a VAT invoice or sales invoice for the exports.

d) Regarding a business organization that declares and pays VAT following credit-invoice method and delivers goods to its dependent units i.e. branches or outlets in other provinces for sale or for circulation among them; delivers to retail agents for sale at fixed prices to earn commissions, it may choose to either:

- Use electronic VAT invoices as the basis for the units to make payment, declare and pay VAT;

- Use electronic delivery notes for goods delivered to retail agents.

For dependent units of a trader of agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture products that pays VAT following credit-invoice method, if they buy agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture products for delivery or sold to the trader's headquarters, they shall use electronic delivery notes instead of electronic VAT invoices.

dd) Electronic delivery notes shall be used when goods are delivered to mobile vendors; electronic invoices shall be issued when the goods are sold.

e) Invoice shall not be issued when contributing assets of a business organization or individual in Vietnam to establishment of a enterprise. Documents proving the contribution, asset transfer records and asset valuation records shall be enclosed with the documents about origin of the assets.

g) In case of transfer of assets between dependent units of a organization; transfer of assets upon division, consolidation, merger or conversion of an enterprise, the transferor shall issue an asset transfer order enclosed documents about origin of the assets. Invoices are not required.

h) In case of transfer of assets between independent units or subsidiaries that are juridical persons of the same organization, the transferor shall issue electronic invoices in the same manner as goods sale.

Article 7. Provision of electronic invoice-related services

1. Free-of-charge provision of authenticated electronic invoice-related services shall comply with Article 13 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

2. General Department of Taxation shall report the cases specified in Point d and Point dd Clause 1 Article 13 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP to the Ministry of Finance for consideration.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF ELECTRONIC INVOICES

Section 1. MANAGEMENT AND USE OF AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC INVOICES

Article 8. Application for use of authenticated electronic invoices

1. Use of authenticated electronic invoices shall be applied for in accordance with Article 14 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

2. General Department of Taxation shall send notices through its web portal in accordance with Article 14 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP to enterprises, organizations, household businesses and individual businesses by email.

3. Destruction of unused physical invoices (if any) and termination of invoices whose issued has been announced shall comply with the Government's Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP and Decree No. 04/2014/ND-CP and instructional documents of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 9. Suspension of use of authenticated electronic invoices

1. The tax authority shall suspend the issuance of authentication codes to electronic invoices in the following cases:

a) The cases specified in Points a, b, c, d Clause 1 Article 15 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP;

b) The cases specified in Point dd Clause 1 Article 15 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP. To be specific:

- Authenticated electronic invoices are used to sell smuggled goods, banned goods, goods violating intellectual property rights as informed by competent authorities;

- Authenticated electronic invoices are used for short selling goods or services for fraudulent purposes as informed by competent authorities;

- A business registration authority or competent authority requests the enterprise to suspend operation in a conditional business line after find that the enterprise does not fully satisfy the conditions prescribed by lawsoft. If the tax authority, through inspection, discovers that the enterprise is established for the purpose of trade and use of illegal electronic invoices or illegal use electronic invoices, the enterprise shall face administrative penalties and be suspended from use of authenticated electronic invoices.

2. Resumption of use of authenticated electronic invoices by the enterprises, organizations, household businesses and individual businesses mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with Clause 2 Article 15 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

3. In case an, enterprise, organization, household business or individual business that has suspended its operation needs to provide electronic invoice for buyers to fulfill the contracts concluded before the tax authority suspends the business operation, electronic invoices shall be provided separately in accordance with instructions in Clause 4 Article 6 of this Circular.

Article 10. Generation, authentication and transmission of authenticated electronic invoices

Generation, authentication and transmission of authenticated electronic invoices shall comply with Article 16 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

Article 11. Processing erroneous electronic invoices after authentication

1. The seller that discovers that an authenticated electronic invoices is erroneous before it is sent to buyers shall send a notice of electronic invoice cancellation (Form No. 04 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the tax authority for authentication of the replacing invoice. The notice shall bear the buyer's digital or electronic signature. The tax authority shall cancel the erroneous electronic invoice on its system.

2. The erroneous authenticated electronic invoice that has been sent to the buyer shall be dealt with as follows:

a) If the buyer’s name or address is wrong but the TIN and other information is correct, the seller shall inform the buyer of the errors and send a notice (Form No. 04 in Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the tax authority. In this case, it is not required to re-issue the invoice;

b) If the TIN, amount, tax rate, tax amount or goods on the invoice is wrong, the seller and the buyer shall prepare a document specifying the errors. The seller shall send a notice (Form No. 04 in Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the tax authority. After receiving the notice, the tax authority shall cancel the erroneous electronic invoice on its system. The replacing electronic invoice shall bear the text “Thay thế cho hóa đơn ký hiệu mẫu số, ký hiệu hóa đơn…số hóa đơn..., ngày... tháng... năm” (“This replaces invoice No. … dated … ". The seller shall add the digital or electronic signature on the replacing electronic invoice, then send it to the tax authority for authentication.

3. In case the tax authority discovers that an authenticated electronic invoice is erroneous, it shall send a notice (Form No. 05 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the seller. Within 02 days from the receipt of the tax authority’s notice, the seller shall send a notice (Form No. 04 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the tax authority. The notice shall bear the seller’s digital or electronic signature. The tax authority, after receiving the notice, shall authenticate the replacing electronic invoice in accordance with instructions in Clause 1 or Clause 2 of this Article. If the seller fails to send such notice to the tax authority, the tax authority shall send another notice to the seller, requesting the seller to adjust or cancel the invoice.

4. The tax authority shall inform the seller of the receipt and the result using Form No. 04 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP). Though a cancelled electronic invoice has no value, it may be retained for reference.

Article 12. Technical issues

1. In case of technical issues of the tax authority’s authentication system, General Department of Taxation shall utilize the backup system and make an announcement on its website.

2. In case of technical issues of the system of electronic invoice-related service provider, the provider shall inform the sellers and request General Department of Taxation for support. The service provider shall quickly repair the system and assist sellers in issuing electronic invoices and sending them to the tax authority for authentication.

3. The seller that is unable to use authenticated electronic invoices shall inform the tax authority for assistance. While the issues are being fixed, the seller may use authenticated electronic invoices at the tax authority’s premises.

Section 2. MANAGEMENT AND USE OF UNAUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC INVOICES

Article 13. Application for use of unauthenticated electronic invoices

1. Use of unauthenticated electronic invoices shall be applied for in accordance with Article 20 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

2. General Department of Taxation shall send notices through its web portal in accordance with Article 20 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP to enterprises, organizations, household businesses and individual businesses by emails.

3. Destruction of unused physical invoices (if any) and termination of invoices whose issued has been announced shall comply with the Government's Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP and Decree No. 04/2014/ND-CP and instructional documents of the Ministry of Finance.

4. Enterprises and business organizations that switch over to authenticated electronic invoices shall apply in accordance with Article 14 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

Article 14. Issuance and transmission of unauthenticated electronic invoices to buyers

Issuance and transmission of authenticated electronic invoices shall comply with Article 21 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

Article 15. Suspension of use of unauthenticated electronic invoices

1. Sellers of goods/services that are enterprises and business organizations mentioned in Clause 1 Article 9 of this Circular shall not provide unauthenticated electronic invoices to buyers.

2. The resumption of use of unauthenticated electronic invoices shall comply with Clause 2 Article 22 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

Article 16. Transmission of electronic invoice data to tax authorities

1. Sellers using unauthenticated electronic invoices shall transmit data about issued electronic invoices to tax authorities via the web portal or General Department of Taxation (directly or via a provider of electronic invoice-related services).

2. Method and time for electronic invoice data transmission

a) Data transmission method is specified in Appendix 2 hereof, together with the deadlines 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.

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

- Sale of goods/services to individual buyers whose name and address are not required on the invoices according to Clause 3 Article 3 of this Circular.

- In case of sale of oil and gas to non-business individuals, the seller shall compile data about every sales invoice issued to non-business individuals in the day.

The seller shall prepare a datasheet of electronic invoices issued in the month or quarter (from the first day to the last day of the month or quarter) according to Appendix 2 hereof, send it to the tax authority together with the VAT return in accordance with the Law on Tax administration and its instructional documents.

If the quantity of invoices is considerable, the seller may produce multiple datasheets which are numbered chronologically.

The seller may send additional datasheets to the tax authority after the deadline if the previous ones are inadequate.

In case a datasheet that has been sent to the tax authority is erroneous, the seller may send supplementary information.

b) Transmission of invoices for sale of goods/services not mentioned in Point a of this Clause:

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

3. The seller shall transmit electronic invoice data to the tax authority using the format specified in Article 5 of this Circular and instructions of General Department of Taxation, whether directly (if technically capable) or via a provider of electronic invoice-related services.

a) Direct transmission

- General Department of Taxation will allow enterprises using invoices in large quantities and have IT systems that satisfy the requirements specified in Clause 4 Article 5 of this Circular to directly transmit electronic invoice data to tax authorities.

- In case a parent company that has a electronic invoice database wishes to transmit the entire electronic invoice data, including those of the 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 connection.

b) Transmission via providers of electronic invoice-related services

Enterprises and business organizations other than those mentioned in Point a of this Clause shall sign contracts with providers of electronic invoice-related services, which will transmit their electronic invoice data to tax authorities. Enterprises and business organizations other than those mentioned in Point a of this Clause shall sign contracts with providers of electronic invoice-related services, which will transmit their electronic invoice data to tax authorities.

4. In case the web portal of General Department of Taxation is unable to receive electronic invoice data due to technical issues, General Department of Taxation shall post a notice on its web portal. The organizations and enterprises mentioned in Point a Clause 3 of this Article and providers of electronic invoice-related services shall not transmit electronic invoice data to tax authorities during this time.

Within 2 working days from the day on which General Department of Taxation posts another notice that its web portal is operational, the organizations and enterprises mentioned in Point a Clause 3 of this Article and providers of electronic invoice-related services shall transmit electronic invoice data to tax authorities. Transmission of electronic invoice data transmitted to tax authorities after a notice of technical issues is posted on the web portal of General Department of Taxation will not be considered to be late.

5. Sellers are legally responsible for the legitimacy and accuracy of electronic invoices transmitted to tax authorities or providers of electronic invoice-related services.

Article 17. Settlement of issued unauthenticated electronic invoices

1. Erroneous unauthenticated electronic invoices that have been sent to buyers shall be dealt with as follows:

a) If the buyer’s name or address is wrong but the TIN and other information is correct, the seller shall inform the buyer of the errors and is not required to re-issue the invoice. If the electronic invoice data has been transmitted to the tax authority, the seller shall send a notice )Form No. 04 in the Appendix of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP).

b) If the TIN, amount, tax rate, tax amount or goods on the invoice is wrong, the seller and the buyer shall prepare a document specifying the errors. The seller shall replace the erroneous electronic invoice with a new one. The replacing invoice shall bear the text “Thay thế cho hóa đơn ký hiệu mẫu số, ký hiệu hóa đơn…số hóa đơn..., ngày... tháng... năm” (“This replaces invoice No. … dated … "). The seller shall add the digital or electronic signature on the replacing invoice, then send it to the buyer. If the erroneous electronic invoice data has been transmitted to the tax authority, the seller shall send a notice (Form No. 04 in the Appendix of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) and the new electronic invoice data to the tax authority in accordance with Article 16 of this Circular.

2. In case the tax authority discovers the error, it shall send a notice (Form No. 05 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the seller. Within 02 days from the receipt of the tax authority’s notice, the seller shall send a request for electronic invoice cancellation (Form No. 04 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) to the tax authority. After requesting cancellation of the electronic invoice, the seller shall issue a new electronic invoice and send it to the buyer and send the new data to the tax authority. If the seller fails to send such request to the tax authority, the tax authority shall send another notice to the seller, requesting the seller to adjust or cancel the invoice.

3. The tax authority shall inform the seller of the receipt and the result using Form No. 04 in the Appendix to Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP). Though a cancelled electronic invoice has no value, it may be retained for reference.

Chapter III

DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC INVOICE DATABASE

Article 18. Rules for development, management and use of electronic invoice data and information

1. Electronic invoice information systems shall be uniformly developed and managed by central and local authorities following information technology technical regulations and standards.

2. The electronic invoice database shall facilitate tax administration and other state management tasks; facilitate socio-economic development; ensure safety, security and national security.

3. Electronic invoice information and data shall be collected, updated, maintained and used on a regular basis; be accurate and objective.

4. The development, management, use and update of the electronic invoice database shall be accurate, scientific, objective and in a timely manner.

5. The electronic invoice database shall be developed, connected and shared electronically in order to ensure convenient and effective management, provision and use of information and data.

6. Electronic invoice information and data shall be used for their intended purposes and in accordance with regulations of law.

7. The electronic invoice database shall be connected and used in accordance with regulations on cooperation and exchange of information between information systems and databases of relevant Ministries, authorities and local authorities, between central and local authorities, between provincial and district authorities (if qualified).

Article 19. Development information technology infrastructure and software systems serving management and use of the electronic invoice information system

1. The information technology infrastructure consists of computers (servers), networking equipment, network security hardware or software, database, storage devices, peripheral devices, auxiliary devices and local networks.

2. The software system serving management and use of the electronic invoice information system consists of the operation system, database management system and software applications.

Article 20. Development, collection, processing and management of the electronic invoice information system

1. Development of the electronic invoice information system

a) The electronic invoice database is a collection of organized electronic invoice data that can be accessed via electronic devices.

b) The electronic invoice database developed by General Department of Taxation shall be compatible with the architecture of Vietnam’s Electronic Government, including the following functions: registration, invoice cancellation, information about electronic invoices to be sent to sellers to tax authorities; information about VAT declaration.

2. Collection and update of electronic invoice information

Invoice information shall be collected according to the information that the sellers have to send to tax authorities, information relevant to electronic invoices from other authorities, information collected during tax administration by tax authorities.

3. Processing electronic invoice information

General Department of Taxation shall process information and data before they are stored in the national database; ensure rationality and uniformity. Processing tasks include:

a) Inspection and assessment of conformity to regulations and procedures during collection of information and data;

b) Inspection and assessment of legality and reliability of information and data;

c) Compilation, arrangement, classification of information and data according to regulations;

d) For information and data updated from specialized databases, their managing authorities shall be responsible for the accuracy of the information and data.

4. Management of the electronic invoice information system

General Department of Taxation shall manage the electronic invoice information system as follows:

a) Develop, manage, operate and use the electronic invoice information system and provide public electronic invoice-related services where necessary;

b) Integrate survey results, relevant data and information about electronic invoices provided by relevant Ministries and authorities;

c) Provide instructions, inspect and supervise the management and use of the electronic invoice information system by local tax authorities;

d) Introduce regulations on accessibility to the electronic invoice information system; manage the connection, sharing and provision of data for databases of Ministries, local and central authorities;

dd) Take charge and cooperate with relevant units in development of software programs in the electronic invoice information system.

Article 21. Responsibility for sharing and connecting information and data

1. Responsibility for sharing and connecting information and data are specified in Article 26 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

2. Electronic invoice data and electronic data about payments via accounts shall be provided in the formats specified in Article 5 of this Circular.

Article 22. Access, provision and use of electronic invoice information

The access, provision and use of electronic invoice information shall comply with Article 27, Article 28 and Article 29 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

Chapter IV

PROVIDERS OF ELECTRONIC INVOICE-RELATED SERVICES

Article 23. Conditions for provision of electronic invoice-related services

1. To provide electronic invoice-related services, an organization shall:

a) Has experience of IT solution development and electronic data exchange between organizations. To be specific:

- Has been operating in the IT field for at least 05 years.

- Has deployed IT applications and systems for at least 10 organizations.

- Has deployed electronic data exchange systems between branches of an enterprise or between organizations.

b) Has obtained a guarantee of over 5 billion VND from a credit institution legally operating in Vietnam to manage risks and pay damages during service provision.

c) Personnel:

- There are at least 20 technicians having bachelor’s degrees in IT, including those who are experienced in network administration and database administration.

- Technicians are employed to monitor the electronic data exchange systems and support its users 24/7.

d) Technology:

- There are processes and equipment for backing up data at the main datacenter according to Clause 1d Article 32 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

- There is a backup center which is located at least 20 km away from the main data center.

- Exchange of electronic invoice data with tax authorities:

+ Connect to tax authorities through a separate channel or through MPLS VPN Layer 3, which consists of 1 main channel and 2 backup channels. Each channel has a minimum bandwidth of 10 Mbps.

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

+ Use (SOAP) to compile, transmit and receive data

2. Instructions in Clause 1 of this Article apply to providers of electronic invoice data transmission services, authenticated and unauthenticated electronic invoice-related services.

Article 24. Selection of providers of electronic invoice-related services

Pursuant to Article 23 of this Circular, General Department of Taxation shall sign contracts for provision electronic invoice-related services in accordance with the procedures specified in Article 25 of this Circular with qualified IT organizations.

Article 25. Procedures for conclusion of contracts for provision of electronic invoice-related services

The resumption of use of unauthenticated electronic invoices shall comply with Clause 3 Article 32 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSES

Article 26. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from November 14, 2019.

2. During the period from the effective date of this Circular to October 31, 2020, the following documents promulgated by the Ministry of Finance are still effective:

a) Circular No. 32/2011/TT-BTC dated March 14, 2011 on generation, issuance and use of electronic invoices for sale of goods and services;

b) Circular No. 191/2010/TT-BTC dated December 01, 2010 on management and use of transport invoices;

c) Circular No. 39/2014/TT-BTC dated March 31, 2014 (amended by Circular No. 119/2014/TT-BTC dated August 25, 2014 and Circular No. 26/2015/TT-BTC dated February 27, 2015);

d) Decision No. 1209/QD-BTC dated June 23, 2015 of the Minister of Finance on pilot application of authenticated electronic invoices; Decision No. 526/QD-BTC dated April 16, 2018 of the Minister of Finance on expansion of the scope of pilot application of authenticated electronic invoices.

dd) Decision No. 2660/QD-BTC dated December 14, 2016 of the Minister of Finance on extension of Decision No. 1209/QD-BTC dated June 23, 2015;

e) Circular No. 37/2017/TT-BTC dated April 27, 2017 amending Circular No. 39/2014/TT-BTC (amended by Circular No. 119/2014/TT-BTC dated August 25, 2014 and Circular No. 26/2015/TT-BTC dated February 27, 2015);

3. From November 01, 2020, enterprises, business organizations, other organizations, household businesses and individual businesses shall apply for use of electronic invoices in accordance with this Circular.

4. From November 01, 2020, the Circulars and Decisions of the Ministry of Finance mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article shall cease to have effect.

Article 27. Transition

1. Transition shall be carried out in accordance with provisions of Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4 Article 36 of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP.

2. During the period from November 01, 2018 to October 31, 2020, in order to prepare for registration, use, access and transfer of data for issuance of electronic invoices in accordance with Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP, before tax authorities request enterprises, business organizations, other organizations, household businesses and individual businesses to switch to electronic invoices in accordance with Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP and this Circular, enterprises, business organizations, other organizations, household businesses and individual businesses shall use invoices in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP, Decree No. 04/2014/ND-CP and their instructional documents.

3. In case the enterprises, business organizations, other organizations, household businesses and individual businesses that use electronic invoices in accordance with this Circular discover errors in the invoices issued in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP, Decree No. 04/2014/ND-CP and their instructional documents, the seller and the buyer shall prepare a document specifying the errors, and the seller shall send a notice (Form No. 04 in the Appendix of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP) and issue a new electronic invoice (authenticated or unauthenticated) to replace the erroneous one. The replacing invoice shall bear the text “Thay thế cho hóa đơn ký hiệu mẫu số, ký hiệu hóa đơn…số hóa đơn..., ngày... tháng... năm” (“This replaces invoice No. … dated … "). The seller shall add the digital or electronic signature on the replacing electronic invoice (in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP, Decree No. 04/2014/ND-CP and their instructional documents), then send it to the tax authority for authentication (if the erroneous invoice is authenticated).

4. Public service providers (public schools, public health facilities) that have been using physical receipts may keep using physical receipts. In case a public service provider does not have capable IT infrastructure to use authenticated electronic invoices as requested by the tax authority and wishes to keep using physical receipts in accordance with Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP and Decree No. 04/2014/ND-CP, it shall send invoice data to the tax authority using Form No. 03 in the Appendix of Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP together with submission of the VAT return. Public service providers that have capable IT infrastructure shall apply for use of authenticated electronic invoices or unauthenticated electronic invoices in accordance with Article 8 and Article 13 of this Circular.

5. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this document should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for consideration./.

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