Circular No. 153/2010/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government on invoices for goods sales and service provision.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government on invoices for selling goods and providing services.

Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government on invoices for selling goods and providing services.

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Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration No. 78/2006/QH11 dated November 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Accounting Law No. 03/2003/QH11 dated June 17, 2003;

Pursuant to the Law on Value Added Tax No. 13/2008/QH12 dated June 3, 2008;

||| Pursuant to Decree No. 63/2018/NĐ-CP dated May 4, 2018 of the Government on public-private partnership investment;

Based on the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations dated July 2, 2002, and the Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations dated April 2, 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government on invoices for selling goods and providing services;

is a medicine production facility certified by the competent authority of a country participating in the EMA or ICH or PIC/s to meet EU-GMP or PIC/s-GMP standards or equivalent, and announced by the Ministry of Health (Drug Administration Department) on the Drug Administration Department's electronic information website.

The Ministry of Finance hereby issues guidelines for the implementation of invoices for selling goods and providing services as follows:

PART I

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

These Circulars provide guidance on printing, issuing, and using invoices for selling goods and providing services (hereinafter referred to collectively as invoices); administrative penalties for violations related to invoices; tasks, powers, and responsibilities of tax management agencies at all levels and other relevant agencies and organizations regarding printing, issuing, managing, and using invoices; rights, obligations, and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals in printing, issuing, and using invoices.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Sellers of goods and providers of services include:

a) Vietnamese organizations, households, and individuals engaged in selling goods and providing services within Vietnam or exporting goods;

b) Foreign organizations and individuals engaged in selling goods and providing services within Vietnam or producing and selling goods abroad from Vietnam;

c) Vietnamese organizations, households, or foreign organizations and individuals not engaged in business but selling goods and providing services within Vietnam.

2. Organizations that print invoices.

3. Organizations and individuals purchasing goods and services.

4. Tax management agencies at all levels and other organizations and individuals related to the printing, issuance, and use of invoices.

Article 3. Types and Forms of Invoices

1. An invoice is a document created by the seller recording information about the sale of goods and provision of services as prescribed by law.

2. Types of invoices:

a) Value-added tax invoice is an invoice for selling goods and providing services domestically intended for organizations and individuals who declare and pay value-added tax under the deduction method (Model 3.1 Appendix 3 and Model 5.1 Appendix 5 issued together with this Circular).

b) Sales invoice is an invoice for selling goods and providing services domestically intended for organizations and individuals who declare and pay value-added tax under the direct payment method (Model 3.2 Appendix 3 and Model 5.2 Appendix 5 issued together with this Circular).

Organizations and individuals in non-tariff zones when selling goods and providing services shall use sales invoices, clearly stating "For organizations and individuals in non-tariff zones" on the invoice (Model 5.3 Appendix 5 issued together with this Circular).

c) Export invoice is an invoice used in export activities of goods and services to foreign countries, exports to non-tariff zones, and cases deemed as exports, following international practices and regulations on trade.

d) Other invoices include: stamps; tickets; cards; receipts for insurance payments...

đ) Air freight payment receipt; international transportation fee receipt; service fee receipt for banking transactions..., which are established according to international practices and relevant laws.

3. Forms of invoices.

Invoices can be presented in the following forms:

a) Self-printed invoice is an invoice printed by businesses themselves on computer devices, cash registers, or other machines when selling goods and providing services;

b) Electronic invoice is a set of electronic data messages about selling goods and providing services, initiated, created, sent, received, stored, and managed in accordance with the Law on Electronic Transactions and guiding documents;

c) Printed invoice is an invoice printed by organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business according to a model for use in selling goods and providing services, or printed by the tax authority according to a model to issue and sell to organizations, households, and individuals.

4. Documents that are printed, issued, used, and managed like invoices include internal dispatch and transport slips, consignment sales dispatch slips (Model 5.5 and 5.6 Appendix 5 issued together with this Circular).

Article 4. Content on issued invoices

1. The mandatory content on issued invoices must be displayed on the same sheet of paper.

a) Name of invoice type

The type of invoice must be indicated on each invoice sheet. For example: VALUE-ADDED TAX INVOICE, SALES INVOICE...

If the invoice is also used as a specific document for accounting purposes or sales, another name may be added, but it must be written after the type of invoice in smaller font size or in parentheses. For example: VALUE-ADDED TAX INVOICE - WARRANTY CERTIFICATE, VALUE-ADDED TAX INVOICE (WARRANTY CERTIFICATE), VALUE-ADDED TAX INVOICE - RECEIPT, VALUE-ADDED TAX INVOICE (RECEIPT)...

For export invoices, the type of invoice should be indicated as EXPORT INVOICE or other names according to commercial practices. For example: EXPORT INVOICE, INVOICE, COMMERCIAL INVOICE...

b) Model number code and invoice code.

The model number of the invoice is information indicating the name of the type of invoice, the number of copies, and the serial number of the model within a type of invoice (a type of invoice may have multiple models).

The invoice code is a distinguishing mark of the invoice through a system of Vietnamese letters and the year of invoice issuance.

c) Invoice copy name

Invoice copies are sheets within the same invoice number. Each invoice number must have at least two copies and a maximum of nine copies, including:

+ Copy 1: Retained.

+ Copy 2: Given to the buyer.

Copies from the third copy onwards are named according to their specific uses as determined by the invoice issuer. Specifically, invoices issued by the tax authority must have three copies, with Copy 3 retained at the tax authority.

d) Invoice number

The invoice number is a sequential number in the invoice code, consisting of seven digits in an invoice code.

đ) Name, address, taxpayer identification number of the seller;

e) Name, address, taxpayer identification number of the buyer;

g) Name of goods and services; unit of measurement, quantity, unit price of goods and services; total amount recorded in figures and in words.

For value-added tax invoices, in addition to the unit price which is the price excluding value-added tax, there must be a line for the VAT rate, VAT amount, and total amount payable recorded in figures and in words.

h) Buyer and seller sign and write their full names, stamp of the seller (if applicable), and date of issuance of the invoice.

i) Name of the organization receiving invoice printing

For printed invoices, the invoice must indicate the name and taxpayer identification number of the organization receiving printing on each invoice sheet, including cases where the organization receiving invoice printing decides to print invoices for its own use.

k) The invoice shall be expressed in Vietnamese. In cases where additional foreign language text is required, such text shall be placed to the right within parentheses ( ) or directly below the Vietnamese text, with a smaller font size than the Vietnamese text. The numbers recorded on the invoice shall be natural numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; a period (.) shall be placed after thousands, millions, billions, trillions, quadrillion, quintillion; if there are digits following the unit place, a comma (,) shall be placed after the unit digit.

Each type of invoice used by an organization or individual must have the same size.

For export invoices, the content established on the export invoice must include: invoice number; name and address of the exporting entity; name and address of the importing entity; product name, service, unit of measurement, quantity, unit price, total amount, signature of the exporting entity (model number 5.4 Appendix 5 issued together with this Circular). If only one language is used on the export invoice, it must be English. Organizations and individuals may use value-added tax invoices for selling goods and providing services to duty-free zones and other cases deemed as exports under the provisions of trade laws.

Example: - Enterprise A is a medium-sized enterprise engaged in both domestic sales and export activities. Enterprise A uses value-added tax invoices for its domestic sales activities. For export activities, Enterprise A uses export invoices according to the guidelines provided above.

- Enterprise B is an enterprise engaged in both domestic sales and sales to organizations and individuals in duty-free zones. Enterprise B may use value-added tax invoices for both activities.

2. Optional contents on established invoices

a) In addition to the mandatory content as directed in Clause 1 of this Article, organizations and individuals conducting business may create additional information to serve their business operations, including creating logos, decorative images, or advertisements.

b) The font size of the additional information must be smaller than the smallest font size of the mandatory content.

c) Additional information must ensure compliance with current laws, not obscuring or blurring mandatory content on the invoice.

3. Some cases where invoices do not necessarily need to contain all mandatory contents:

a) Business organizations selling goods and services may create, issue, and use invoices that do not necessarily require the buyer's signature and seller's stamp in the following cases: electricity invoices; water invoices; telecommunications service invoices; banking service invoices meeting the conditions for self-printing as guided in this Circular.

b) The following cases do not necessarily need to contain all mandatory contents, except when the buyer is an accounting unit requiring the seller to issue an invoice containing all the contents as directed in Clause 1 of this Article:

- Self-printed invoices of supermarket and shopping center businesses established in accordance with the law do not necessarily need to include the buyer's name, address, taxpayer code, buyer's signature, seller's stamp.

- For stamps and tickets: On pre-printed stamps and tickets, the seller's signature and stamp; the buyer's name, address, taxpayer code, buyer's signature are not necessarily required.

- Other cases as guided by the Ministry of Finance.

Chapter II

ISSUANCE AND CREATION OF INVOICES

Article 5. Principles for Issuing Invoices

1. Issuing invoices is the activity of creating invoice models for use in the sale of goods and provision of services by organizations, households, and individual businesses, as specified in the forms of invoices guided in Clause 3, Article 3 of this Circular.

2. Organizations, households, and individual businesses may simultaneously create multiple types of invoices (self-printed invoices, commissioned invoices, electronic invoices) as prescribed in Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP and this Circular.

a) New business organizations established or currently operating may issue self-printed invoices if they fall under the cases guided in Point a, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular.

b) Business organizations currently operating may issue self-printed invoices if they meet the conditions guided in Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular.

c) Business organizations mentioned in Points a and b of this clause that do not print their own invoices may issue commissioned invoices as guided in Article 8 of this Circular.

d) Business organizations, households, and individual businesses subject to value-added tax deduction method but not included in Points a and b of this clause may issue commissioned invoices as guided in Article 8 of this Circular.

đ) Non-business organizations engaged in business activities; households and individual businesses; micro-enterprises; enterprises located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions may purchase commissioned invoices from tax authorities as guided in Clause 1, Article 11 of this Circular.

e) Public service units engaged in production and business activities in accordance with the law, which meet the conditions for self-printing invoices as guided in Clause 1, Article 6 but do not print their own invoices, may issue commissioned invoices or purchase commissioned invoices from tax authorities.

g) Non-business organizations; households and individuals not engaged in business but having transactions requiring invoices for customer delivery shall be issued single invoices by tax authorities.

3. When issuing invoices, organizations, households, and individuals must not duplicate invoice numbers within the same code.

4. The quality of paper and ink used on invoices must ensure storage duration as prescribed by law on accounting.

Article 6. Self-printed Invoice Issuance

1. Eligible entities for self-printed invoice issuance

a) Enterprises and public service units eligible for self-printed invoice issuance include:

- Enterprises established according to the law in industrial parks, economic zones, export processing zones, high-tech parks.

- Public service units engaged in production and business activities as prescribed by law.

- Enterprises with a charter capital of five (05) billion VND or more calculated based on the actual contributed capital up to the date of announcement of invoice issuance.

b) Business organizations currently operating that do not fall under the cases mentioned in Point a of this clause may issue self-printed invoices for sales and service provision if they meet the following conditions:

- Have been assigned a taxpayer identification number;

- Have revenue from sales of goods and services;

- Have equipment systems (computers, printers, cash registers) ensuring the printing and issuance of invoices during sales and service provision;

- Are accounting units as prescribed by the Accounting Law and have sales and service software integrated with accounting software, ensuring that invoice data is automatically transferred to the accounting software (or database) at the time of invoice issuance.

- Have not been penalized for tax law violations or have been penalized and have fulfilled the penalties, with total fines for tax law violations below twenty (20) million VND within three hundred sixty-five (365) consecutive days from the date of the first announcement of self-printed invoice issuance.

c) Entities mentioned in Points a and b of this clause must issue a decision to apply self-printed invoices and submit it to the directly managing tax authority, bearing responsibility for this decision (Form 5.8 attached as Appendix 5 of this Circular).

The decision on the application of self-printed invoices includes the main contents as follows:

- Name of the equipment system (computers, printers, application software) used for printing invoices;

- Technical department or name of the service provider responsible for technical aspects of self-printed invoices;

- Responsibilities of each related department concerning the creation, issuance, circulation, and storage of self-printed invoice data within the organization;

- Samples of various self-printed invoices along with their intended uses must include fields to ensure all contents as guided in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular when issued.

2. Organizations eligible for self-printed invoice issuance must use computer programs to print invoices from information technology devices, cash registers, or other machines, ensuring the principles:

- Serial numbering on invoices is done automatically. Each copy of an invoice number can only be printed once; if printed from the second time onwards, it must indicate that it is a copy (duplicate).

- Application software for printing invoices must ensure security requirements through user permissions; users without permission cannot interfere with or change data on the application.

Article 7. Issuing electronic invoices

1. Electronic invoices shall be created, issued, and processed on the computer systems of organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities that have been assigned tax identification numbers when selling goods and services, and shall be stored on the computers of the parties in accordance with the laws on electronic transactions.

2. Electronic invoices shall be used in accordance with the laws on electronic transactions.

3. The management and use of electronic invoices shall be carried out in accordance with specific guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 8. Issuing printed invoices

1. Entities eligible to issue printed invoices:

a) Business organizations; households and individuals engaged in business activities with tax identification numbers (excluding households and individuals paying value-added tax under the direct method) may issue printed invoices for use in their sales and service provision activities.

b) The Tax Department shall issue printed invoices for sale and issuance to entities specified in Clause 1 of Article 11 and Clause 1 of Article 12 of this Circular.

2. Printed invoices must be pre-printed with all required fields as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular.

Entities eligible to issue printed invoices shall decide on the invoice format themselves.

Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities that print invoices must pre-print their name and tax identification number in the "seller's name and tax identification number" field on the invoice.

For printed invoices that have not been fully utilized and contain pre-printed addresses, if there is a change in address and the organization, household, or individual still wishes to use these invoices, they must affix the new address stamp next to the pre-printed address field to continue using them.

If organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities print invoices for subordinate units, the business organization's name must be pre-printed at the top left corner of the invoice. Subordinate units must affix or write their name, tax identification number, and address in the "seller's name, tax identification number, and address" field to use.

For invoices printed by the Tax Department, the Tax Department's name must be pre-printed at the top left corner of the invoice.

3. Printing printed invoices

a) Printed invoices shall be printed according to the contract between organizations, households, individuals engaged in business activities, or the Tax Department and printing organizations meeting the conditions set forth in Point a of Clause 4 of this Article.

b) The printing contract shall be documented in writing in accordance with the Civil Code. The contract shall specify the type of invoice, invoice model number, invoice number, quantity, starting and ending serial numbers of the printed invoices, accompanied by a sample invoice.

c) If the printing organization prints invoices for its own use in sales and service provision activities, it must have a decision to print invoices from the head of the unit. The printing decision must include the type of invoice, invoice model number, invoice number, quantity, starting and ending serial numbers of the printed invoices, accompanied by a sample invoice.

4. Conditions and responsibilities of printing organizations

a) Conditions

Organizations receiving invoices for printing must be enterprises with valid business registration and a printing operation license (including both publication and non-publication printing).

b) Responsibilities

- Print invoices strictly in accordance with the printing contract, without transferring the entire process or any part of it to another printing organization;

- Manage and store film copies, metal plates, and similar tools used in creating printed invoices as agreed with the entity requesting the invoices. If they wish to use the film copies or metal plates for future printing, they must seal and retain them;

- Destroy test prints, incorrect prints, duplicate prints, excess prints, defective prints, film copies, metal plates, and similar tools used in creating printed invoices as agreed with the entity requesting the invoices;

- Terminate the printing contract with the entity requesting the invoices;

- Prepare a report on receiving invoice printing for the directly managing tax authority. The report shall include: the name, tax identification number, and address of the entity requesting the invoices; the type, invoice number, invoice model number, quantity of invoices printed (from number ... to number) for each entity (Model 3.7 of Appendix 3 issued together with this Circular).

The report on receiving invoice printing shall be prepared and submitted to the directly managing tax authority twice a year: the first report on printing invoices for the first six months of the year by July 20th at the latest, and the second report on printing invoices for the last six months of the year by January 20th of the following year.

If the printing organization ceases invoice printing operations, the final report on receiving invoice printing shall start from the beginning of the final reporting period until the date the printing organization ceases operations, and the deadline for submitting the report on receiving invoice printing shall be the 20th day of the month following the cessation of printing operations.

If the printing organization starts business operations or resumes invoice printing after ceasing operations, the first report on receiving invoice printing shall cover the period from the start of business operations or resumption of printing until June or December, depending on the start date of business operations or resumption of printing.

The tax authority receives reports on receiving invoices for printing from organizations receiving invoices for printing and uploads the data to the electronic information website of the General Department of Taxation.

Article 9. Issuance of invoices by organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business

1. Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business must prepare an Invoice Issuance Notice (Form No. 3.5 attached as Appendix 3 to this Circular) before using invoices for selling goods or services, except for invoices purchased or issued by tax authorities.

2. The Invoice Issuance Notice shall include: the name of the invoice issuer, taxpayer identification number, address, telephone number, types of invoices issued (name of invoice type, invoice code, invoice form number, start date of use, quantity of invoices issued from number... to number...), sample invoice, name and taxpayer identification number of the printing company (for printed invoices), date of issuance of the Invoice Issuance Notice, name, signature of the legal representative, and stamp of the organization.

In case there is a change in the business address, organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business must notify the tax authority at the new location about the invoices that have been issued but not yet used, which will continue to be used.

For subsequent Invoice Issuance Notices sent by organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business, if there is no change in the content and form of the issued invoices, it is not necessary to attach a sample invoice.

In case there is a change in the previously notified content, organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business must issue a new Invoice Issuance Notice according to the guidance provided in this clause.

For export invoices, if there is a change in the invoice form but not in the mandatory content, it is not necessary to issue a new Invoice Issuance Notice.

3. A sample invoice is a printed copy showing all the fields on the invoice given to the buyer of the type being issued, with the invoice number being a series of zeros and the word "Sample" printed or stamped on the invoice.

4. The Invoice Issuance Notice must be submitted to the directly managing tax authority no later than five (05) days before the organization, household, or individual begins using the invoices, and within ten (10) days from the date of signing the Invoice Issuance Notice. The Invoice Issuance Notice including the sample invoice must be prominently posted at the places where invoices are used to sell goods and services throughout the period of use.

In case an organization has subordinate units or branches using the same invoice form as the organization, each subordinate unit or branch must submit the Invoice Issuance Notice to the directly managing tax authority.

The General Department of Taxation is responsible for establishing a system of information on invoice issuance based on the content of the invoice issuance by organizations, households, and individuals, and making it available on the General Department's electronic information website so that all organizations and individuals can access the necessary information about the invoices that have been issued and announced.

If upon receipt of the Invoice Issuance Notice sent by an organization, household, or individual, the tax authority finds that the notice does not contain all required information as stipulated, the tax authority must notify the organization, household, or individual in writing within two (02) working days from the date of receipt of the notice. The organization, household, or individual is responsible for adjusting the notice to issue a new one.

Article 10. Issuance of invoices by the Tax Bureau

1. Invoices printed by the Tax Bureau before their first sale or issuance must have an Invoice Issuance Notice prepared.

2. The content of the Invoice Issuance Notice and the sample invoice shall be carried out according to the guidance provided in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 9 of this Circular and according to Form No. 3.6 attached as Appendix 3 to this Circular.

3. The Invoice Issuance Notice must be sent to all Tax Bureaus nationwide within ten (10) working days from the date of issuance of the notice and before the sale or issuance. The Invoice Issuance Notice must be prominently posted at the subordinate offices of the Tax Bureau throughout the period during which the notice remains valid, in a position easily visible upon entering the tax office.

In case the Tax Bureau has already published the content of the Invoice Issuance Notice on the General Department of Taxation's electronic information website, it is not necessary to send the Invoice Issuance Notice to other Tax Bureaus.

4. In case there is a change in the previously notified content, the Tax Bureau must follow the procedures to issue a new Invoice Issuance Notice according to the guidance provided in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 11. Sale of Tax-Instituted Invoices

1. The tax authority shall sell invoices to organizations that are not enterprises but engage in business activities; households and individuals engaging in business; micro-enterprises; enterprises located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, which are not subject to self-printing invoices according to the guidance provided in Article 6 of this Circular.

Organizations that are not enterprises but engage in business activities as guided in this clause are those organizations conducting business activities but not established and operating under the Enterprise Law, the Law on Credit Institutions, and the Law on Insurance Business.

Micro-enterprises as guided in this clause are business establishments with ten (10) employees or fewer as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 56/2009/NĐ-CP dated June 30, 2009 of the Government on assistance for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. The business establishment determines and is responsible for the number of employees declared to the tax authority when purchasing invoices.

Areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions as guided in this clause are areas listed in the Catalogue of Preferential Tax Areas for Corporate Income Tax issued together with Decree No. 124/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 11, 2008 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Corporate Income Tax Law. In cases where an enterprise has a branch that declares value-added tax separately and does not belong to an area with difficult socio-economic conditions or extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, such a branch does not fall within the scope of entities eligible to purchase tax-instituted invoices according to the guidance provided in this clause.

Example: Enterprise A was established and operates in Thanh Son District (Phu Tho Province), which is an area with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions and does not fall within the scope of entities eligible to self-print invoices, thus Enterprise A is eligible to purchase tax-instituted invoices from the tax authority.

If Enterprise A has a branch B in Viet Tri City (Phu Tho Province) which is not an area with difficult socio-economic conditions or extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, and Branch B declares value-added tax separately, then Branch B is not eligible to purchase tax-instituted invoices from the tax authority. Branch B will create self-printed invoices or tax-instituted invoices for use when selling goods or services.

If Enterprise A has a branch C in Dong Da District, Hanoi City, then Branch C is not eligible to purchase tax-instituted invoices from the tax authority.

2. Tax-instituted invoices sold by the Tax Bureau shall be priced to cover costs including printing fees and issuance fees. The Director of the Tax Bureau shall decide and publicly announce the sale price based on this principle. Tax authorities at all levels shall not collect any additional fees beyond the publicly announced sale price.

The directly managing tax authority shall implement the sale of invoices to the entities guided in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Sale of Invoices at the Tax Authority

a) Responsibilities of Organizations, Households, and Individuals

Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities that are eligible to purchase invoices issued by the tax authority must submit a request for invoice purchase (Form 3.3 attached as Appendix 3 of this Circular) when purchasing invoices.

When purchasing invoices, the purchaser (the person named in the request or the person authorized by the household business owner through a power of attorney in accordance with the law) must present a valid identification card as required by the law on identification cards.

b) Responsibilities of the Tax Authority

The tax authority shall sell invoices to organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities on a monthly basis.

After reviewing the usage of invoices and the request for invoice purchase in the invoice purchase request form, the tax authority shall resolve the sale of invoices to organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities on the same day. The quantity of invoices sold to organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities shall not exceed the quantity of invoices used in the previous month.

The quantity of invoices sold to organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities for the first time shall not exceed one book of fifty (50) numbers for each type of invoice. In cases where all invoices purchased initially have been used before the end of the month, the tax authority shall base its decision on the duration and quantity of invoices used to determine the quantity of invoices to be sold in subsequent sales.

Article 12. Issuance of Invoices Printed by the Tax Department

1. The tax authority shall issue invoices to organizations that are not enterprises, households, and individuals who do not engage in business but have activities involving the sale of goods or provision of services requiring invoices to be issued to customers.

2. Invoices issued by the tax authority according to each number corresponding to the request of organizations, households, and non-business individuals are called individual invoices.

Organizations that are not enterprises, households, and non-business individuals having activities involving the sale of goods or provision of services requiring invoices to be issued to customers shall be issued individual invoices which are sales invoices by the tax authority.

In cases where an enterprise, after dissolution, bankruptcy, settlement of invoices, and closure of tax registration code, needs to issue invoices for the liquidation of assets, such invoices shall be individual invoices which are sales invoices issued by the tax authority.

For organizations and state agencies not subject to value-added tax under the deduction method when selling auctioned assets, if the winning bid price includes value-added tax as clearly stated in the auction documentation approved by the competent authority, they may be issued value-added tax invoices to be given to buyers.

3. The issuance of individual invoices for the sale of goods and provision of services shall be determined as follows:

- For organizations: The tax authority managing the area where the organization registers its tax code or where it has its headquarters or as recorded in the establishment decision.

- For households and non-business individuals: The tax authority managing the area where the tax code is issued or where the permanent residence is registered in the household register or on the valid identification card (or passport) or the place of residence declared by the household or individual (without the need for confirmation from local authorities).

In cases where organizations, households, and non-business individuals lease immovable property, the tax authority managing the area with the immovable property shall issue individual invoices.

Organizations, households, and individuals requiring the use of individual invoices must submit a request for individual invoice issuance (Form No. 3.4 attached as Appendix 3 of this Circular). Based on the request for individual invoice issuance and accompanying purchase and sale documents, the tax authority shall guide taxpayers to determine the amount of tax payable according to the law on taxes. Specifically, in cases where value-added tax individual invoices are issued, the amount of value-added tax payable is the amount of value-added tax indicated on the issued value-added tax individual invoice.

The person requesting the issuance of individual invoices shall prepare three copies of the invoice at the tax authority and must pay the full tax as prescribed before receiving the individual invoice. After receiving the tax payment receipt from the person requesting the issuance of the invoice, the tax authority shall stamp the tax authority's seal on the upper left corner of copy 1 and copy 2 and hand them over to the person requesting the issuance of the invoice, while retaining copy 3 at the tax authority.

Article 13. Forms of Marking Symbols for Invoice Identification

1. Organizations, households, and individuals, when printing and issuing invoices, shall stipulate marking symbols on the invoices they issue to facilitate identification during printing, issuance, and use of invoices.

Depending on the scale, characteristics of business operations, and management requirements, organizations, households, and individuals may choose one or more of the following forms to serve as identification marks: affixing anti-counterfeiting labels; using special printing techniques; using special paper and ink; incorporating specific symbols into each print run or issuance of a particular type of invoice, pre-printing stable fields on the invoice (such as seller's name, tax code, address; type of goods or service; unit price...), signature and stamp of the seller when issuing the invoice...

2. In cases where signs of violations related to the printing, issuance, management, and use of invoices are discovered, the discovering organization, household, or individual must immediately report to the tax authority. When the tax authority and relevant government bodies require confirmation of issued invoices, the organization, household, or individual responsible for printing and issuing invoices must provide a written response within ten (10) days from the date of receipt of the request.

Chapter III

USE OF INVOICES

Article 14. Issuing Invoices

1. Principles for issuing invoices

a) Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business activities are only allowed to issue and deliver invoices to buyers for goods and services according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular.

b) Sellers must issue invoices when selling goods and services, including cases where goods and services are used for promotional purposes, advertising, samples; goods and services given, gifted, presented, exchanged, or used as salary payments to employees and internal consumption (excluding internal goods circulation for continued production processes); goods lent out, borrowed, or returned.

The contents on the invoice must accurately reflect the economic transactions that have occurred; alterations, erasures, or corrections are not permitted; the same color ink, non-fading ink must be used, red ink shall not be used; numbers and writings must be continuous without interruption, shall not be written or printed over pre-printed characters, and blank spaces (if any) must be crossed out diagonally.

c) An invoice can be issued in multiple copies. The content on the invoice must be consistent across all copies bearing the same number.

d) Invoices must be issued in sequential order from the lowest to the highest number.

In cases where a business organization has multiple subordinate units directly selling goods or multiple commissioned entities using pre-printed invoices with the same code distributed among each entity within the system, the business organization must maintain a record of the allocation of invoice quantities to each subordinate unit and each commissioned entity. Subordinate units and commissioned entities must use invoices in sequential order from the smallest number to the largest number within the allocated range.

2. Methods for filling out certain specific fields on the invoice

a) The "Date" field on the invoice

The date of issuing an invoice for the sale of goods is the moment when ownership or usage rights of the goods are transferred to the buyer, regardless of whether payment has been received or not.

The date of issuing an invoice for the provision of services is the day the service provision is completed, regardless of whether payment has been received or not. If the service provider collects payment before or during the service provision, the date of issuing the invoice is the date of collection.

The date of issuing an invoice for the supply of electricity, water, telecommunications services, and television services must be no later than seven (7) days following the date recorded on the meter for electricity or water consumption or the end date of the agreed period for telecommunications and television services. The agreed period serves as the basis for calculating the quantity of goods and services provided, based on the agreement between the service provider and the buyer.

The date of issuing an invoice for construction and installation work is the moment when the project is accepted and handed over, regardless of whether payment has been received or not.

In cases where goods are delivered in multiple shipments or services are handed over in stages, an invoice must be issued for each shipment or stage corresponding to the quantity and value of goods or services delivered.

For real estate businesses, infrastructure construction, house construction for sale or transfer, if advance payments are collected according to the project progress or payment schedule stipulated in the contract, the date of issuing the invoice is the date of receipt of payment.

The date of issuing an invoice for exported goods and services is determined by the exporter in accordance with the agreement between the exporter and importer. The date for determining export revenue for tax purposes is the date confirmed upon completion of customs procedures on the customs declaration form.

In cases where gasoline and diesel are sold at retail outlets to regular buyers who are businesses or individuals, or where banking and securities services are provided, the issuance of invoices must be done periodically according to the contract between both parties accompanied by an itemized list or other supporting documents acknowledged by both parties, but no later than the last day of the month in which the transaction occurred.

The date of issuing an invoice for crude oil, natural gas, processed oil and gas products, and certain special cases shall be carried out according to specific guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance.

b) The "Seller's Name, Address, Tax Code" and "Buyer's Name, Address, Tax Code": Full name or abbreviated name according to the business registration certificate and tax registration certificate.

In cases where a business selling goods has subordinate units with their own tax codes directly selling goods, the subordinate unit's name, address, and tax code should be recorded. If the subordinate unit does not have a tax code, the main office's tax code should be recorded.

When selling goods or providing services worth 200,000 dong or more per transaction, if the buyer does not request an invoice or does not provide their name, address, and tax code (if applicable), the seller still must issue an invoice and clearly note "buyer did not take invoice" or "buyer did not provide name, address, tax code."

Specifically, for retail gasoline outlets, if the buyer does not request an invoice, the outlet must issue a single invoice at the end of the day for the total revenue from sales where invoices were not requested.

c) Field "Serial Number, Name of Goods or Services, Unit of Measurement, Quantity, Unit Price, Total Amount": Record in the order of goods or services sold; cross out unused spaces (if any).

d) The "Seller (Signature, Stamp, Full Name)" field

If the head of the unit does not sign in the "Seller" field, they must provide a power of attorney for the person directly selling to sign and write their full name on the invoice and stamp the organization's seal in the upper left corner of the invoice.

đ) The "Buyer (Signature, Full Name)" field

Specifically, for purchases made indirectly such as through telephone, internet, or fax, the buyer is not necessarily required to sign and write their full name on the invoice. When issuing an invoice in the "Buyer (Signature, Full Name)" field, the seller must clearly indicate that the sale was made via telephone, internet, or fax.

e) Currency on the Invoice

The currency on the invoice is the Vietnamese Dong.

If the seller is allowed to sell goods and collect foreign currency according to the law, the total amount of payment must be recorded in the original currency, with the text in Vietnamese.

Example: 10,000 USD - Ten thousand US dollars.

The seller must also record the exchange rate of the foreign currency against the Vietnamese Dong on the invoice, based on the average inter-bank foreign exchange market rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of issuing the invoice.

If the foreign currency collected does not have an exchange rate with the Vietnamese Dong, it must be recorded with a cross-rate against a foreign currency whose exchange rate is published by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Guidelines for issuing invoices for the sale of goods and services in certain cases are implemented according to Appendix 4 attached to this Circular.

Article 15. Delegation to Issue Invoices

1. The seller may delegate a third party to issue invoices for the sale of goods and services. Delegated invoices must still bear the name of the selling entity as the delegating entity and affix the seal of the delegating entity on the upper left corner of the invoice (in cases where self-printed invoices are printed from the delegated party's equipment or electronic invoices, there is no need to affix the seal of the delegating entity). The delegation must be confirmed in writing between the delegating party and the delegated party.

2. The content of the delegation document must include full information about the delegated invoices (invoice format, type of invoice, invoice code and quantity of invoices (from number... to number...)); purpose of delegation; delegation period; method of delivery or installation of delegated invoices (if they are self-printed invoices or electronic invoices); payment method for delegated invoices.

3. The delegating party must prepare a notice of delegation containing full information about the delegated invoices, purpose of delegation, and delegation period based on the signed delegation document, including the name, signature, and stamp (if any) of the representative of the delegating party for the delegated party. The delegation notice must be sent to the direct tax authority managing the delegating party and the delegated party.

4. The delegated party must post the delegation notice at the place where goods and services are sold to inform buyers.

5. When the delegation period expires or the delegation is terminated prematurely, both parties must confirm this in writing, and the delegated party must immediately remove all posted notices at the sales location.

6. Both the delegating party and the delegated party must periodically compile reports on the use of delegated invoices in the quarterly invoice usage report according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular.

Article 16. Sale of Goods and Services Without Mandatory Issuance of Invoices

1. Sales of goods and services with a total settlement amount under two hundred thousand dong per transaction do not require issuance of an invoice, except when the buyer requests an invoice.

2. When selling goods and services without issuing an invoice as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the seller must prepare a Sales List for Small-Scale Sales of Goods and Services. The list must contain the name, taxpayer identification number, and address of the seller, the name of the goods and services, the value of the goods and services sold, the date of preparation, the name and signature of the person preparing the list. If the seller pays VAT using the deduction method, the small-scale sales list must include the "VAT rate" and "VAT amount" fields. Goods and services sold should be recorded in the list in the order of sale during the day (Model Number 5.7 Appendix 5 issued together with this Circular).

3. At the end of each day, the business establishment must issue a VAT invoice or sales invoice recording the total sales amount of goods and services for that day on the summary line of the list, sign it, and hand over the receipt copy to the buyer, while circulating other copies according to regulations. The "Buyer's Name and Address" field on the invoice should read "retail sale without invoice".

Article 17. Issuing Invoices When the Item List Exceeds the Number of Lines on an Invoice

When selling goods and services, if the item list exceeds the number of lines on an invoice, the seller may issue multiple invoices or choose one of the following two methods:

1. The seller records consecutive invoice numbers. The last line of the previous invoice should state "continued on next invoice," and the first line of the subsequent invoice should state "continued from previous invoice." All invoices must list items continuously from one invoice to another. Information about the seller and buyer must be fully recorded on the first invoice. The seller's signature and stamp (if any), buyer's signature, settlement amount, additional charges, fees, trade discounts, and VAT amount must be recorded on the final invoice and crossed out any remaining blank spaces.

2. The seller can use a list to record the types of goods and services sold along with the invoice.

a) Content Recorded on the Invoice

The invoice must clearly state "attached to list number..., date..., month... year...". The "item name" field on the invoice should only record the general name of the item.

Other fields recorded on the invoice shall follow the guidelines set forth in Clause 2 of Article 14 of this Circular.

b) Content on the List

The list must be designed by the seller to suit the characteristics, style, and type of goods but must ensure the following main contents:

+ Seller's name, contact address, taxpayer identification number

+ Item name, quantity, unit price, total amount. If the seller pays VAT using the deduction method, the list must include the "VAT rate" and "VAT amount" fields. The total settlement amount (excluding VAT) must match the amount recorded on the VAT invoice.

The list must clearly state "attached to invoice number... Date... month... year" and must have the signatures of the seller and the buyer as on the invoice.

If the list has more than one (01) page, all pages must be consecutively numbered and stamped across the fold. The last page of the list must have the signatures of the seller and the buyer as on the invoice.

The number of lists issued must correspond to the number of invoice copies. The list must be kept with the invoice for inspection and verification by the tax authority when necessary.

The seller and buyer must manage and retain the list attached to the invoice according to the regulations.

Article 18. Handling of issued invoices

1. In cases where an invoice has been issued but not yet handed over to the buyer, if errors in the issuance of the invoice are discovered, the seller shall cross out all copies and retain the erroneous invoice number.

2. In cases where invoices have been issued and handed over to the buyer but goods have not yet been delivered or services provided, or where invoices have been issued and handed over to the buyer, but neither the seller nor the buyer has declared taxes, if errors are discovered, the invoices must be canceled. The seller and buyer shall prepare a record of recovery for each copy of the erroneous invoice. The recovery record must clearly state the reasons for recovering the invoice. The seller shall cross out all copies, retain the erroneous invoice, and issue a new invoice according to regulations.

3. In cases where invoices have been issued and handed over to the buyer, goods have been delivered or services provided, and both the seller and buyer have declared taxes, but errors are subsequently discovered, the seller and buyer must prepare a record or reach a written agreement detailing the errors, while the seller issues a corrected invoice. The corrected invoice must clearly indicate adjustments (increases or decreases) in the quantity of goods, selling price, VAT rate..., and the amount of VAT for invoice number..., with symbol.... Based on the corrected invoice, the seller and buyer shall declare adjusted sales and purchases, output and input VAT. A corrected invoice may not show negative amounts (-).

4. Guidelines for handling issued invoices in specific situations shall be implemented according to Appendix 4 attached to this Circular.

Article 19. Handling Invoices in Cases Where They Are No Longer Used

1. Organizations, households, and individuals must notify the tax authority of invoices that are no longer in use in the following circumstances:

a) Organizations, households, and individuals who have been approved by the tax authority to cease using their taxpayer identification number (also known as closing the taxpayer identification number) must stop using any types of invoices they have announced for issuance that have not yet been used.

b) Organizations, households, and individuals issuing replacement invoices must stop using any replaced invoices that have not yet been used.

c) Organizations, households, and individuals purchasing invoices from the tax authority that are no longer in use must follow the instructions in Article 27 of this Circular to cancel the invoices.

d) Lost, burned, or damaged invoices as instructed in Article 22 of this Circular.

 2. The directly managing tax authority is responsible for announcing the termination of the validity of the following invoices:

- Invoices that are no longer in use reported by organizations, households, and individuals to the tax authority under the circumstances specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

- Unissued invoices of organizations, households, and individuals who have fled their business address without notifying the tax authority.

- Unissued invoices of organizations, households, and individuals who have voluntarily ceased operations without notifying the tax authority.

- Purchased invoices that organizations, households, and individuals have given away or sold.

Article 20. Use of Expired Invoices

Using illegal invoices refers to the use of fake invoices or invoices that have no value or have exceeded their value.

Fake invoices are those printed or created according to the format of invoices issued by other organizations or individuals, or those printed or created with duplicate numbers of the same invoice code.

Invoices that have no value for use are those created according to this Circular but have not completed the issuance announcement process.

An expired invoice is an invoice that has completed the issuance procedures but the issuer has notified that it will no longer be used; invoices lost after issuance that the issuer reports to the directly managing tax authority; invoices of organizations and individuals who have ceased using their taxpayer identification number (also known as closing the taxpayer identification number).

Article 21. Illegal Use of Invoices

1. Illegal use of invoices includes issuing fictitious invoices; providing or selling unissued invoices to other organizations or individuals for use when selling goods or providing services (except for cases where invoices are used as permitted by the tax authority or where authorized to issue invoices according to this Circular); providing or selling issued invoices to other organizations or individuals for accounting, tax declaration, or budget payment purposes; issuing invoices without fully recording required information; issuing invoices with discrepancies between copies; using invoices for one type of goods or service to justify another type of goods or service.

2. Some specific cases that are considered unauthorized use of invoices include:

- Invoices containing contents that are partially or entirely non-existent.

- Using invoices of other organizations or individuals to sell goods or services without supporting documentation, to evade taxes, or to sell goods or services without declaring and paying taxes.

- Using invoices of other organizations or individuals to sell goods or services without declaring and paying taxes, evading taxes; to legitimize purchases without documentation.

- Invoices showing discrepancies in the value of goods or services or mandatory fields between copies of the invoice.

- Using invoices for selling goods or services that have been concluded by the tax authority, police, and other competent authorities to be illegally used invoices.

Article 22. Handling in cases of loss, fire damage, or deterioration of invoices

1. Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business operations, upon discovering the loss, fire damage, or deterioration of issued or unissued invoices, must prepare a report on such loss, fire damage, or deterioration and notify the directly managing tax authority (model number 3.8 attached as Appendix 3 to this Circular) no later than five (05) days from the date of occurrence of the loss, fire damage, or deterioration of the invoice.

2. In cases where the seller has issued an invoice in accordance with regulations when selling goods or services, but subsequently the seller or buyer loses, burns, or deteriorates the second copy of the original invoice, both the seller and buyer shall prepare a record of the incident, clearly stating in the record the first copy of the invoice that the seller declared for tax purposes in which month, signed and affixed their full name of the legal representative (or authorized person), stamped (if applicable) on the record, and the seller shall make a copy of the first copy of the invoice, have it confirmed by the legal representative and stamped on the copy to hand over to the buyer. The buyer may use the copied invoice along with the record of the loss, fire damage, or deterioration of the second copy of the invoice as accounting vouchers and for tax declaration. Both the seller and buyer shall be responsible for the accuracy of the loss, fire damage, or deterioration of the invoice.

Article 23. Using invoices of the purchasing party

1. The purchasing party may use lawful invoices as prescribed by law to prove the right to use and ownership of goods and services; to enjoy promotional benefits, after-sales service, lottery winnings, or compensation for damages as stipulated by law; to use for accounting records of purchasing activities according to laws on accounting; to declare various types of taxes; to register rights to use and ownership and to declare payment of state budget capital according to relevant laws.

2. Invoices used in the circumstances specified in Clause 1 must be:

- Original invoices for purchased goods and services, the second copy (customer copy), except for the cases specified in Article 22 of this Circular.

- Invoices fully filled out with all required information and must be intact.

- The figures, writings, typed or printed on the invoice must be clear, complete, accurate according to the regulations, not erased, altered.

- Invoices not falling under the cases specified in Articles 20 and 21 of this Circular.

Chapter IV

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF INVOICES

Article 24. Rights and obligations of organizations, households, and individuals selling goods and services

1. Organizations, households, and individuals selling goods and services have the following rights:

a) To create self-printed invoices or printed invoices for use if they meet all conditions as guided by this Circular;

b) To purchase invoices issued by the Tax Department if they fall within the category eligible to buy invoices as guided by this Circular;

c) To use lawful invoices to serve business activities;

d) To refuse to provide information about printing, issuance, and use of invoices to organizations and individuals without the authority as prescribed by law;

đ) To lodge complaints against organizations and individuals who infringe upon the rights to create, issue, and use lawful invoices.

2. Organizations and individuals selling goods and services have the following obligations:

a) To manage invoice creation activities as guided in this Circular;

b) To enter into a contract for printing invoices with organizations capable of printing invoices as guided by Clause 4, Article 8 of this Circular in the case of printing invoices;

c) To establish and submit Invoice Issuance Notifications as prescribed;

d) To issue and deliver invoices to customers when selling goods and services, except in cases where issuing invoices is not mandatory as guided by this Circular;

đ) To regularly self-inspect invoice usage, promptly prevent violations;

e) To report the situation of invoice usage to the directly managing tax authority as guided by Article 25 of this Circular.

Article 25. Report on the Use of Invoices

Every quarter, organizations, households, and individuals selling goods or services (excluding those issued invoices by tax authorities) shall submit reports on the use of invoices to the directly managing tax authority. The report on the use of invoices shall be submitted together with the Value Added Tax declaration form for the first month of the next quarter (Form No. 3.9 attached as Appendix 3 of this Circular).

Organizations, households, and individuals selling goods or services shall submit reports on the use of invoices when they divide, split, merge, dissolve, go bankrupt, or change ownership; transfer, sell, lease state-owned enterprises, along with the deadline for submitting final tax settlement documents.

In cases where organizations, households, and individuals move their business location to another area outside the jurisdiction of the current directly managing tax authority, they must submit reports on the use of invoices to the tax authority from which they are moving before sending the invoice issuance notification to the tax authority at the new location (Form No. 3.10 attached as Appendix 3 of this Circular).

Article 26. Storage and Preservation of Invoices

1. Unissued self-printed invoices shall be stored in the computer system according to information security regulations.

2. Unissued printed invoices shall be stored and preserved in the warehouse according to the storage and preservation regulations for valuable documents.

3. Invoices issued in accounting units shall be stored according to regulations for storing and preserving accounting vouchers.

4. Issued invoices in organizations, households, and individuals that are not accounting units shall be stored and preserved as their own property.

Article 27. Cancellation of Invoices

1. Invoices determined to be cancelled

- Trial-printed, incorrectly printed, duplicate-printed, excess-printed, defective-printed invoices; film copies, zinc plates, and similar tools used to create printed invoices are considered fully canceled when there is no original form of any invoice left or no characters remaining on the invoice that can be reassembled, photocopied, or restored to the original form.

- Self-printed invoices are considered fully canceled if the invoice creation software is modified so that it cannot continue to generate invoices.

2. Situations requiring cancellation of invoices

a) Printed invoices that are incorrectly printed, duplicate-printed, or excess-printed must be canceled before terminating the printing contract.

b) Organizations, households, and individuals with invoices that are no longer in use must cancel them. The latest cancellation period is thirty (30) days from the date of notification to the tax authority. For organizations, households, and individuals retaining invoices that have been notified by the tax authority to be discontinued, the latest cancellation period is ten (10) days from the date of the tax authority's notification of discontinuation or from the date of recovery of lost invoices.

c) Issued invoices of accounting units shall be canceled in accordance with the law on accounting.

d) Various invoices that have not been issued but are evidence in cases must not be canceled but handled according to the provisions of the law.

3. Cancellation of Invoices by Organizations, Households, and Individuals Engaged in Business

a) Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business must prepare an Invoice Inventory List for Cancellation.

b) Businesses must establish a Committee for Invoice Cancellation. The Committee for Invoice Cancellation must include representatives from leadership and accounting departments of the organization.

Households and individuals engaged in business do not need to establish a Committee when canceling invoices.

c) Members of the Committee for Invoice Cancellation must sign the Invoice Cancellation Record and bear legal responsibility if there are errors.

d) The cancellation file includes:

- Decision to establish the Committee for Invoice Cancellation, except for households and individuals engaged in business;

- The Invoice Inventory List for Cancellation must detail: name of invoice, model number code of invoice, invoice code, quantity of invoices canceled (from number... to number... or list each invoice number if the canceled invoice numbers are not consecutive);

- Invoice Cancellation Record;

- The Notification of Invoice Cancellation Results must contain: type, code, quantity of invoices canceled from number... to number, reason for cancellation, date and time of cancellation, method of cancellation (Form No. 3.11 attached as Appendix 3 of this Circular).

The Invoice Cancellation Documents shall be kept by the organization, household, or individual using the invoices. Specifically, the Notification of Invoice Cancellation Results shall be prepared in two (02) copies, one retained and one sent to the directly managing tax authority within no more than five (05) days from the date of cancellation.

4. Cancellation of Invoices by Tax Authorities

Tax authorities shall cancel printed invoices issued by the Tax Department that have not been sold or issued but are no longer in use.

The General Department of Taxation shall be responsible for specifying the procedures for canceling invoices printed by the Tax Department.

Chapter V

ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS CONCERNING INVOICES

Article 28. Administrative Sanctions for Violations Concerning Invoices

The implementation of administrative sanctions for violations concerning invoices shall be carried out in accordance with Articles from Article 28 to Article 35 of Chapter 5 of Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP.

Article 29. Competence to Impose Administrative Sanctions for Violations Concerning Invoices

The competence to impose administrative sanctions for violations concerning invoices shall be implemented in accordance with Article 37 of Chapter 5 of Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP.

Chapter VI

INSPECTION AND AUDIT OF INVOICES. SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS AND REPORTS ON VIOLATIONS CONCERNING INVOICES

Article 30. Inspection of Invoice Printing, Issuance, Management, and Usage

1. Inspection at the Tax Authority's Office

a) The tax authority shall conduct inspections on invoice printing, issuance, management, and usage based on the report on the usage of invoices submitted by organizations, households, and individuals.

b) In cases where the tax authority discovers signs of violation through inspection, within five (05) working days from the date of discovery, the tax authority shall issue a written request for the organization, household, or individual to provide a report and explanation.

2. Inspection of Invoices at the Premises of Organizations, Households, or Individuals Using Invoices

a) If the organization, household, or individual does not provide an explanation or provides an unsatisfactory explanation, the tax authority shall issue a decision to inspect invoices at their premises.

b) The contents of the invoice inspection are specifically defined in the inspection decision at the premises or sales point, including: legal basis for inspection; inspection targets; scope and content of inspection; time of inspection; head of the inspection team and members; rights and responsibilities of the inspection team and inspected entities.

c) The head of the tax authority directly managing the organization, household, or individual shall issue the inspection decision and bear responsibility for it.

d) Within five (05) working days from the date of signing the decision, the inspection decision must be sent to the organization, household, or individual. Within three (03) working days from the receipt of the inspection decision or before the inspection at the premises of the organization, household, or individual, if they can prove that the issuance, issuance, and use of invoices comply with regulations, the head of the tax authority shall issue a decision to revoke the inspection decision.

đ) The inspection must be conducted within ten (10) working days from the date the tax authority issues the inspection decision. If the organization, household, or individual requests a postponement of the inspection upon receiving the inspection decision, they must submit a written request to the tax authority detailing the reasons and proposed postponement period. Within five (05) working days from the receipt of the postponement request, the tax authority shall notify the organization, household, or individual about the acceptance or rejection of the postponement request.

The inspection period at the premises or store of the organization, household, or individual shall not exceed five (05) working days from the start of the inspection. In necessary cases, the head of the tax authority may extend the inspection period once, with the extension period not exceeding five (05) working days.

Within five (05) working days from the end of the inspection, the inspection team must prepare the Inspection Report.

The inspected organization, household, or individual has the right to receive the Inspection Report, request an explanation of its contents, and reserve comments in the Inspection Report (if any).

e) Handling of Inspection Results

- Within five (05) working days from the date of signing the Inspection Report with the inspected organization or individual, the head of the inspection team must report the inspection results to the person who issued the inspection decision. In cases where administrative sanctions need to be imposed due to discovered violations, within ten (10) working days from the date of signing the report, the head of the tax authority must issue an administrative sanction decision. The inspected organization, household, or individual is obligated to comply with the handling decision of the inspection results.

- In cases where violations in the management and use of invoices are discovered during the inspection, leading to tax processing, the tax authority will issue inspection and audit decisions on taxes according to the provisions of the Law on Tax Administration, the Law on Inspection, and the inspection and audit procedures for taxes, depending on the nature and severity of the violations.

Article 31. Inspection of Invoices

The inspection of invoices shall be combined with the inspection of tax law compliance at the place of business of taxpayers.

Article 32. Complaints, Reports and Resolution of Complaints, Reports on Invoices

Complaints, reports and resolution of complaints, reports on invoices shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the law on complaints and reports as stipulated in this Circular.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 33. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2011 and replaces Circulars No. 120/2002/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2002 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 89/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 7, 2002 on printing, issuing, using and managing invoices, Circular No. 99/2003/TT-BTC dated October 23, 2003 amending and supplementing Circular No. 120/2002/TT-BTC, and Circular No. 16/2010/TT-BTC dated February 1, 2010 amending and supplementing Circular No. 120/2002/TT-BTC. Any guidance on invoices in previous documents that contradicts this Circular shall be abolished. Other guiding documents on invoices that do not contradict this Circular remain valid.

2. Organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business shall conduct an inventory to determine invoices issued by the Ministry of Finance that have been purchased or invoices printed by enterprises according to Circular No. 120/2002/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance guiding Decree No. 89/2002/NĐ-CP which have not yet been used.

If there is no need to continue using them, they shall cancel the invoices and proceed to create new invoices and announce the issuance of new invoices in accordance with the guidance provided in this Circular.

If organizations, households, and individuals wish to continue using them, they shall register the continued use of invoices with the direct tax management agency (Form No. 3.12 Appendix 3 attached to this Circular) to be allowed to continue using them until March 31, 2011. The deadline for submitting the registration is January 20, 2011.

If by March 31, 2011, organizations, households, and individuals have not used up all their invoices, they shall cancel the invoices in accordance with the guidance provided in Article 27 of this Circular.

3. Tax authorities shall only sell invoices to micro-enterprises and enterprises located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions as guided in Clause 2, Article 5 and Clause 1, Article 11 of this Circular in 2011. From 2012 onwards, micro-enterprises and enterprises located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions must print invoices themselves for use in accordance with the guidance provided in this Circular.

4. Organizations, households, and individuals who require the use of invoices from January 1, 2011 may start printing self-made invoices and ordered invoices and announce the issuance of invoices from 2010 in accordance with the guidance provided in this Circular.

Article 34. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Tax authorities at all levels shall be responsible for disseminating and guiding organizations, households, and individuals engaged in business, non-business activities, and consumers of goods and services to comply with the contents of this Circular, inspect and handle violations by organizations, households, and individuals using invoices.

2. Organizations, households, and individuals involved in activities related to the printing, issuance, and use of invoices shall fully comply with the guidance provided in this Circular.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly reflect to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution./.