Circular No. 61-TC/TCT guides the tax documentation regime for goods transported on roads.

CIRCULAR

NUMBER 61-TC/TCT OF DECEMBER 10, 1990 OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE GUIDING THE SYSTEM OF TAX DOCUMENTS FOR GOODS TRANSPORTED ON ROADS

During the implementation of new tax laws, some sectors and localities have reported difficulties in implementing transportation systems for goods. The Ministry of Finance provides additional guidance on the transportation of goods within the country as follows:

I - For business entities belonging to various economic components with fixed business locations purchasing raw materials for production and processing or buying goods for sale at their fixed business locations (hereinafter referred to as goods).

1. They must have a "purchase book" according to a unified model attached to this Circular, numbered, registered, and stamped by the direct tax management agency.

Business entities that purchase goods from multiple places at once may be granted multiple purchase books by the tax authority, each with its own serial number.

The tax authority registering the purchase book must maintain a record tracking the registration and submission of the purchase book for each entity to accurately collect taxes based on business activities.

After each purchase and transport of goods, the business entity must fully record the actual situation of purchased and transported goods in the purchase book. In general, business entities do not need to seek confirmation from the tax authority where the goods are transported, except when there are corrections made in the book, which must be confirmed by the tax authority where the goods are transported.

Goods recorded in the purchase book according to the above regulations do not require pre-payment of taxes during transportation but instead pay turnover tax and income tax at the fixed business location upon consumption of the goods.

Monthly, business entities must submit the purchase book to the tax authority that issued it for review against inventory records and confirm the entries in the purchase book.

If more than one month has passed since the purchase and transport of goods without the tax authority confirming the purchase book, the tax authority will collect taxes according to the regulations applicable to itinerant traders despite the existence of a purchase book.

The tax authority responsible for registering the purchase book should monitor, detect, and handle cases of business entities failing to submit the purchase book as required to evade taxes.

2. In addition to the purchase book, transported goods must be accompanied by the following documents:

a) For goods subject to special consumption tax, one of the following documents must be provided: receipt for payment of special consumption tax, or transport permit, or sales invoice registered with the tax authority.

b) For goods subject to turnover tax (including imported goods), a sales invoice issued by the selling entity according to a unified model by the Ministry of Finance (or a combined sales invoice and warehouse withdrawal form stamped by the tax authority where the goods were sold) must be provided.

II - For business entities transporting goods for sale or exchange with other entities

1. For goods subject to special consumption tax, one of the following documents must be provided: receipt for payment of special consumption tax, or transport permit for goods already taxed, or sales invoice registered with the tax authority.

2. For goods subject to turnover tax (including imported goods), a sales invoice issued by the entity itself for sale (according to a unified model by the Ministry of Finance or a combined sales invoice and warehouse withdrawal form of state-owned enterprises stamped by the tax authority where the goods were sold) must be provided. If the combined sales invoice and warehouse withdrawal form of state-owned enterprises has not been stamped by the tax authority where the goods were sold, a certificate from the tax authority confirming that the consignment has paid turnover tax must be provided.

III - For business entities transferring goods from one warehouse to another within the same unit

1. When registering tax procedures, business entities must declare all main and auxiliary business locations (including branches, temporary stores, auxiliary stores...) and warehouses, raw material warehouses...

2. When transporting goods subject to special consumption tax, a warehouse transfer document indicating unpaid special consumption tax must be obtained from the direct tax management agency. Temporarily, until December 31, 1990, for state-owned enterprises that have not completed capital and asset transfers and have not implemented the special consumption tax system, a notification letter to the tax authority managing the enterprise regarding the quantity, type of goods transferred, warehouse location, transfer time, and transportation means must be provided for the tax authority to confirm the warehouse transfer.

3. When transporting goods subject to turnover tax, a dispatch order for internal circulation and a valid warehouse withdrawal form must be provided (registered with the tax collection management agency).

IV - Tax Resolution

For the aforementioned cases of goods transportation that do not comply with the prescribed procedures, turnover tax and income tax must be paid according to the regulations for itinerant traders. Additionally, violations under Clause 1 (Points a and b) Article 19 of the Turnover Tax Law or Article 20 of the Special Consumption Tax Law will be penalized. These taxes and fines cannot be deducted from taxable income at fixed business locations.

The control of goods transportation must adhere to the principles and regulations mentioned above while avoiding unnecessary inconvenience and hindrance to the circulation of goods in cases where there are no signs of tax evasion.

This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance and replaces previous guidance from the Ministry of Finance on the procedures for tax documents for goods transported on roads.

For the time being, state-owned enterprises that have not yet registered invoices with the tax authority can temporarily use sales invoices of the entity until December 31, 1990.

During implementation, if there are difficulties or issues, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for further study and resolution.