An e-invoice issued by a company in Quảng Ninh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vân
As e-invoices generated from cash registers (ECR) make tax collection more efficient and manageable, tax authorities are working to make e-invoicing a common practice among vendors.
Nguyễn Thị Lan Anh, Director of the Tax Administration Department on Small and Medium Enterprises and Business Households, Individuals, said ECR would serve the taxman well by creating a fairer and more transparent tax environment for taxpayers.
One convenience is that ECR can be generated at any time thanks to the round-the-clock connection between cash registers and tax databases. The freedom from time constraints gives vendors more elbow room to correct errors that might arise in their invoices.
Between late 2022 and July 17, 2023, more than 27,400 companies and individuals were registering as ECR issuers, with around 13.9 million e-invoices being issued. At the end of Q2/2023, 54 cities and provinces met their targets on ECR coverage whereas nine failed to hit the mark.
Lê Xuân Trường, Head of the Faculty of Taxation and Customs, Academy of Finance, said ECR would improve the transparency in transactions and allow buyers to hold vendors accountable for the quality of goods and services that they provide.
Thái Minh Giao, Deputy Director of the Tax Department of HCM City, said his department had set a target of 6,674 taxpayers registering as ECR issuers in 2023. By July 17, around 3,500 had got in on the act.
The deputy director underlined several obstacles for the department to achieve its target. The first obstacle involves the absence of a regulation that makes ECR mandatory for vendors.
The second obstacle centres around transition costs. Many vendors were unwilling to take the plunge because ECR entails costs associated with software installation and upgrades.
Director Anh said her department would take some measures to bring ECR to popularity in the short term.
One measure involves a change from presumptive taxation to income-based taxation for businesses that serve consumers directly, especially those in the restaurant industry. This change would work because income-based taxation is a conducive environment for ECR.
For businesses that do not serve consumers directly, the department would examine their tax status and take action on a case-by-case basis.
The department would use communication tools to keep taxpayers well aware of ECR. "The lucky invoice" programmes could also be launched to promote the use of ECR in daily transactions. —VNS