On April 12th, Mr. Ho Duc Phoc, Minister of Finance, signed dispatch No. 01/CD-BTC addressed to the General Department of Taxation and the Tax Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities, requesting them to strengthen the management and supervision of the issuance and use of electronic invoices (e-invoices).
Some businesses still issue fictitious invoices and engage in the buying and selling of invoices for personal gain.
In Official Dispatch No. 01/CD-BTC, the Minister of Finance reiterated that, from July 1, 2022, the General Department of Taxation has implemented an electronic invoice system to serve taxpayers nationwide. Accordingly, businesses, organizations, and individuals have completely switched from using traditional paper invoices to electronic invoices. This change in invoice format to electronic invoices will contribute to improving the efficiency of tax management, saving costs on issuing and storing invoices; and creating convenience in the process of comparing, reviewing, and checking tax declarations and refunds, etc.
However, during the implementation process, the Ministry of Finance discovered that some businesses, organizations, and individuals have deliberately taken advantage of the issuance and use of electronic invoices to issue fictitious invoices and buy and sell invoices for personal gain, violating tax laws.
In light of the above situation, Mr. Ho Duc Phoc requested the General Department of Taxation to direct the tax departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities to continue strengthening the management and supervision of the issuance of electronic invoices. Strengthening communication efforts and raising awareness among businesses in particular, and taxpayers in general, regarding their obligations to comply with tax laws.
Strengthen inspection, examination, and supervision of the issuance and use of electronic invoices.
According to the directive, the General Department of Taxation will focus on strengthening inspection, examination, and supervision of the issuance and use of electronic invoices, promptly detecting violations of the law, and strictly handling them according to regulations.
In addition, strengthen the review, evaluation, and proposal for upgrading the information technology system for electronic invoices; promptly complete the process of obtaining the Ministry of Information and Communications' appraisal opinion and submit the proposal for the security level of the electronic invoice information system to the competent authority for approval; and simultaneously prepare solutions to ensure cybersecurity for the electronic invoice system. Conduct thorough and regular monitoring to detect and promptly handle any unusual activities on the electronic invoice system. Allocate personnel to perform analysis, evaluation, and timely detection and warning of fraudulent and falsified invoice activities.
Finally, the General Department of Taxation needs to strengthen coordination with the police, relevant ministries, and agencies to promptly and strictly handle violations of the law in the issuance and use of electronic invoices. The Minister of Finance requested the urgent and strict implementation of measures to address the issue of businesses issuing fictitious invoices and buying and selling invoices, ensuring that no invoice fraud occurs for personal gain.
