Vietnam's General Department of Taxation's Information and Technology Department Deputy Director Pham Quang Toan spoke with the Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi) newspaper about e-invoicing nationwide.
What are the advantages of e-invoices, compared to traditional paper invoices?
Survey results in many countries showed many advantages in using e-invoice. First, enterprises save time, printing, transport, preservation, storing expenses, as well as minimise risks of lost invoices during commercial transactions by using e-invoices. It also helps enterprises in registering and issuing invoices.
All of the invoice's information would be updated in management systems that helped simplify procedures and reduce mistakes and time in tax declarations.
In commercial transactions, it is difficult to re-edit the contents of e-invoices due to historical data being saved and secured in computer systems of businesses and tax administrations.
Having a nationwide trading network, better sellers or providers would manage income hourly, through controlling their invoice issues, which effectively improved their management and operation.
For tax management units, e-invoice implementation helps the tax sector by improving the management of taxpayer's invoices. It would effectively support the tax sector in checking invoices for timeliness and handle the use of illegal invoices.
When e-invoices are used nationwide, the risk of fake invoices would be minimised due to all invoice information and categories being available in the data base system of the tax sector.
There was the fact that enterprises need invoices while they transported and distributed their products. What are the difficulties for enterprise in such cases?
The e-invoice has legal value, like paper invoices that were permitted and regulated by the Ministry of Finance. On e-invoices, there are sufficient information about enterprises, date of issue, digital signatures and the tax sector's bar codes for verification and security.
E-invoice applications would permit enterprises to print e-invoices, accessing customers' signatures as with normal invoices. So that, enterprises should only submit their bar code or bring the printed e-invoices for use in product transportation.
Authorities could use computers or smart phones for checking or verifying information about enterprises through their bar codes. Thus, enterprises could absolutely feel secure in using e-invoices.
The pilot e-invoice model would be expanded throughout the country in the coming time. Could you share some details of the model's expansion?
E-invoice would be divided into two categories: For units with huge numbers of invoice issues, like the Electricity of Vietnam, water companies, telecommunication and aviation, e-invoices would be issued without verification from the tax sector.
Small and medium-sized enterprises that directly exchange invoices together may require the tax sector's verification in some suspect cases.
About the implementation route, e-invoices would be initially implemented in 200 enterprises, before asking the Ministry of Finance to expand throughout the country. The tax sector expects to expand e-invoices to 50 percent of all enterprises after 3-5 years, and to all of the country's enterprises in the following 3-5 years.-VNA
What are the advantages of e-invoices, compared to traditional paper invoices?
Survey results in many countries showed many advantages in using e-invoice. First, enterprises save time, printing, transport, preservation, storing expenses, as well as minimise risks of lost invoices during commercial transactions by using e-invoices. It also helps enterprises in registering and issuing invoices.
All of the invoice's information would be updated in management systems that helped simplify procedures and reduce mistakes and time in tax declarations.
In commercial transactions, it is difficult to re-edit the contents of e-invoices due to historical data being saved and secured in computer systems of businesses and tax administrations.
Having a nationwide trading network, better sellers or providers would manage income hourly, through controlling their invoice issues, which effectively improved their management and operation.
For tax management units, e-invoice implementation helps the tax sector by improving the management of taxpayer's invoices. It would effectively support the tax sector in checking invoices for timeliness and handle the use of illegal invoices.
When e-invoices are used nationwide, the risk of fake invoices would be minimised due to all invoice information and categories being available in the data base system of the tax sector.
There was the fact that enterprises need invoices while they transported and distributed their products. What are the difficulties for enterprise in such cases?
The e-invoice has legal value, like paper invoices that were permitted and regulated by the Ministry of Finance. On e-invoices, there are sufficient information about enterprises, date of issue, digital signatures and the tax sector's bar codes for verification and security.
E-invoice applications would permit enterprises to print e-invoices, accessing customers' signatures as with normal invoices. So that, enterprises should only submit their bar code or bring the printed e-invoices for use in product transportation.
Authorities could use computers or smart phones for checking or verifying information about enterprises through their bar codes. Thus, enterprises could absolutely feel secure in using e-invoices.
The pilot e-invoice model would be expanded throughout the country in the coming time. Could you share some details of the model's expansion?
E-invoice would be divided into two categories: For units with huge numbers of invoice issues, like the Electricity of Vietnam, water companies, telecommunication and aviation, e-invoices would be issued without verification from the tax sector.
Small and medium-sized enterprises that directly exchange invoices together may require the tax sector's verification in some suspect cases.
About the implementation route, e-invoices would be initially implemented in 200 enterprises, before asking the Ministry of Finance to expand throughout the country. The tax sector expects to expand e-invoices to 50 percent of all enterprises after 3-5 years, and to all of the country's enterprises in the following 3-5 years.-VNA
