Publication of the nationwide electronic invoice system

DNHN - On April 21, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a ceremony at the General Department of Taxation to introduce the countrywide electronic invoicing system.

Implementing e-invoices results in significant advantages that cannot be quantified for both management agencies and businesses.

Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha attended the announcement ceremony, as did representatives of numerous ministries and branches; leaders of the General Department of Taxation and functional departments within the Ministry of Finance; and representatives of enterprises (enterprises), organizations that use and provide services for transmitting and receiving electronic invoice data (e-invoices). The nationwide e-invoice system was launched with an online ceremony at 477 bridge locations (at the General Department of Taxation, 63 provinces and cities and 413 bridge points of tax offices).

At the crossroads of 63 provinces and cities, leaders and representatives of provincial and municipal tax agencies were in attendance. 

Implementing e-invoices demonstrates a commitment to actively accompanying businesses on their digital transformation path, assisting the finance sector and government in achieving national digital transformation objectives, and enhancing the business climate.

By the Tax Administration Law and Vietnam's National Digital Transformation Program to 2030, the Ministry of Finance successfully implemented the first phase of e-Invoice in six provinces and cities, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, and Binh Dinh, while also completing preparations to deploy e-invoice nationwide by July 1, 2022.

To expeditiously implement the e-invoice system, the Ministry of Finance has worked closely with provincial and city People's Committees to develop plans and implementation plans; establish a Steering Committee for the application of e-invoices in the locality; organize training, communication, and timely dissemination of the benefits of e-invoice implementation, as well as new contents for people and businesses.

Simultaneously, the Ministry of Finance has authorized the General Department of Taxation to provide the required infrastructure for the implementation of electronic invoicing in 63 provinces and towns.

Immediately after the announcement, the General Department of Taxation urged the six tax departments to focus their efforts on assisting firms in resolving issues using a variety of techniques, including a hotline, an electronic help channel, and a chatbot.

Additionally, the General Department of Taxation coordinates the administration and operation of the electronic invoicing system 24 hours a day, ensuring that the system functions reliably and smoothly without interfering with firms' commercial operations.

The General Department of Taxation, by the Ministry of Finance's implementation plan, has issued Decision No. 1417/QD-TCT declaring the plan to deploy invoices in six provinces and cities and arranging the execution of several contents.

Significant announcements include the following: Establishment of a Steering Committee and Standing Teams to be deployed at the General Department of Taxation and in six provinces and cities, with involvement from the People's Committee, local departments, and agencies.

Submit to the Ministry of Finance for publication Circular No. 78/2021/TT-BTC directing the application of many provisions of the Tax Administration Law and the Government's Decree No. 123/2020/ND-CP on invoices and certificates.

Promulgate the E-Invoice Management Process and Regulations governing the composition of e-invoice professional data and methods of transmission to tax authorities as a guide for synchronous and unified solution implementation.

Tax authorities at all levels have promoted and disseminated rules, laws, and advantages associated with the use of electronic invoicing; tax officers and taxpayers have received training on management policies and processes (NNT).

Connecting with 25 organizations that receive, transmit, and store electronic invoice data and publicly displaying information about 25 transmitting companies and 83 businesses that provide electronic invoice solutions on the General Department of Taxation's e-invoice site.

Establishment of a Center to manage and assist the implementation of electronic invoicing at the General Department and six tax departments, receiving, guiding, and swiftly responding to implementation-related inquiries.

By March 31, 2022, all organizations and enterprises in six provinces and cities will be utilizing e-invoices. For businesses who need to link and submit e-invoice data to tax authorities: The General Department of Taxation has been working to interact with Internet-based businesses (The Vietnam Oil Corporation, Petrolimex GAS Corporation, Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Petrolimex Insurance Corporation, etc.)

Over 58 million invoices were received and processed by tax authorities, 44 million of which had codes. Over 5.5 million invoices without codes give complete data to tax authorities. According to the summary table, the tax office received 8.6 million uncoded invoices.

The success of phase 1 e-invoice implementation is critical to the success of phase 2 e-invoice deployment countrywide, assuring synchrony, uniformity, and broad coverage.

The General Department of Taxation has published Decision No. 273/QD-TCT on the proposal to adopt phase 2 e-invoice in 57 provinces and centrally-run cities.

Thus, the General Department of Taxation has added a member to the Standing Team representing the leadership and in charge of 8 Tax Departments (Son La, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Da Nang, Dak La, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, Can).

The General Department of Taxation conducted a meeting to discuss the strategy, roadmap, and how to coordinate implementation in 57 provinces and cities with the e-invoice service provider.

It also meets the regulations on authorization to issue invoices and supplement reports summarizing implementation progress, data consolidation reports, and completing utilities to make it more convenient for taxpayers and tax officers to use the software.

For the second phase of e-invoices in 57 provinces and cities starting April 2022, the General Department of Taxation has reviewed and upgraded the technical infrastructure capacity to meet data reception requirements when corporations and corporations deploy e-invoices in 63 provinces and cities simultaneously.

In terms of tax departments, they have completed preparations such as advising province and city People's Committees on establishing a Steering Committee, establishing a permanent team to deploy e-invoices in the locality, and setting up an operation and support centre at the tax department and announcing a hotline to sue.

The Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Taxation have also recommended and suggested to the People's Committees of provinces and cities a strategy to arrange the implementation of detailed e-invoices. Organise mass media promotion, distribution and counselling on e-invoices, so that organizations and people understand and agree on the process of adopting e-invoices.

 Minh Anh