Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated October 19th, 2020 from the Government on regulating administrative penalties for tax or invoice-related violations

This Decree sets out regulations on administrative penalties for tax or invoice-related violations, except for administrative violations in connection with fees and charges; administrative violations in connection with taxes on exported or imported goods ones collection is managed by customs authorities and violations against regulations on tax registration procedures, notification of temporary business suspension or premature business continuation conducted with business registration.

In comparison to the actual regulations, the most fine levels imposed on administrative penalties for tax or invoice-related violations usually are not changed. Especially, from the tax field, they may be VND 200 million (for organizations) and VND 100 million (for those); in the invoice field, they are VND 100 million (for organizations) and VND 50 million (for people).

However, this Decree adds result-oriented acts thought to be “using illegal invoices” such as: utilization of e-invoices that are not registered with any tax authority; usage of e-invoices of which tax authority’s codes haven’t been granted as outlined by regulations; utilization of invoices with all the invoicing date as soon as the date where a tax authority determines that this seller isn’t conducting business on the address registered with a competent regulatory authority, etc.

These acts are viewed being “illegally using invoices”: usage of invoices that don’t contain all compulsory contents as prescribed; utilization of invoices with discrepancies in amounts paid for goods or services rendered, or discrepancies in required data fields between an invoice’s copies.

Any administrative violation using the underpaid amount of taxes, the evaded tax amount, the higher-than-prescribed quantity of tax exemption, reduction or refund which can be no less than VND 100 million, or price of services or goods rendered which is no less than VND 500 million, shall be determined like a large-scale tax-related administrative violation.

Pertaining to invoice-related violation, any administrative violation involving at the very least 10 invoice numbers shall be determined as being a large-scale invoice-related administrative violation.

This Decree shall take effect from December 5th, 2020.

For more details about sanctioning administrative violations on invoices visit this webpage: web link