Accelerating in the race toward Industry 4.0, Vietnam is continuously renovating its policies in order to apply the scientific and technological advances to the administrative management process in many different fields.

Continue to implement the modernization, from 1 July 2022, paper invoices will be officially terminated, and enterprises and business individuals will be required to use electronic invoices when trading goods and services. Therefore, enterprises shall be aware of several notable point of these new regulations as follows:

Temporary exemptions from compulsory use of e-invoices

According to Circular No. 78/2021/TT-BTC, entities who does not conduct transactions with the tax authority by electronic means, does not have information technology infrastructure, does not have an accounting software system, does not have e-invoicing software may use the regular invoice form issued by tax authorities. These entities including:

1. Small-sized and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, business individual and business households conducting business in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions, areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions (the list of such areas in Vietnam is provided in Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP).
2. Other small-sized and medium-sized enterprises as the Provincial People’s Committee suggest to the Ministry of Finance. 

However, these entities shall only be exempted from using e-invoice in 12 months. If not falling into the above exempted cases, investors will be required to use the e-invoices from 1 July 2022.

Entities who are eligible to use e-invoices for free of charge

According to Decree 119/2018/ND-CP, free e-invoice shall be applied to:

1. Entities who are temporarily exempted from compulsory use of e-invoices as mentioned above.
2. Small-sized and medium-sized enterprises starting up creative businesses according to the law, and business households and individuals that transformed into enterprises (except for enterprises specified in point (i) above) within 12 months from the date of establishment.
3. Business households, business individuals.
4. Other circumstances according to the consideration of the Ministry of Finance (a list of these circumstances shall be issued soon).

Accordingly, the General Department of Taxation shall provide or entrusts e-invoice service providers to provide e-invoices free of charge to the above-mentioned entities.

In conclusion, enterprises need to grasp this content so as not to miss the benefit of using free e-invoices, if applicable.