HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has proposed adjustments to draft amendments to Decree 123/2020/NĐ-CP on invoices and documents, urging the Ministry of Finance to relax several regulations on electronic invoices in order to make compliance easier for household and individual businesses.

Under the draft decree, household and individual businesses with annual revenue of at least VNĐ1 billion would be required to issue electronic invoices that are directly connected to tax authorities. The invoices must also include the buyer’s tax identification number or personal identification number.

However, VCCI said the requirement could pose challenges for many small businesses, particularly in retail, food services and accommodation, where transactions are frequent, quick and typically of low value.

According to feedback from businesses, collecting full identification details from customers for every transaction would increase labour and administrative costs related to issuing invoices. It could also discourage consumers, who may be reluctant to provide personal information for small purchases.

VCCI also noted that similar business models such as supermarkets, shopping centres and petrol stations are not subject to the same requirement.

To address the issue, the organisation proposed allowing household businesses to issue e-invoices without requiring the buyer’s tax code or personal identification number when the buyer is an individual who is not conducting business activities.

The chamber further pointed out that distinguishing between individual buyers who are engaged in business and those who are not can be difficult in practice. Customers rarely provide business registration details or tax identification numbers during transactions. Moreover, individuals engaged in business activities may also make purchases for personal purposes, complicating classification and potentially leading to missing invoices.

VCCI therefore suggested that individuals should be treated as non-business buyers if they do not request an invoice.

The organisation also highlighted difficulties faced by companies operating ride-hailing and technology-based transport platforms when issuing invoices to corporate clients that use services under post-payment contracts.

Businesses reported that such clients typically require a consolidated value-added tax (VAT) invoice at the end of a billing period, based on a transaction statement used for reconciliation. However, current regulations do not classify technology-based passenger transport services among sectors allowed to issue periodic invoices.

As a result, companies must generate separate invoices for each trip, significantly increasing administrative costs and placing pressure on both corporate technology systems and the tax authority’s data-processing infrastructure.

VCCI proposed adding passenger transport services using software-based ride-hailing platforms to the list of sectors permitted to issue periodic invoices for corporate and organisational clients.

According to VCCI, adjusting the regulations to better reflect real-world business practices would help reduce compliance costs for enterprises and household businesses while still ensuring effective tax management and transparency in commercial transactions. — VNS