Proposed Fine of VND 100 Million for Failure to Issue Invoices or Issuing Invoices Late to be: Proposed Penalty of VND 100 Million for Invoicing Irregularities: Late or Missing Invoices

The Ministry of Finance is seeking feedback on a draft decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 125, dated October 19, 2020, on administrative sanctions for tax and invoice violations.

According to the draft, the maximum fine for failing to issue invoices for goods and services as stipulated can be up to VND 100 million. The penalty is based on the number of invoices in violation.

The lowest fine ranges from VND 1-2 million for failing to issue invoices (from 1-10 invoice numbers) for goods and services used for promotion, advertising, sampling, giving away, gifting, or paying wages in kind. The fine increases with the number of invoices in violation, with a fine of VND 30-60 million for 100 or more invoices.

The act of failing to issue invoices when selling goods or providing services will be subject to a fine of VND 2-10 million for violations of 1-10 invoice numbers. For 50 or more invoice numbers, the fine will range from VND 60-100 million.

The Ministry of Finance also proposes increasing the penalty for issuing invoices with incorrect dates. Currently, the penalty for this violation ranges from VND 500,000 to VND 1.5 million. However, the new draft proposes raising the maximum penalty to VND 100 million, depending on the number of invoices in violation and the nature of the act. Violations of fewer than 10 invoice numbers are subject to a fine of VND 500,000 to VND 1.5 million. Violations of 100 or more invoices are subject to a fine of VND 60-100 million.

Meanwhile, the amended draft does not impose administrative sanctions for tax violations on taxpayers who proactively supplement their dossiers and voluntarily pay their taxes before being detected by competent authorities.

The drafting agency explains that due to changes in the structure of the state apparatus, many tax inspection and audit functions have been transferred to agencies outside the tax sector. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement the regulations to align with the practical situation and encourage taxpayers to proactively declare and pay taxes as stipulated before being detected.

Regarding the tax authority’s authority to impose administrative sanctions for tax and invoice violations, the Ministry of Finance proposes expanding the authority of tax officials.

According to current regulations, tax officials in the performance of their duties only have the authority to issue warnings. However, the new draft proposes to allow tax officials to impose fines of up to VND 1 million for failures to notify changes in tax registration information within 1-30 days (without changing the tax registration certificate or tax code).

According to the drafting agency, the previous position of Team Leader of the Tax Team had the authority to impose sanctions, but after the reorganization of the apparatus, this position was replaced by the position of Head of the Tax Group, which is not an appointed position and therefore does not inherit the authority under the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

Therefore, to ensure uninterrupted management, the draft supplementarily stipulates that tax officials in general (including the Head of the Tax Group) are allowed to impose fines in necessary cases, based on Article 44, Clause 1 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.