Official ‘red invoices’ no longer required

Most companies will no longer have to obtain their invoices from official agencies and can print them on their own, thanks to the Government’s efforts to usher in administrative reform.

Under Decree No 51/2010/ND-CP, which will take effect next year, companies can print the “red invoices” that serve as official proof of commercial transactions for tax and other purposes. The document also allows them to use electronic invoices.

Those that are not permitted to use either – sole proprietorships and non-commercial organisations – will have to continue to obtain the invoice from the authorities. But hereafter, they will have to get it from provincial tax departments rather than the Ministry of Finance.

This would provide greater freedom to companies to do business, analysts said.

Cao Anh Tuan, director of the General Taxation Office’s Policy Department, said the new policy would completely change enterprises’ invoice usage.

It will also save the Government some of the costs it incurs on printing these invoices while companies do not have to go through the rigmarole of obtaining them, he said.

More than 350,000 companies are expected to become eligible to print their own invoices by themselves.

A pilot programme in Dong Nai Province since 2006 has found that companies greatly benefit from printing their own invoices.

There are 235 businesses eligible to self-print the invoices and almost all of them maintain records properly and use the vouchers in accordance with the law.

Some of the companies explained that printing the invoices themselves freed up time and energy for them to focus on running the business.

In the invoices, they could incorporate information that makes management and accounting easier and added their logos and trademarks, thus getting free advertisement, they said.

No fraudulent practices

An unexpected benefit has been that these enterprises have not indulged in fraudulent practices like buying and selling blank invoices, erasing the invoices and illegally inscribing between the first and the second copies of the same invoice, according to a Dong Nai tax official.

Enterprises should immediately begin preparations for printing the invoices, a representative of the General Taxation Department said.

They should know what kinds of invoices they need to declare to the local taxation offices.

However, analysts warned there were difficulties they may face during the process.

Careful monitoring of the printing process were imperative to eliminate the possibility of fraud by printing presses, they said.

Taxation offices are set for a hard time since thousands of enterprises would register to print the invoices, they added. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam red invoices