I. INVOICES
1. Delivery of goods that do not comply with specifications or quality will be issued invoice to adjust the selling price
Official letter No. 8119/CTHN-TTHT dated February 16, 2024 of the City Tax Department. Hanoi on handling issued invoices
– Pursuant to Decree 123/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government regulating invoices and documents:
+ Clause 2, Article 19 regulates handling of invoices with errors:
“Article 19. Processing of invoices with errors
…
2. In case an electronic invoice with a tax authority’s code or an electronic invoice without a tax authority’s code has been sent to the buyer and the buyer or seller discovers errors, it will be handled as follows:
a) In case there are errors in the buyer’s name and address but the tax code is not incorrect and other contents are not incorrect, the seller shall notify the buyer of the error in the invoice and does not have to re-issue the invoice. single. The seller must notify the tax authority about the electronic invoice with errors according to Form No. 04/SS-HDĐT Appendix IA issued with this Decree, except in cases where the electronic invoice does not have the authority’s code. Tax has the above errors and has not sent invoice data to the tax authority.
b) In case of error: tax code; If there is an error in the amount recorded on the invoice, an error in the tax rate or tax amount, or if the goods listed on the invoice are not of the correct specifications or quality, you can choose one of two ways to use electronic invoices as follows:
b1) The seller issues an electronic invoice to adjust the invoice that was created with errors. In case the seller and buyer have agreed to draw up a written agreement before making an invoice to correct an invoice that has errors, the seller and buyer shall make a written agreement clearly stating the errors, then The seller issues an electronic invoice to adjust the invoice that has been created with errors
b2) The seller issues a new electronic invoice to replace the erroneous electronic invoice, unless the seller and buyer have agreed to draw up a written agreement before issuing an invoice to replace the already issued invoice. If there are errors, the seller and buyer make a written agreement clearly stating the errors, then the seller issues an electronic invoice to replace the invoice that had the errors.
2. Guidance from the General Department of Taxation on avoiding illegal use of invoices and illegal use of invoices
This document summarizes acts considered to be illegal use of invoices and illegal use of invoices to help taxpayers avoid violations and penalties.
Accordingly, illegal use of invoices and documents means the use of the following invoices and documents:
– Fake invoices and documents;
– Invoices and documents that are not yet valid or no longer valid;
– Invoices are stopped being used during the time of invoice enforcement, except in cases where use is permitted according to notices from tax authorities;
– Electronic invoices are not registered for use with tax authorities;
– Electronic invoices do not have the tax authority’s code in case of using electronic invoices with the tax authority’s code;
– Goods and service purchase invoices have a date on the invoice from the date the tax authority determines that the seller is not operating at the business address registered with the competent authority;
– Invoices and documents of purchase of goods or services with a date of issuance on the invoice or document before the date of determining the invoice issuer, documents that do not operate at the registered business address or have not been notified by the agency. tax authorities about the fact that the party issuing invoices or documents does not operate at the registered business address but the tax authority or police agency or other competent authority has concluded that the invoices or documents are not valid. France.
Illegal use of invoices and documents is the use of:
– Invoices and documents do not contain all required information according to regulations; Invoices erased or corrected incorrectly;
– Fake invoices and documents (invoices and documents containing indicators and contents of economic operations but the purchase and sale of goods and services are partially or completely not real); Invoices do not accurately reflect the actual value incurred or make false or fake invoices;
– Invoices with differences in the value of goods or services or deviations in mandatory criteria between copies of the invoice;
– Invoices for rotation when transporting goods during circulation or using invoices for one good or service to prove other goods or services;
– Invoices and documents of other organizations and individuals (except invoices from tax authorities and cases authorized to issue invoices) to legalize purchased goods and services or sold goods and services. ;
– Invoices and documents that the tax agency, police agency or other authorities have concluded are illegal uses of invoices and documents.
Penalties for illegal use of invoices and documents and illegal use of invoices and documents have been clearly stipulated in Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP. Source: LuatVietnam.NET
II. TAX POLICY
1. Identify foreign traders with no presence in Vietnam
Official letter No. 399/XNK-THCS dated July 22, 2024 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on determining foreign traders not present in Vietnam (2 pages)
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the definition of “foreign traders without presence in Vietnam” specified in Article 3 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management and Article 3 of Decree No. 90/2007/ND-CP is only related to regulations. determination of export rights and import rights, that is, only applicable to cases where it is necessary to determine the export or import rights of foreign traders; Does not apply for other purposes, including the case of determining on-site import and export goods specified in Clause 1, Article 35 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP.
Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP is the Decree guiding the Customs Law. Therefore, for problems arising related to the identification of foreign organizations and individuals not present in Vietnam according to the provisions of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP mentioned above, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has requested Request the General Department of Customs (the agency in charge of drafting Decree 08/2015/ND-CP) based on functions, tasks and management requirements, to research and clarify the connotation of the concept of “organizations and individuals”. Foreign countries do not have a presence in Vietnam” according to customs law to guide businesses on implementation. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has no comments on this problem. Source: LuatVietnam.NET
2. Notes when determining refundable input VAT for export activities
Official letter No. 1506/TCT-CS dated April 18, 2019 of the General Department of Taxation on VAT
The General Department of Taxation notes that since July 1, 2016, according to Decree 100/2016/ND-CP, in the case of an enterprise having both exported goods and services and exported goods and services in the month/quarter, sold domestically, the enterprise must separately account the input VAT used for producing and trading exported goods and services (including fixed assets).
In case the enterprise cannot account separately, the input VAT amount of exported goods and services is determined according to the ratio between the revenue of exported goods and services to the total revenue of goods and services of the enterprise. VAT declaration periods are calculated from the tax declaration period following the previous tax refund period to the current tax refund request period.
The input VAT amount of exported goods and services (including the input VAT amount that can be accounted for separately and the input VAT amount allocated according to the ratio of revenue) if after offsetting with the VAT amount must be The remaining tax payment of domestically sold goods and services of VND 300 million or more will be considered for refund and the maximum refundable tax amount shall not exceed 10% of the revenue of exported goods and services. Source: LuatVietnam.NET
III. LOAN
1. Lending interest rates of more than 20%/year can be considered usury
I lent money to relatives, with a handwritten commitment to repay on time. The borrower promises to pay 5% interest each month. Up to now, they have been late for a long time and I have never received the interest they promised. I would like to ask, am I guilty of loan sharking?
Lawyer Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, Ho Chi Minh City Lawyers’ Union:
According to Vietnamese law, usury is the act of lending at an interest rate exceeding the legal limit. Specifically, Article 468 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates loan interest rates as follows:
Interest rate agreed by the parties: If there is no agreement or unclear agreement, the interest rate will be determined according to the basic interest rate announced by the State Bank of Vietnam.
Interest rate must not exceed 20%/year: For unsecured loans, the interest rate must not exceed 20%/year of the loan amount, unless otherwise prescribed by law.
In this case, if an interest rate of 5%/month is agreed, equivalent to 60%/year, this is an interest rate that exceeds the limit of 20%/year allowed by law. Therefore, this interest rate agreement can be considered high interest lending.
However, determining whether this act will be criminally prosecuted or not depends on other factors such as: the amount of illegal profits, whether there is an element of fraud or not, and the specific circumstances. of the incident. If no profit has been received, proving the element of “illegal gain” also needs to be carefully considered. Source: https://plo.vn
IV. LABOR – EMPLOYMENT
1. Enterprises do not organize periodic health checks for employees (fine from 2 – 6 million per employee, maximum not exceeding 150 million)
According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP
2. Fine from 1,000,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND for violation for each employee but not exceeding 75,000,000 VND for employers who fail to organize periodic health examinations or examination and detection of occupational diseases for workers.
Apply the fine level for organizations as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP, the fine level for organizations is equal to twice the fine level for individuals.
V. SOCIAL INSURANCE
1. What is the act of evading social insurance payments according to the new regulations?
Legal Consulting Office of Lao Dong Newspaper:
Article 39 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025) regulates evasion of paying compulsory social insurance (social insurance) and unemployment insurance as follows:
1. Evasion of paying compulsory social insurance and unemployment insurance is an act of an employer in one of the following cases to not pay or not fully pay social insurance or unemployment insurance for employees:
a) After 60 days from the expiration date specified in Clause 1, Article 28 of this Law, the employer fails to register or registers an insufficient number of people required to participate in compulsory social insurance;
b) After 60 days from the date of expiry of the period to participate in unemployment insurance according to the provisions of law on unemployment insurance, the employer does not register or registers an insufficient number of people who must participate in insurance. unemployment insurance;
c) Register a salary as a basis for compulsory social insurance payment that is lower than specified in Clause 1, Article 31 of this Law;
d) Registering a salary as a basis for unemployment insurance payment that is lower than the provisions of the law on unemployment insurance;
d) Failure to pay or incomplete payment of the amount registered for compulsory social insurance after 60 days from the date of payment of compulsory social insurance at the latest as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 34 of this Law and has been urged by the competent authority according to prescribed in Article 35 of this Law;
e) Failure to pay or not fully paying the amount registered for unemployment insurance after 60 days from the date of payment of unemployment insurance at the latest according to the law on unemployment insurance and approved by the competent authority. urge according to the provisions of Article 35 of this Law;
g) Other cases are considered evasion of paying compulsory social insurance and unemployment insurance according to Government regulations.
The Government regulates this Article in detail; stipulates that cases falling under Clause 1 of this Article but having a legitimate reason are not considered evasion of paying compulsory social insurance or unemployment insurance.
Thus, from July 1, 2025, the act of evading social insurance payments is regulated as above. Source: https://laodong.vn
