E-invoices: Some cases do not need to have digital signature

The Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP is about electronic invoices.

According to the draft Circular, when creating e-invoices, enterprises, organizations, business households and individuals can create additional information for business activities, including creating logos, decorative images or advertising. The additional information must be in accordance with the current law, not obscure, blurring the required contents on the invoice.

To ensure the simplification of e-invoice contents, in some cases, the invoice does not necessarily need to include all the required contents. Specifically, for some specific industries that provide goods and services to final consumers that are individuals and households providing medical services, retailing of pharmaceuticals, banks and daily-life electricity, clean water, telecommunications, insurance, transportation, supermarkets and petroleum, e-invoices do not necessarily have to include all the prescribed contents (name of invoice type, invoice number sign, invoice symbol, invoice number, seller name, address, tax code, buyer's name and address).

According to the draft circular, especially for e-invoices when selling petroleum products, supermarkets, e-invoice for transport, movie tickets, and parking, it is not necessary to have the name and address of the buyer as the final consumer.

For an e-invoice when keeping a means of transport, the vehicle’s number plate details, date, name of goods, service, money not subject to VAT, VAT rate, and total amount of VAT should be written.

The draft circular gives the following guidance regarding the seller’s digital signature: In case of providing air transport services through a website and the e-commerce system that is established in accordance with international practice, the information on an e-invoice does not have to include mandatory criteria such as address, tax code of buyer, electronic signature of seller and buyer, quantity, calculation unit, VAT rate, invoice symbol, sample symbol of invoice, order number.

For stamps, tickets and e-cards, there is no need to have a signature of the seller, name, address, tax code and signature of the buyer. Other cases should follow the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.