How will the act of destroying invoices be penalized?

Deliberate cancellation, destruction or elimination of invoices are extremely severe violations of business integrity and will incur imminent risks. Penalties for such acts are unavoidable pursuant to Article 27, Decree 125/2020/ND-CP of the Government:

1. Penalties in the form of cautions shall be imposed for the act of cancelling or destroying invoices from 1 to 5 days after expiry of the regulated time limit under mitigating circumstances.

2. Fines ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 4,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Cancelling invoices released but not issued, or invalidated invoices, in breach of regulations.

b) Failing to cancel invoices released but not issued yet, or invalidated invoices, or failing to cancel invoices purchased from tax authorities but expired;

c) Cancelling or destroying invoices from 1 to 10 working days after expiry of the regulated time limit, except the case prescribed in clause 1 of this Article.

3. Fines ranging from VND 4,000,000 to VND 8,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Cancelling or destroying invoices at least 11 working days after expiry of the regulated time limit;

b) Failing to cancel or destroy invoices in accordance with laws;

c) Failing to cancel e-invoices containing defects after being issued after expiry of the time limit for tax authorities’ issuing notification of these defects to sellers;

d) Failing to cancel externally ordered invoices not released yet but no longer used according to regulations;

dd) Cancelling or destroying invoices in breach of procedures or processes prescribed by laws;

e) Destroying invoices though these invoices are not classified as those subject to destruction under laws.

4. Remedies: Compelling the cancellation or destruction of invoices with respect to the acts specified in point b of clause 2, point b, c and d of clause 3 of this Article.

As an established company in the field of tax and legal consulting, Vinasc hopes to adequately inform our customers to help them mitigate the risk during operation in Vietnam. Should there be any further concern, please contact Vinasc’s Customer Care department for timely support.