Tax officials at an event held in Hà Nội on Sunday to kickstart an electronic invoice system in Hà Nội, HCM City, Bình Định, Quảng Ninh, Hải Phòng and Phú Thọ. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The General Department of Taxation started to issue electronic invoices (or e-invoices) yesterday in Hà Nội, HCM City, Bình Định, Quảng Ninh, Hải Phòng and Phú Thọ.

Introduced in 2010, e-invoices have been well-received by the business community as they helped save time and expenses. They have also allowed the department to modernise its management system and to become more time-efficient. 

Since the country's tax authority rolled out a centralised tax management system in 2015, IT, digitalisation and automation have been at the core of the department's reform effort. 

According to the department, the deployment of electronic invoices in those six cities and provinces will play a decisive role in providing e-invoices nationwide. Enterprises in those localities account for 60 per cent of the total number of operating enterprises, and 70 per cent of invoices nationwide.

General Director of Taxation, Cao Anh Tuấn, said this system would solve questions and problems from individuals and enterprises regarding e-invoices.

This system would help the department organise and direct the application of e-invoices for those six taxation departments, before expanding to the taxation departments of 57 other provinces and cities. The department has set a target to roll out e-invoices in all cities and provinces across the country no later than the end of June 2022. 

The move to e-invoices has been said to play a key part in the financial sector's digitalisation effort while will help cut costs incurred by printing, storing and transporting traditional paper-based invoices. 

The department said this was a big step in building the country's digital tax database and improving accuracy, security and conformity in tax management nationwide. 

The central government has urged all local government offices to make it a top priority to implement the system by working closely with the finance ministry and the department to ensure a smooth transition to the e-invoices. 

By the end of October this year, nearly 850,000 businesses have signed up for electronic filings. The department has processed 16 million files in 2021 alone. 

Since 2014, over 837,000 or 99 per cent of all businesses across the country have used the department's electronic system to pay their taxes. The government's electronic tax return scheme, since its implementation in 2017, has made payments to over 8,000 firms among 8,200 eligible firms. — VNS