What do businesses do when individuals sell goods without invoices?

Businesses buying and selling invoices to legalize the purchase and sale of goods are illegal.

Regarding the above issue, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Director of the Department of Tax Management for Small and Medium Enterprises, Business Households, and Individuals (General Department of Taxation), said that in case a business purchases goods but the seller does not have an invoice, the buyer must make a list of the quantity, value of the goods, and basic information of the seller including address, citizen identification number, and phone number, which are all considered legal.

The tax authority will use that information as a basis for calculating reasonable and valid costs when determining corporate income tax and will be refunded if the enterprise purchases goods for export. In case the enterprise buys and sells invoices to legalize the purchase and sale of goods, it is illegal.

However, in reality, many businesses do not fully understand the regulations on how to use invoices illegally.

According to the leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, the General Department of Taxation recently requested tax departments of provinces and cities to review and handle illegal invoices, such as: invoices that do not exist or have expired and have been discontinued; invoices for purchasing goods with the date of issuance from the date the tax authority determines that the seller is not operating at the registered business address.

In addition, invoices that do not fully reflect the required content, are erased or modified in violation of regulations; invoices that record economic indicators and contents but the purchase and sale of goods are partially or completely unreal; invoices that do not accurately reflect the actual value incurred, have differences in the value of goods, use invoices of other organizations to legalize purchased or sold goods, etc. are all illegal.

"The tax sector's viewpoint is to strictly handle violations, proactively coordinate with investigation agencies or transfer files for handling according to regulations for those who use illegal invoices to promptly prevent and take preventive measures to avoid consequences and damage to the state budget" - a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department emphasized.

According to the law, the buying and selling of invoices and the use of illegal invoices, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, may be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution.

The common administrative penalty ranges from 15 million VND to 50 million VND or 20% of the under-declared tax amount if the buyer proves that the violation is the seller's fault.

In particular, the act of using illegal invoices to account for goods and input materials, reducing the amount of tax payable or increasing the amount of exempted tax, reduced tax, deductible tax, or refunded tax to the extent that criminal liability is prosecuted, will be prosecuted for tax evasion.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/doanh-nghiep-mua-hang-khong-hoa-don-co-bi-pham-luat-196240912104818429.htm