In the process of implementing electronic invoices from cash registers, cafe Giang - a business household in Hanoi recently reported the incident: After the customer has paid, the software suddenly reports canceling the invoices due to not being able to connect to the tax authority system to issue them at the right time.
Responding to this case, Mr. Vu Le Huy - Deputy Head of the Digital Transformation Department (Tax Department) said that this was an error arising from sales software, not originating from the tax system. The system may have automatically canceled the invoice before connecting to the tax authority system.
After checking, it was true that the sales software and supplier had the error corrected immediately.
The tax industry recommends that electronic invoice solution providers need to establish a channel to support rapid response techniques, ready to handle incidents during the peak implementation period in June-July 2025.
So how should businesses handle similar errors?
According to Clause 6, Article 12, Circular 32/2025/TT-BTC, if an invoice has been issued according to the old regulations in Decree 51/2010/ND-CP or Decree 04/2014/ND-CP and errors have occurred - including errors due to software or technology - the seller and the buyer must prepare a written agreement stating the correct content, then issue a new electronic invoice to replace it.
The replacement electronic invoice must be a invoice with a new format - it can be an invoice with a tax authority code or an invoice without a code depending on the form of use.
On the replacement electronic invoice, it is mandatory to have the words: "Retlace the invoice for the Form... symbol... number... date... month... year...", clearly showing the link to the old invoice that has been canceled or has errors.
The preparation of a replacement bill must ensure full implementation of the following steps:
- Make an incorrect agreement between the seller and the buyer.
- Issuing a new electronic invoice, in the correct format, with full digital signature, content, and sending it to the buyer or tax authority for a code issuance.
- Clearly note the replacement content on the new invoice, in accordance with regulations.
In case a business household uses a invoice with a code, the new invoice will be sent to the tax authority for issuance of a authentication code. If using an invoice without a code, the replacement invoice will be sent directly to the buyer.
Note: Even though the incident originated from a software technical error, the business household is still responsible for handling it in accordance with legal regulations. Fully implementing the procedures according to Circular 32 not only helps avoid tax risks but also protects the legitimate rights of sellers and buyers in transactions.
Circular 32 also allows the continued use of old invoices during the transition period if the content and symbols are appropriate. However, all errors must be handled by electronic invoices instead according to the new standards.
