Still have to make invoices when selling goods and providing services
Based on Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented in Decree 70/2025/ND-CP), the principle of invoice issuance is clearly defined:
When selling goods and providing services, sellers must prepare invoices to hand over to buyers, regardless of the type of business or household business, and regardless of the scale of revenue.
According to this regulation, business households with revenue of less than 500 million VND/year when selling goods and providing services still have to prepare invoices to deliver to customers, including in cases of: Promotions, advertising, sample goods; Giving, giving away, giving away; Paying for salary; Internal consumption (except for internally circulated goods serving production)
Not mandatory use of electronic invoices from cash registers
The difference lies in the form of invoices, not in the obligation to make invoices.
According to Article 11 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP), the obligation to use electronic invoices generated from money calculators connected to tax authorities only applies to:
Business households and individuals with revenue from 1 billion VND/year or more
Operating in the fields of retail, food, restaurants, hotels, passenger transport, entertainment, personal service services...
Thus, it can be affirmed: Households with revenue of less than 500 million VND/year are not required to use electronic invoices generated from cash computers. Paper invoices issued by the tax authority or other legal forms of invoices may be used according to the guidance of the tax authority.
Not mandatory input invoices, but "shortage is a major risk
According to Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, invoices are accounting documents recording transactions of buying and selling goods and providing services.
Input invoices are documents prepared by sellers when business households purchase goods and services to serve production and business activities. This is an important basis for: Proving the legal origin of goods; Financial management, determining costs; Explaining when tax authorities and market management inspect.
If invoices are not collected regularly, business households will face many risks: Risk of being considered trading in goods of unknown origin. When inspected without presenting legal invoices and documents, goods may be considered of unclear origin, directly affecting reputation and business operations.
In addition, business households are not allowed to record valid expenses, which easily leads to: Misdeclaration of revenue - expenses; tax arrears; administrative violations regarding taxes.
Regular sales without invoices may cause functional agencies to question the act of concealing revenue, causing long-term legal consequences.
According to Article 17 of Decree 98/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 96/2023/ND-CP and Decree 24/2025/ND-CP), goods without legal invoices or documents may be: Warned or fined. The maximum fine is up to 100 million VND, depending on the nature and severity of the violation.
For business households with revenue of less than 500 million VND/year, it is necessary to correctly understand that electronic invoices are not mandatory, but invoices must still be issued when selling goods. It is necessary to proactively take input invoices when buying goods and services, and store full documents to avoid risks during inspection.
