Business households with revenue of less than 500 million VND often mistakenly believe that not requiring input invoices means being "relaxed" in management. However, the 2025 Tax Administration Law and new regulations on data control have posed serious legal risks, including high administrative penalties and a tax recovery period lasting up to 10 years.
Not mandatory" input invoices: Understand correctly to avoid risks
According to Decree 123/2020/ND-CP and guiding documents for implementation, business households with revenue of less than 500 million VND/year are not required to have input invoices and are not required to use electronic invoices generated from cash computers.
However, this regulation does not mean exemption from the responsibility to prove the origin of goods. When functional agencies conduct inspections, if the household owner cannot present legal documents:
Goods considered of unknown origin: Leading to the risk of confiscation of exhibits.
Heavy administrative penalties: According to Article 17 of Decree 98 (amended by Decree 24/2025), the fine level can be up to 100 million VND for the act of trading in goods of unknown origin.
Impact on tax declaration: Lack of input invoices makes business expenses not recorded as valid, leading to increased taxable profits or being determined revenue by the tax authority.
10-year tax arrears: New regulations in the 2025 Tax Administration Law
A key change that many business households have not updated in time is the tax arrears period. According to the 2025 Tax Administration Law (Law No. 108/2025/QH15) effective from the beginning of 2026, tax authorities apply two different handling time milestones:
5 years retroactive collection: Applied to errors in declaration due to confusion, professional shortcomings but without intentional signs.
10-year retroactive collection: Applicable to acts with signs of tax evasion and trade fraud.
Acts such as intentionally not taking input invoices, using two accounting books systems, or transferring sales revenue to personal accounts to avoid tax obligations are all classified as fraudulent acts. When detected, the tax authority has the right to review and recover the amount of tax owed in the previous 10 years, plus late payment money (0.03%/day).
Multi-source data control mechanism: Transparency is mandatory
The risk of tax arrears is now higher than ever due to the completion of the digital data infrastructure. According to Decree 91, tax authorities implement cross-checking of data from 3 main sources:
E-commerce platforms such as Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada periodically report detailed revenue of sellers.
Transportation unit: Delivery data from GHN, Viettel Post, J&T accurately reflects the actual sales scale.
Banking system: Cash flow through bank accounts and e-wallets is closely monitored.
Any discrepancy between declared revenue and actual data from third parties will be recorded by the risk analysis system. At this time, the lack of input invoices will become a disadvantageous circumstance, acting as a basis for tax authorities to determine tax evasion and apply a 10-year retroactive period.
In the context of increasingly strict tax management and based on real data, business households need to change their management thinking. Full compliance with invoices and documents and honest declaration is not only a legal obligation but also the safest solution to protect assets and maintain sustainable business operations.
