The Ministry of Finance has issued Consolidated Document No. 27/2026/VBHN-ND-BTC on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of taxes and invoices. In which, many acts of using illegal invoices and documents or illegally using invoices and documents may cause business households and taxpayers to be sanctioned.
Which invoices are identified as illegal?
According to Consolidated Document No. 27/2026/VBHN-ND-BTC, the use of invoices and documents in the following cases is defined as the act of using illegal invoices and documents:
Using fake invoices and documents.
Using invoices and documents that are not valid or have expired.
Use invoices that have been suspended from use during the period of coercion by means of suspending the use of invoices, unless permitted for use by the tax authority according to the notice.
Using electronic invoices that have not been registered for use with tax authorities.
Using electronic invoices without the tax authority's code for cases subject to the use of electronic invoices with the tax authority's code.
Use invoices for purchasing goods and services with an invoice date from the date the tax authority determines that the seller does not operate at the business address registered with the competent state agency.
Using invoices and documents to purchase goods and services made before the date of determination that the invoice and document issuing party does not operate at the registered business address or has not been notified by the tax authority about this matter, but the tax authority, police agency or other functional agency has concluded that the invoice and document are illegal.
Acts considered to be illegal use of invoices
The document also stipulates the use of invoices and documents in some cases identified as illegal use of invoices and documents, including:
Invoices and documents not fully recording the mandatory contents as prescribed; invoices erased and corrected not in accordance with regulations;
Fake invoices and documents (invoices and documents have recorded economic nghiệp vụ targets and contents, but the purchase and sale of goods and services is not partly or completely real); invoices that do not reflect the actual value arising or make fake invoices, make fake invoices;
Invoices with differences in the value of goods, services or deviations in mandatory criteria between the pages of the invoice;
Invoices for rotation when transporting goods in circulation or using invoices of this goods or service to prove for other goods or services;
Invoices and documents of other organizations and individuals (except for invoices from tax authorities and cases of being authorized to make invoices) to legalize purchased goods and services or sold goods and services;
Invoices and documents that the tax authority or the police agency or other functional agencies have concluded to be illegally used invoices and documents.
Can be fined according to the amount of tax violated
According to regulations, the main forms of sanctions for administrative violations related to taxes and invoices include warnings and fines.
A warning is applied to acts of violating tax procedures, invoices that are not serious, have mitigating circumstances and fall under the case of applying the form of warning according to regulations.
Regarding the form of monetary fines, the maximum fine for an administrative violation of tax procedures and invoices is implemented according to the provisions of law on handling administrative violations.
Notably, acts of false declaration leading to a shortage of tax payable or increasing the amount of tax exempted, reduced, and refunded higher than regulations may be fined by 20% of the tax amount owed or the amount of tax that has been exempted, reduced, and refunded higher than regulations.
For tax evasion, the penalty can be from 1 to 3 times the amount of tax evasion.
Some violations also have fines corresponding to the amount not deducted into the state budget account as prescribed.
Business households and taxpayers need to proactively check the legality and validity of invoices and documents before use. Using invoices not in accordance with regulations may lead to the risk of administrative sanctions.
