Regulations on issuing invoices for goods and services
According to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP), it is stipulated that:
When selling goods or providing services, sellers must prepare invoices to deliver to buyers (including cases of goods and services used for promotion, advertising, samples; goods and services used for giving, giving, donating, exchanging, paying wages to employees and domestic consumption (except for domestically traded goods to continue the production process); export goods in the form of lending, lending or returning goods) and cases of making invoices according to the provisions of Article 19 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP.
The invoice must fully include the contents as prescribed in Article 10 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP. In case of using electronic invoices, the data standard format of the tax authority must comply with the provisions of Article 12 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP.
Thus, when selling goods or providing services, business households and individuals must issue invoices to deliver to buyers.
Time of issuing invoices for goods and services
Pursuant to Clause 1, Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP), the time of issuing invoices for the sale of goods and service provision is clearly regulated as follows:
Time to issue invoices when selling goods
The time of making invoices for the sale of goods (including the sale, transfer of public assets and sale of national reserve goods) is the time of transferring ownership or use of goods to the buyer, regardless of whether the money has been collected or not.
For the export of goods (including export processing), the time of issuing e-commerce invoices, electronic value-added invoices or electronic sales invoices is determined by the seller but no later than the next working day from the date the goods are cleared according to the provisions of the law on customs.
Time to issue invoices when providing services
The time of making invoices for service provision is the time of completing the provision of services (including the provision of services to foreign organizations and individuals) regardless of whether the money has been collected or not.
In case the service provider collects money in advance or while providing the service, the time of making the invoice is the time of collecting the money. This does not include the case of collecting deposits or advances to ensure the implementation of contracts for the provision of services: Accounting, auditing, financial consulting, tax; appraisal; survey, technical design; supervision consulting; construction investment project establishment.
Notably, in case of multiple deliveries or handover of each item and service step, each delivery or handover must have an invoice for the corresponding volume and value of goods and services.
