ISSUING ELECTRONIC INVOICES FOR EACH SALE AT PETROLEUM STORE: Double benefits from issuing electronic invoices for petroleum for each sale

The policy of issuing electronic invoices for each sale has contributed to promoting digital transformation, making the economy transparent, increasing budget revenue as well as bringing benefits to taxpayers.

A store has installed an electronic invoice-issuing device for each gasoline sale. (Photo: Thu Hien/VNA)

A store has installed an electronic invoice-issuing device for each gasoline sale. (Photo: Thu Hien/VNA)

Implementing the current Law on Tax Administration, the General Department of Taxation has deployed an electronic invoice system to serve taxpayers nationwide from July 1, 2022.

All other businesses must issue invoices for each sale, including petroleum products.

Although during the implementation process, especially in the beginning, businesses encountered some difficulties, however, with thoroughness and many timely solutions, by March 31, about 99.94% of the total number of retail gasoline stores had issued electronic invoices for each sale.

This policy has contributed to promoting digital transformation, making the economy transparent, increasing budget revenue as well as bringing benefits to taxpayers.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just issued a letter of commendation to the Ministry of Finance , the General Department of Taxation and tax authorities at all levels for successfully issuing electronic invoices for each retail sale of gasoline.

The reporter has made a series of articles about the tax sector's efforts in implementing this important policy of the Government .

Lesson 1: Double benefits from issuing electronic invoices for gasoline and oil for each sale

According to the provisions of the Law on Tax Administration, from July 1, 2022, not only the petroleum business but all other business sectors must issue invoices for each sale, regardless of the value of each sale or service provision.

Particularly for the petroleum business, the Government has separate regulations on the time of issuing invoices at retail stores to customers, which is the time of completion of each sale of petroleum.

Each time a customer is pumped gas, the gas station must issue an invoice to the customer, regardless of the quantity, value, or whether the customer takes the invoice or not. The gas station must fully store invoice data for each sale and present it to the tax authority upon request. This is not only a mandatory regulation under the Law on Tax Administration, but also one of the conditions for being licensed and having the license renewed to operate a gas station business as prescribed in Decree No. 80/2023/ND-CP.

According to the General Department of Taxation, issuing electronic invoices for each sale of gasoline with clear regulations has brought double benefits. That is, enterprises issuing electronic invoices for each sale of gasoline will contribute to strengthening control over invoice issuance, revenue management and tax obligations of enterprises, preventing fraud in gasoline trading, limiting gasoline smuggling, ensuring a fair and transparent business environment, and increasing revenue for the state budget.

In addition, requiring invoices for each sale will help promote digital transformation, create an equal business environment, and protect consumer interests.

Individuals and business households that receive electronic invoices with tax authority codes (including electronic invoices with tax authority codes generated from cash registers) when purchasing gasoline and oil in particular and goods and services in general will have their consumer rights guaranteed, helping people to establish civilized consumption habits.

On the other hand, when receiving electronic invoices when purchasing goods and services, people will have the opportunity to win valuable prizes from the "Lucky Invoice" Program implemented by the tax industry.

According to Mr. Le Hong Quang, Permanent Deputy General Director of MISA Joint Stock Company, the application of electronic invoices for each sale at retail gasoline stores brings many benefits to all parties. First, for the buyer, customers who buy gasoline will immediately receive a purchase invoice. They can use that invoice to declare, account for, and automatically enter data. Customers can also use the invoice to participate in the Lucky Invoice program of the tax authority with a not-so-small prize value.

For state management agencies, this activity will contribute to comprehensive digital transformation, thereby helping to better manage the state. In addition, this also contributes to creating a transparent and fair business environment.

Checking the implementation of electronic invoice regulations at petrol and oil stores. (Photo: Thanh Hoa/VNA)

In particular, issuing electronic invoices for each sale brings many benefits to petroleum businesses. Accordingly, it will automate invoice issuance activities instead of recording statistics at the end of the day. Along with that, it will help businesses manage more systematically such as instant revenue statistics, automatic management and operations... As the first petroleum business in the country to issue electronic invoices for each sale, from July 1, 2023 to present, Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) has deployed it simultaneously across the entire system of petroleum stores.

When there is a need to get an invoice, customers will receive an electronic invoice in their email box for checking and comparison. For non-business customers (who do not need to get an invoice), the enterprise's electronic invoice issuance application system automatically processes, issues invoices and stores them in electronic form and transmits them to the tax authority according to the summary table of electronic invoice data for each item sold during the day.

Mr. Luu Van Tuyen, Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) said that electronic invoices have been deployed for each sale at 2,700 Petrolimex gas stations nationwide, using automatic technology, without human intervention, accurate and transparent data to ensure the provision of electronic invoices for each sale to customers.

According to Petrolimex data, Petrolimex has more than 1 billion invoices each year. From July 1, 2023 to now, Petrolimex has issued more than 700 million value-added invoices for each sale in accordance with the spirit of Decree 123 of the Government.

On Petrolimex's side, from September 1, 2023, to increase transparency, on each sales invoice, Petrolimex will have the license plate number of individuals driving cars to Petrolimex gas stations.

Enterprises manage data to issue electronic invoices after each gasoline sale, which is connected from the pump to the individual's phone. (Photo: Thu Hien/VNA)

According to Mr. Pham Huy Thanh, Deputy Director of Vinh Phuc Petroleum One Member Limited Liability Company, the company has deployed the program at all 31 of the company's petroleum stores in the province.

In addition, Vinh Phuc Petroleum One Member Limited Liability Company has 18 units that are retail franchisees. Depending on the scale and output of each unit, Vietnam Petroleum Group has deployed support for management software; at the same time, it has advised and guided these units to install equipment to seriously implement the Government's direction.

In Ninh Binh, Gia Vien Trading Limited Company is one of the typical enterprises in creating and issuing electronic invoices in the business and retail of gasoline.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hiep, Director of Gia Vien Trading Company Limited, said that the company has applied VNPT Ninh Binh's software solution; invested in a modern gas pump system; organized training and guidance for gas station staff to carry out the procedures and operations to create and issue electronic invoices for each sale.

The implementation of issuing invoices for each sale has helped business management more conveniently in accurately recording data on the number of liters, types of goods, and each shift sold on the server. After each sale, even if the buyer only buys 1-2 liters of gasoline or oil, the system at the gas station will automatically connect to issue electronic invoices, so whether the buyer takes the invoice or not, the invoice will still be issued and the tax authority will fully manage sales and invoices.

From the customer perspective, Mr. Do Hoang Tung, a customer buying gasoline at Petrolimex gas station No. 84 (Long Bien, Hanoi), said that getting this electronic invoice is very convenient, just need to provide the tax code to issue the invoice. After that, from email or phone, it is much easier to look up, print, and issue the invoice than before.

However, in reality, the implementation is still difficult. That is the unsynchronized facilities, old pump equipment, not meeting the connection requirements for electronic invoice software; the cost of infrastructure investment as well as the database is quite large; including some arising issues for businesses when applying electronic invoices for each sale such as increased personnel costs, system errors, the number of invoices increasing many times compared to before...

Gasoline sales at a retail gas station. (Photo: Hoang Ngoc/VNA)

In addition, petroleum enterprises do not want to apply new regulations due to the fear of innovation, fear of applying information technology, and modernizing sales management while the management level and professional expertise of many enterprises are still limited. And it is not excluded that there are petroleum enterprises using smuggled petroleum sources, selling goods without invoices or selling illegal invoices...

Mr. Le Hong Quang, Permanent Deputy General Director of MISA Joint Stock Company, said that in the long term, businesses should invest to contribute to better business management. Businesses need to remove psychological barriers to coordinate with solution providers and state management agencies. In fact, when starting to deploy electronic invoices in general, there were concerns and barriers, but then they all adapted. And when they have adapted, in addition to complying with state regulations, businesses also contribute to digital transformation of their operations such as: serving customers faster, making customers more satisfied, thereby also improving production and business efficiency and other operational activities of the business.

Furthermore, in recent times, tax authorities across the country have organized conferences inviting units to apply and businesses to provide solutions to listen, remove difficulties, and quickly put this activity into practice. This has also contributed significantly to completing the implementation of issuing electronic invoices for each sale at petroleum businesses nationwide.

With the determination of the Ministry of Finance, the tax sector and the coordination of relevant ministries and sectors, localities have successfully and effectively implemented the policy of issuing electronic invoices for each sale in the petroleum business sector in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister as well as relevant regulations./.

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