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Ministry affirms new rules on invoices
The Ministry of Finance would not grant any extensions to firms that were unable to comply with new regulations regarding the printing of invoices, reaffirmed Deputy Finance Minister Do Hoang Anh Tuan.
According to new regulations which took effect on January 1, businesses are required to have their own invoice books printed rather than acquiring them from tax agencies as before. However, the Government had to extend the deadline until March 31 due to overloaded print houses.
After three months, however, tax authorities estimated roughly 4,700 firms were still waiting for their own invoice books, due to the backlog created by the deadline.
There are roughly 400 print houses in the country that are qualified to print the invoices, but firms placed their orders with just a few, large print houses, causing the delay.
The print houses explained that the backlog was simply due to demand beyond their capacity, and many were still struggling with staff shortages after Tet.
Due to the large volume of orders, many large print houses, especially in HCM City, said they would be unable to complete all of their orders by March 31. Meanwhile, tax agencies said that they would not sell invoice books in the interim period while companies waited for their invoice books to arrive.
An accountant from Ngan Pham Trading Company said his company had ordered invoices from Lien Son print house in mid-December. However, they were yet to receive a firm delivery date, despite the fact the print house said they would have them by late January.
He has even visited the Lien Son premises several times to ask about the status of their order, but he walks away with only promises, as the deadline draws near.
"Our business operations will be suspended because of late invoices and we will face big losses," he lamented.
Deputy Minister Tuan said that firms should consider lodging complaints against print houses that failed to meet orders as contracted.
Many companies have decided to cancel orders with Lien Son print house in search of a firm that can meet the deadline, despite higher fees. However, they are struggling to find such a firm.
The HCM City Department of Taxation earlier this week provided a list of 80 qualified printers in the city for companies to use. It also held a meeting with the large print houses in a move to find a solution to the backlog.
To help firms meet the deadline, Tuan said that the finance ministry would also enhance technical assistance for companies.
The ministry recently released guidelines and free software to help firms print their own invoices, having signed contracts with four software companies to provide their software to firms from 3-6 months.
vietnamnews
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