Q&A · Tax
What is new in Vietnam's e-invoice rules 2025–2026? From Decree 70/2025 to Decree 254/2026
Translated from the Vietnamese original; where they differ, the Vietnamese text and the law prevail.
Awaiting review by a lawyer. Each rule cites its source; where the texts are unclear, the page says so.
Short answer: Decree 70/2025/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 70/2025/NĐ-CP) amended many articles of Decree 123/2020/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 123/2020/NĐ-CP) on invoices, effective from 1/6/2025 (Article 3(1) of Decree 70/2025). But from 1/7/2026, both Decree 123/2020 and Decree 70/2025 ceased to be effective, replaced by Decree 254/2026/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 254/2026/NĐ-CP) (Article 43(2) of Decree 254/2026) and Circular 91/2026/TT-BTC (Thông tư 91/2026/TT-BTC) (Article 25(2) of Circular 91/2026). Invoices issued from 1/7/2026 must follow the new set of texts. Household businesses (hộ kinh doanh) with annual revenue above 1 billion VND must use electronic invoices with a tax authority code or generated from cash registers (Article 6(1)(d) of Decree 254/2026).
Which text applies, depending on when the invoice is issued?
Invoices issued from 1/6/2025 to 30/6/2026 follow Decree 123/2020 as amended by Decree 70/2025. Invoices issued from 1/7/2026 follow Decree 254/2026, guided by Circular 91/2026 (Decree 254/2026 takes effect from 1/7/2026 under Article 43(1); Circular 91/2026 also from that date under Article 25(1)). Circular 91/2026 also replaces Circular 32/2025/TT-BTC (Thông tư 32/2025/TT-BTC) (Article 25(2) of Circular 91/2026). Decree 254/2026 details Article 26(6), while Circular 91/2026 details Article 26(4) and (7) of the Law on Tax Administration 2025 (Luật Quản lý thuế 2025) (Article 1 of each text).
If you discover errors on an invoice issued under Decree 123/2020, Decree 70/2025 or Circular 32/2025, you still adjust or replace it "in accordance with regulations" (Article 24(2) of Circular 91/2026).
Who must use coded invoices, and who uses cash-register invoices?
Under Article 6(1) of Decree 254/2026:
- Economic organisations, household businesses and individual businesses (cá nhân kinh doanh) generally use electronic invoices with a code from the tax authority (point a).
- Enterprises in certain sectors (electricity, petroleum, telecommunications, banking, insurance, e-commerce, supermarkets, transport…) whose software meets the conditions may use invoices without a code, except where there is a high tax risk or they have registered to use coded invoices (point b).
- Sellers selling directly to consumers (supermarkets, retail except cars and motorbikes; food and beverage, restaurants, hotels; passenger transport; amusement and entertainment…) use invoices generated from cash registers. If they have already registered for coded or uncoded invoices, they are not required to also register for cash-register invoices (point c).
- Household businesses and individual businesses with annual revenue above 1 billion VND, or selling assets that require registration of ownership or use rights, must use coded invoices or cash-register invoices (point d).
Before 1/7/2026, the rules on cash-register invoices were in Article 11 of Decree 123/2020, as rewritten by Article 1(8) of Decree 70/2025. For household businesses, the 1 billion VND threshold is also in Article 8(5) of Decree 68/2026/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 68/2026/NĐ-CP), as amended by Article 1(2) of Decree 141/2026/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 141/2026/NĐ-CP), applying from 1/1/2026 (Article 3 of Decree 141/2026). Under Article 8(5)(c) of Decree 68/2026 (as amended), a household whose revenue did not exceed 1 billion VND in the previous year but exceeds 1 billion VND during the year must register to use electronic invoices within 30 days from the last day of the tax period in which cumulative revenue exceeds 1 billion VND. See also How do household businesses pay tax from 2026.
Some cases do not require electronic invoices, for example: households and individuals leasing out real estate; lottery agents and insurance agents whose tax has been withheld by the enterprise; contributing assets as capital to an economic organisation (Article 7(2), (3) and (5) of Decree 254/2026).
When must an invoice be issued?
Under Article 9 of Decree 254/2026, the old principles are kept:
- Sale of goods: issued when ownership or the right to use the goods is transferred to the buyer, whether or not payment has been received (clause 1).
- Services: issued when the service is completed, whether or not payment has been received. If payment is received before or during the provision of the service, the invoice is issued when payment is received (clause 2).
- Delivery in several instalments, handover of individual items: an invoice must be issued for the corresponding part at each delivery (clause 3).
The difference lies in the exception for advance payments. Article 9 of Decree 123/2020, as amended by Article 1(6) of Decree 70/2025, only excluded deposits and advances for certain services: accounting, auditing, financial and tax advisory; valuation; surveying and technical design; supervision consultancy; preparation of construction investment projects. Article 9(2) of Decree 254/2026 is worded generally as "receipt of a deposit under the Civil Code to secure performance of a service contract". The new Article 9(5) of Decree 254/2026 allows sellers without software that issues invoices automatically, with transactions during night-time working hours, to issue invoices no later than the next working day. Some sectors have their own timing under Article 9(4).
Is a wrongly issued invoice adjusted or replaced?
From 1/7/2026, this follows Article 10 of Circular 91/2026. Before that, it was governed by Article 19 of Decree 123/2020 as rewritten by Article 1(13) of Decree 70/2025.
| Where the error is | How to handle it |
|---|---|
| Name, address, amount in words… but the tax identification number, amount, tax rate, tax amount and goods are correct | Notify the buyer, no re-issue; send Form 04/SS-HĐĐT to the tax authority (clause 1, point a) |
| Tax identification number, goods, amount, tax rate, tax amount or other mandatory content | Choose to issue an adjusting invoice or a replacement invoice (clause 1, point b) |
| Cash-register invoices, invoices for sales of assets requiring registration | Only a replacement invoice may be issued, except where an asset registered in the buyer's name is returned (clause 1, point c) |
Basis: Article 10(1) of Circular 91/2026.
Under Article 10(1)(b) of Circular 91/2026, before adjusting or replacing, if the buyer is an organisation or a household or individual business, the two parties must make a written agreement stating the error. If the buyer is an individual, the seller notifies the buyer or posts a notice on its website (if any). Sales on e-commerce platforms do not require a written agreement. Where the same error appears on several invoices to the same buyer in the same month, a single adjusting or replacement invoice may be issued, with a list on Form 01/BK-ĐCTT. Later corrections must follow the method chosen the first time (Article 10(6)(a)). For returned goods, the seller issues an adjusting invoice (Article 10(5)(c)). Trade discounts based on quantity or sales volume are deducted on the invoice for the last purchase or the following period, or an adjusting invoice is issued with a list (Article 10(5)(b)). For adjusting invoices under clause 5, the seller declares them in the period the adjusting invoice is issued and the buyer in the period it is received (Article 10(6)(d)).
Must invoices be issued for promotional goods and gifts?
Yes. The seller must issue electronic invoices also for goods and services used for promotion, advertising and samples; given, donated, exchanged, paid in lieu of wages and consumed internally; and issued on loan or for borrowing (Article 4(1) of Decree 254/2026). Article 4(1) of Decree 123/2020, as amended by Article 1(3) of Decree 70/2025, provided similarly. Goods transferred between internal warehouses to continue production or business do not require an invoice (Article 7(8)(a) of Decree 254/2026). Failing to issue an invoice, or issuing it at the wrong time, for promotional goods and gifts has its own penalty bracket; see Penalties for invoice violations.
When to ask a lawyer or tax agent
- You have many wrongly issued invoices spanning the periods both before and after 1/7/2026 and need to determine how to handle them and which period to file supplementary returns for.
- The enterprise wants to switch from coded to uncoded invoices, or needs to transmit data by summary table.
- The household business has just exceeded the 1 billion VND threshold and has not registered for electronic invoices on time.
- The tax authority has sent a notice reviewing wrongly issued invoices (Form 01/TB-RSĐT, Article 10(3) of Circular 91/2026) and you disagree.