OFFICIAL LETTER 2054/TCHQ-GSQL DATED JUNE 03, 2022 OF THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS GUIDING THE TIME OF ISSUING E-INVOICES FOR EXPORTS SUCH AS SAU:

According to the provisions of Points b and c, Clause 3, Article 13 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government, the basis for issuing VAT invoices for exported goods is after the goods have actually been exported with the certification of the customs office for the case of export entrustment and after completing the procedures for exported goods for the declarant officials declaring and paying value-added tax by the deduction method for exported goods and services.

According to the above provisions, the time of issuance of VAT invoices for exported goods is after the customs declarant completes export customs procedures. Therefore, at the time of carrying out customs procedures for exported goods, the customs declarant cannot issue VAT invoices to submit in the customs dossier.

Thus, the issuance of e-invoices is carried out in accordance with Vietnamese law, while invoices in international trade are carried out in accordance with international practices. The time of issuance of these 02 types of invoices is different: commercial invoices are issued before customs procedures, while e-invoices are issued later. Therefore, the General Department of Customs cannot guide customs declarants to submit electronic VAT invoices in the export customs dossier to carry out customs procedures.