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According to legal regulations, the act of losing, damaging, or burning invoices will result in administrative fines, with penalties as follows:
Penalties for the Act of Losing, Burning, or Damaging Invoices in 2022
1. What is an Invoice? Penalty for Lost Invoices.
2. What to Do If You Lose an Invoice?
3. Frequently Asked Questions.
1. What is an Invoice? Penalty for Lost Invoices
An invoice is a type of document prepared by the seller to record information about the sale of goods or provision of services.
Based on the regulations of Article 26 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP and Decree 102/2021/ND-CP, the penalties for lost invoices are summarized in the following table:
Note the scenario where invoices, once issued (handed over to customers), are lost due to the fault of a third party (such as the shipping company or the invoice carrier).
- If the third party engages in a transaction with the seller: the seller will be penalized;
- If the third party engages in a transaction with the buyer: the buyer will be penalized.
In this scenario of lost invoices, the third party, along with the seller or the buyer, must also prepare a written record of the incident.
- Read more: Penalties for Lost Passports
2. What to do in case of lost invoice?
Article 24 of Circular 39/2014/TT-BTC stipulates the handling of this situation as follows:
- If a lost invoice is discovered, whether issued or not => Within 05 days from the date of loss, a report must be prepared regarding the lost invoice and notified to the tax authority directly (Form 3.8 in Appendix 3 of Circular 39).
- If the invoice is correctly issued but later the seller/buyer loses 2 copies of the original invoice: the seller and the buyer must prepare a record regarding the lost invoice.
- Read more: Excel Files for Printing VAT Invoices
3. Frequently Asked Questions
3.1 What are the mitigating circumstances when penalizing for lost invoices?
According to Article 6 of Decree 125/2020/NĐ-CP, mitigating circumstances in the field of invoices are regulated by the law on administrative violations handling.
Referring to the Law on Administrative Violations Handling 2012, the mitigating circumstances when penalizing for lost invoices are:
- Individuals who lose invoices voluntarily report; actively assist the competent authorities in detecting and handling administrative violations; - Individuals who lose invoices include pregnant women, elderly people, individuals with illnesses or disabilities that limit cognitive or behavioral control abilities; - Invoice loss occurs in a state of mental agitation; - Losing invoices due to coercion or dependence on material or mental factors; - Due to backwardness; - Other mitigating circumstances as prescribed.
3.2 Is it necessary for every transaction of goods and services to issue an invoice?
According to Article 18 of Circular 39/2014/TT-BTC, in cases where the total payment amount for goods or services is less than 200,000 VND per transaction, it is not mandatory to issue an invoice. If an invoice is not issued, the seller must prepare a Retail Sales Ledger for goods or services. However, if the buyer requests an invoice, the seller must issue and deliver the invoice.
3.3 What are the penalties for failing to report lost invoices within the specified period?
As instructed in section 2, in case of lost invoices, within 05 days from the date of loss, it must be reported to the tax authorities immediately. Failure to report lost invoices within the specified period incurs the following penalties:
- Overdue from 01 - 05 days from the deadline for reporting with mitigating circumstances: Warning;
- Overdue from 01 - 05 days from the deadline for reporting, without mitigating circumstances: Fine from 1 million - 4 million VND;
- Overdue for 06 days or more from the deadline for reporting or failure to report: Fine from 4 million - 8 million VND.
Above is the information about penalties for lost invoices that we provide. Citizens should carefully preserve invoices to avoid losing them.
