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On June 30, 2026, the Government issued Decree 254/2026/ND-CP, providing detailed regulations on certain provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 regarding electronic invoices and electronic documents. The Decree takes effect from July 1, 2026, just one day after its issuance.
The article below summarizes the key changes under Decree 254/2026/ND-CP and the points businesses need to note to comply with the new electronic invoice regulations.
1. Which regulations does Decree 254/2026/ND-CP replace?
Decree 254/2026/ND-CP consists of 5 chapters, 45 articles, and an Appendix providing guidance on the contents of electronic invoices, focusing on two main areas: electronic invoices and electronic documents. From July 1, 2026, the following three regulations officially cease to be effective: Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, Decree 70/2025/ND-CP, and Article 1 of Decree 41/2022/ND-CP.
Below are the key changes under Decree 254/2026/ND-CP that may directly affect businesses' accounting activities and electronic invoice management processes:
| Content | Before July 1, 2026 | From July 1, 2026 under Decree 254/2026/ND-CP |
| Legal basis | Decree 123/2020/ND-CP and its amendments | Law on Tax Administration 108/2025/QH15 and Decree 254/2026/ND-CP |
| Tax authority-printed invoices | Still used in certain cases | No longer valid and must be destroyed |
| When the buyer does not provide information | No unified regulation | State “Sold to consumer” on the invoice |
| Deposits for service provision | Only certain industries were exempt from issuing invoices | The invoice exemption is expanded to service provision activities in general |
| Cases where invoices are not required | Regulated in various different documents | Specifically consolidated under Article 7 |
2. Who is required to use electronic invoices from July 1, 2026?
2.1. Mandatory subjects and the VND 1 billion revenue threshold
According to Article 6 of Decree 254/2026/ND-CP, entities using electronic invoices are classified according to each type of invoice. Common groups include economic organizations, household businesses, and individual businesses using electronic invoices with tax authority codes; certain businesses that meet information technology infrastructure requirements may use electronic invoices without tax authority codes.
Under Point d, Clause 1, Article 6, household businesses and individual businesses with annual revenue exceeding VND 1 billion, or those selling assets that require registration of ownership or use rights, are required to use electronic invoices with tax authority codes or electronic invoices generated from cash registers connected to the tax authority's data system. This threshold is the same as the taxable revenue threshold applicable in 2026, meaning sellers exceeding VND 1 billion are subject to two obligations at the same time: quarterly tax declaration and electronic invoice issuance.
In contrast, household businesses and individual businesses below this revenue threshold are not required to use electronic invoices. However, they may still register to use them if needed, for example, when a corporate customer requires an invoice to record the expense.
2.2. Eight cases where electronic invoices are not required
Decree 254/2026/ND-CP specifically provides in Article 7 for cases where electronic invoices are not required, including:
(1) Household businesses and individual businesses selling goods or providing services that fall under the cases requiring a purchase statement for goods and services under corporate income tax regulations, except where they register to use electronic invoices.
(2) Household businesses and individual businesses earning income from real estate leasing activities; income from providing digital information content products and entertainment, electronic games, digital films, digital images, digital music, and digital advertising to organizations and individuals overseas.
(3) Household businesses and individual businesses acting as lottery agents, insurance agents, or multi-level marketing agents where the lottery, insurance, or multi-level marketing enterprise has withheld tax in accordance with tax administration regulations.
(4) Fees and other amounts arising from reinsurance activities (including reinsurance cession, reinsurance commission income, and other income from reinsurance cession), deposit-taking, financial activities (issuance of certificates of deposit, primary issuance of securities, issuance of valuable papers), debt sales, foreign exchange transactions, and derivatives.
For foreign currency sales transactions, based on the entity's data management system, at the end of the month, the entity shall prepare a detailed summary of transactions arising during the month, be responsible for the accuracy of the information for each transaction, and provide the detailed summary of foreign currency sales transactions when requested by the tax authority or other competent state authority.
(5) Capital contributions in the form of assets by organizations or individuals conducting business into business organizations.
(6) Assets transferred from a parent company to dependent member units and vice versa, between dependent member units within a business establishment; assets transferred upon division, separation, consolidation, merger, or conversion of enterprise type.
(7) Machinery and equipment lent as fixed assets, tools, and equipment serving the processing of goods of the lending party, without payment and without transfer of ownership.
(8) Cases prescribed in Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 6, Point b, Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree 181/2025/ND-CP of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the [Law on Value-Added Tax] (https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Thue-Phi-Le-Phi/Luat-sua-doi-Luat-Thue-thu-nhap-ca-nhan-Luat-Thue-gia-tri-gia-tang-2026-703956.aspx), including:
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Goods and services used to continue the production and business process of a business establishment, such as goods exported for internal warehouse transfers, materials and semi-finished products transferred for continued production and business within the same business establishment;
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Goods and services exported or provided by a business establishment for use in production and business activities, including fixed assets self-constructed or self-produced by the business establishment;
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Amounts not related to the sale of goods or provision of services by a business establishment: monetary compensation, including compensation for land and assets attached to land when land is recovered under a decision of a competent state authority, bonuses, third-party recovery amounts from insurance activities, collections on behalf of others, remuneration from state authorities for performing collection and payment-on-behalf activities for state authorities, and financial income.
Source: Thu vien phap luat
3. Electronic invoice contents and commonly missed criteria
From July 1, 2026, Decree 254/2026/ND-CP provides more specific requirements for the contents and criteria of electronic invoices under Article 10 and the Appendix issued together with the Decree. Businesses need to review their invoice templates and invoice issuance systems to ensure compliance with the new electronic invoice regulations.
3.1. Mandatory criteria
Under Decree 254/2026/ND-CP, electronic invoices must contain the following main groups of information:
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Invoice information: invoice name, invoice symbol, invoice form symbol, and invoice number. The invoice number may contain up to 8 digits, must be issued consecutively from the smallest to the largest number under the same symbol, and each number may only be used once.
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Seller and buyer information: name, address, and tax identification number of the seller; buyer information as applicable, including name, address, tax identification number, budget-related unit identification number, or personal identification number.
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Goods and services information: name of goods or services, unit of measurement, quantity, unit price, pre-tax amount, tax rate, tax amount for each rate, total tax amount, and total payment amount.
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Authentication information: seller's digital signature, invoice issuance time, digital signing time, and tax authority code for electronic invoices with tax authority codes.
For electronic invoices generated from cash registers with data connectivity, the required criteria are more streamlined: seller information, buyer information if requested by the buyer, name of goods, unit price, quantity, payment amount, issuance time, and the tax authority code or electronic data allowing the buyer to look up the invoice. Sellers applying the credit method must additionally state the pre-tax amount, tax rate, and value-added tax amount.
3.2. When must “Sold to consumer” be stated?
A point businesses need to pay particular attention to under Decree 254/2026/ND-CP is the case where the buyer does not provide information. If the buyer is a consumer and does not provide their name, address, or personal identification number, the seller may not leave the information blank and must state “Sold to consumer” on the electronic invoice.
If the buyer is a foreigner, the personal identification number may be replaced by the passport number or immigration document number together with nationality as prescribed.
For businesses, this is also a point that needs to be controlled from the purchasing stage. When purchasing materials or using transportation, advertising, or other services, employees need to provide the correct business information to the seller at the time of the transaction. Incorrect information on an electronic invoice followed by a request for correction or reissuance later may create risks for accounting records and expense documentation.
3.3. Regulations on language, abbreviations, and foreign currencies
Under the new electronic invoice regulations, invoices must be issued in Vietnamese. Foreign-language content may be placed in parentheses to the right of or directly below the Vietnamese text and must use a smaller font size. When the buyer's name or address is too long, Decree 254/2026/ND-CP allows certain commonly used abbreviations, such as Ward as P, City as TP, Vietnam as VN, Joint Stock as CP, or Limited Liability as TNHH, provided that the buyer can still be accurately identified.
For foreign currency transactions, the currency stated on the electronic invoice is, in principle, Vietnamese dong. Where foreign currency collection is permitted by law, businesses may state the unit price, amount, tax amount, and total payment in the foreign currency using the international currency code, while also stating the exchange rate converted into Vietnamese dong.
For businesses with transactions across multiple markets, standardizing the exchange rate source and conversion method directly within the electronic invoice system will help minimize errors and reduce reliance on manual data entry.
4. Electronic invoice issuance time and digital signing time
Article 9 of Decree 254/2026/ND-CP provides more specific requirements on the time of electronic invoice issuance, including several changes that directly affect businesses' sales, reconciliation, and tax declaration processes.
4.1. Some notable cases
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Deposits: A deposit intended to secure the conclusion or performance of a service contract under the Civil Code does not require an electronic invoice to be issued at the time the money is received. This regulation previously applied only to certain fields such as accounting, auditing, tax consulting, and technical design; Decree 254/2026/ND-CP expands its application to service provision activities in general.
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Services requiring reconciliation: For certain services arising periodically and requiring reconciliation, the electronic invoice must be issued no later than 7 days from the end of the reconciliation period. This list has been expanded to include areas such as digital technology services, digital platforms, information technology, payment intermediaries on telecommunications platforms, digital asset services, advertising on electronic newspapers, and transaction support services on carbon exchanges.
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Nighttime transactions: Where a transaction occurs during nighttime working hours and the seller does not have automated electronic invoice issuance software, the invoice may be issued no later than the next working day.
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Digital signing time: If the digital signing time differs from the invoice issuance time, digital signing and sending the invoice to the tax authority or transferring the invoice data must be completed no later than the next working day from the invoice issuance time.
4.2. Note on tax declaration timing
Businesses also need to distinguish between the time an electronic invoice is issued and the time the invoice is received. Under the electronic invoice regulations, the seller declares tax based on the invoice issuance time, while the buyer declares tax based on the time the buyer receives an invoice that is valid in terms of form and content.
Therefore, if the two parties record the invoice at different times, their tax declaration data may not match within the same period. This is one of the common reasons businesses encounter discrepancies when reconciling revenue, tax, and electronic invoices between the seller and buyer.
5. Checklist for review before the next closing period
Decree 254/2026/ND-CP introduces a reward mechanism for consumers who report failures to issue or deliver electronic invoices, with a maximum reward of 10% of the penalty amount and no more than VND 10 million per case. This means businesses need to proactively review compliance with electronic invoice regulations rather than only address errors after they arise.
Before the next closing period, businesses should complete the following review steps:
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Check the revenue threshold: Compare annual revenue against the VND 1 billion threshold to determine whether the business is required to use electronic invoices and which invoice type should be applied.
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Update the system and invoice templates: Review information fields under Decree 254/2026/ND-CP, especially the “Sold to consumer” line, personal identification number, name and address of each business location, as well as information of the authorizing party and authorized party where applicable.
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Handle remaining printed invoices: Review and destroy any remaining tax authority-printed invoices in accordance with regulations.
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Review reconciliation periods: Check data closing times with platforms and digital service providers to ensure electronic invoices are issued within the required timeframe, particularly cases subject to the maximum period of 7 days after the end of the reconciliation period.
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Control input invoices: Check buyer information at the time the transaction occurs and request timely correction if an electronic invoice contains inaccurate information, rather than waiting until the tax finalization period to discover the issue.
For businesses selling across multiple channels, the volume of transactions and electronic invoices generated each month can make manual checking difficult to control. In this case, consolidating data from platforms into a single system such as Genbook helps businesses more easily reconcile revenue, invoices, and accounting data.
6. Standardize the invoice process before an inspection
Decree 254/2026/ND-CP not only changes the criteria on electronic invoices but also directly affects the timing of invoice issuance and how businesses manage transaction data. For e-commerce sellers, the large number of orders and data scattered across multiple platforms makes manual electronic invoice issuance prone to errors, delayed invoice issuance, or missing buyer information.
Instead of processing each invoice separately, sellers can standardize and automate the electronic invoice issuance process directly from order data.
Sliner supports e-commerce businesses in reviewing transactions, standardizing invoice information, and synchronizing data to issue electronic invoices in compliance with regulations, reduce manual work, and minimize errors during reconciliation and tax declaration.
Contact Sliner for consultation on electronic invoice issuance solutions for e-commerce sellers.
