After the new regulations on the application of electronic invoices from June 1, 2025, many businesses in Hanoi and other provinces and cities have temporarily closed their doors. Some businesses have announced that they will stop accepting payments via bank transfer, only accepting cash. Others still accept bank transfers but increase their prices. This has significantly affected consumers and created a big impact on the market. In fact, a survey by PLVN in the first 10 days of June also showed that many businesses have closed or opened cautiously.
Mr. Luu Duc Tho - owner of a clothing store on Gia Ngu Street (72 years old) shared: "We always comply with all policies of the State, but the authorities should study and amend policies to suit the business methods of the people. Vietnamese people have always been familiar with "selling from basket to basket" so they cannot immediately adapt to modern tax calculation methods, so there need to be different methods to suit different business scales".
Not to mention, according to Mr. Tho, currently there are many small businesses, each day only sell a few sets of clothes. When the State stipulates that taxes must be calculated on the machine, it will make it difficult for the elderly to follow. "With the old regulations, it will be more convenient for elderly business people like us" - Mr. Tho said.
According to Ms. Pham Thi Giang - CEO of Viet Luat Tax Agent Company Limited, through the tax consulting process, she found that most businesses are worried about issues such as if revenue from invoices increases suddenly, will they be charged back for previous months, especially for households that are applying TK; Tax declaration this year is much higher than in 2024, so will the difference be charged back? In fact, many stalls and mini supermarkets already have cash registers and POS machines to issue invoices. But in the markets, using and connecting devices is still difficult, many businesses are confused, not knowing what to do? Ms. Giang also admitted that because of "struggling" with electronic invoices, there is a situation where some businesses react to this regulation by selling goods in a "half-closed, half-open" way.
Having worked for many years in the field of tax consultancy, Lawyer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh - Director of ATA Global Law Company Limited, said that, on the positive side, the regulations requiring the use of electronic invoices as well as gradually eliminating the accounting mechanism have great significance in improving the business environment in general and elevating enterprises and the private economy in particular.
“However, perhaps because they have been used to operating freely, with little management and less constraints from complicated regulations and procedures over the past many years, it is completely understandable that businesses are concerned and worried about the new changes,” said lawyer Ngoc Anh.
Lawyer Ngoc Anh believes that when these new regulations begin, businesses will feel difficulties from issues such as increased initial investment costs because households have to invest in cash registers, internet connections, software to create electronic invoices, and even hire accountants to perform work related to books, invoices, and documents; businesses will also have to improve their technology skills and strict management processes. According to Lawyer Ngoc Anh, this is a big problem for many businesses, especially those who are elderly, who have been used to manual monitoring, recording, and management for many years, without being constrained by strict processes.
Not to mention, HKD will also feel the increased supervision, causing psychological apprehension. Because in reality, there are many households that previously "under-declared" their actual revenue. Therefore, with the new regulation, these households are forced to declare their correct revenue, so it can be seen that this regulation is "restrictive", "difficult", especially in the context of fierce competition and increasing input costs.
This is also what Mr. Nguyen Huu Thanh - Vice Chairman of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Nam Dinh province mentioned. Accordingly, Mr. Thanh believes that we should not create a feeling of "imposition" or "tightening", but should convey the message "The State accompanies, supports and together solves difficulties". For the policy to come into life, according to Mr. Thanh, consensus is the key factor. And to have consensus, first of all, the government needs to clearly understand the actual difficulties of the people, especially small and medium-sized businesses, which are very sensitive to any changes.
During the transition period, Mr. Thanh predicted that it would be inevitable that some households would encounter psychological barriers or technical difficulties, especially small businesses that do not have access to technology. However, if there is appropriate support, this is not a major obstacle.
Citing a practical example, Mr. Thanh said that a few years ago, when QR code payments were just starting to become popular, many people, especially small traders, were hesitant to apply them, especially for small transactions. But now, QR codes have become a popular, convenient and preferred payment method in all transactions. And he believes that e-invoices will follow a similar trajectory, as long as we have a reasonable implementation method, good support and perseverance in the early stages.
According to the Vice President of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Nam Dinh Province, acts such as avoiding payment by bank transfer, increasing prices if customers transfer money, or deliberately closing stores to avoid declaration obligations are manifestations of non-compliance with the law, and in some cases may even constitute tax evasion. In principle, the management agency has every basis to handle it. However, from another perspective, he believes that most of these reactions come from a lack of information and a lack of understanding of the law. For many years, business households have been familiar with the TK method, which is simple and easy to understand. When switching to the new mechanism, they feel confused, afraid of being more tightly controlled, and even "losing money".
“In fact, this change has not been fully prepared in terms of both psychology and technological skills. I think that if we do not accompany HKD in the early stages, the reactions mentioned above are understandable,” said Mr. Thanh.
Lawyer Nguyen Hung Quang.
Lawyer Nguyen Hung Quang (Hanoi Bar Association): “Up to now, the reality is that large business households still only want to be individual business households and do not want to establish enterprises, because the current accounting regime still applies to them. But if they become enterprises, they will no longer be able to apply that regime. This is a very complicated story. Vermicelli sellers certainly will not be able to have red invoices when buying vermicelli. The same goes for the ingredients to make vermicelli. They buy rice at the market, and rice sellers also do not have invoices because they also buy from farmers. Our current model is mainly self-production and self-consumption, so why force them to settle taxes? When they cannot settle, they are accused of “tax evasion”. If we force them to do so, there will be illegal business households, only opening the door to let customers in when they arrive…”.
(To be continued)
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thay-doi-trong-ap-dung-thue-khoan-can-giai-phap-de-ho-kinh-doanh-thich-nghi-bai-1-noi-long-cua-cac-ho-kinh-doanh-post551867.html
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