Business households purchasing agricultural products and used goods without input invoices: How to handle?

Input invoices are required to prove the origin of goods. However, there are cases where the law does not require invoices, but instead a list.

Business households purchasing agricultural products without input invoices

According to Decree No. 70/2025/ND-CP, from June 1, 2025, business households in some industries with revenue of 1 billion VND/year or more will not pay taxes in the form of lump-sum as before but must issue electronic invoices generated from cash registers connected to data with tax authorities, and pay taxes according to actual revenue. Households that do not comply with regulations will be at risk of being administratively sanctioned.

In recent days, the situation of trading goods without invoices has been very common, which is the reason why small traders have closed down and stopped doing business widely. In addition, many stores and kiosks have closed down or are operating at a standstill because people are waiting for instructions to complete tax procedures according to the regulations in Decree 70. Some businesses are afraid of being fined if they have not yet implemented, so they have chosen to temporarily close down or operate at a standstill to wait and see.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, the owner of a grocery store in Ninh Giang district, Hai Duong province, said that because he was so worried, he temporarily closed his store and stopped selling goods since the beginning of June. According to Mr. Dinh, his family's grocery store sells a variety of goods, some are from the company, some are imported from agents, some are bought directly from people so there are no input invoices.

“For example, I buy brooms from street vendors to resell, or my neighbors ask me to sell them a dozen eggs or a bunch of vegetables they grew themselves, but there is no input invoice, and I don’t know how to prove the origin, so I have to temporarily close the shop to wait and see,” Mr. Dinh said.

Similarly, a representative of Giang Coffee business (29 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi ) also said that the store's input items are mainly agricultural products such as chicken eggs and coffee purchased from farmers, while they are not registered for business so they cannot issue invoices.

“These past few days we had to go to Quoc Oai, Thach That, and even Phu Tho to ask if there was any place that issued invoices,” said a business representative.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc, President of the Vietnam Tax Consulting Association, input invoices are a mandatory requirement to prove the origin of goods. Especially for items with a high risk of fraud such as consumer goods, phones, cosmetics, fashion, processed foods... if there is no input VAT invoice, the tax authority may consider it as contraband or tax-evading goods. However, there are also cases where the law does not require invoices, but instead a list.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc, President of Vietnam Tax Consultants Association

“When purchasing agricultural, forestry and aquatic products from people who are not registered as businesses such as farmers and fishermen, business households can make a list instead of requesting a value-added tax invoice. The list must clearly state the seller's information, quantity of goods, value, address, citizen identification number...", Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc said.

However, the list is only applicable to raw goods purchased from individuals who do not do business. If it is also vegetables, meat, fish but purchased from supermarkets, cooperatives, or business companies, then an invoice is required.

“For food businesses, when purchasing agricultural products directly from farmers and fishermen, they can make a list instead of requesting a VAT invoice. The list must clearly state the seller's information, quantity of goods, value, address, and citizen identification number...”, Ms. Cuc added.

Regarding the input of business households, Ms. Pham Thi Minh Hien, Deputy Head of the International Policy and Tax Department, Tax Department also informed that in case of agricultural products purchased from unregistered households, if the total purchase amount/year is less than 100 million VND, it is not subject to tax (from January 1, 2026, it is 200 million VND). If the input purchase is from 100 million VND/year, the seller must register for management at the tax authority and request a single invoice. Meanwhile, agricultural products are products of cultivation and livestock directly produced and sold by people who are not subject to VAT.

“A contracted household can receive input from many sources such as enterprises, declaring households, contracted households or small households that sell directly. Depending on each case, there will be invoices or not. In the case of buying used goods from a consumer who is not a business individual, there is no need to declare taxes and if there is no invoice, the purchase and sale documents between that individual and the business household will be recorded, clearly showing the information of the seller, citizen identification, quantity of goods, value...”, Ms. Pham Thi Minh Hien said.

How to get input invoice when purchasing old goods?

For Mr. Pham Anh Duong, a contract-based electronics business in Phuong Mai, Dong Da District (Hanoi), the difficulties with input invoices lie in another aspect. Mr. Duong said that he often buys used goods without documents, leading to difficulties in declaring input when selling without legal invoices.

“My store mainly buys used phones, iPads, laptops... Most of the devices have been used for many years so there are no documents or invoices left. I don't know how to legalize the input invoices for these items. Without input invoices, it's difficult for me to issue invoices for electronic declarations,” Mr. Duong wondered.

Regarding this issue, Ms. Pham Thi Minh Hien said that purchasing old goods and making a purchase list is a suitable method. However, when purchasing some special items stipulated in Decree 70, business households must clearly state the characteristics and types of the items as well as the seller's information, address, and citizen identification number in the list as a basis to prove that the purchase is legal.

"We gradually get used to how to establish that purchase and sale, so that we can prove that the goods are of origin, not stolen goods. We have made the sale public so that if a State agency asks, we can prove that I bought it from Mr. A, Mr. B... From there, we don't have to be afraid of anyone. If we are transparent, we don't have to be afraid of anyone," Mr. Mai Son, Deputy Director of the Tax Department, Ministry of Finance, stated.

According to VOV

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ho-kinh-doanh-thu-mua-nong-san-do-cu-khong-co-hoa-don-dau-vao-xu-ly-the-nao-252284.htm