(Promulgated by Order No. 25 of the State Taxation Administration on February 14, 2011; amended for the first time in accordance with Decision of the State Taxation Administration on Amending the Implementation Rules for the Administrative Measures of the People’s Republic of China for Invoices on December 27, 2014; amended for the second time in accordance with Decision of the State Taxation Administration on Amending Certain Rules of the Taxation Department on June 15, 2018; amended for the third time in accordance with Decision of the State Taxation Administration on Announcing the Cancelation of Several Taxation Certification Items and Abolishing or Amending Certain Regulations and Normative Documents on July 24, 2019; amended for the fourth time in accordance with Decision of the State Taxation Administration on Amending the Implementation Rules for the Administrative Measures of the People’s Republic of China for Invoices on January 15, 2024.)

Chapter I   General Provisions

Article 1 The Implementation Rules are formulated in accordance with the Administrative Measures of the People’s Republic of China for Invoices (hereinafter referred to as Measures). 

Article 2 Invoices employing a unified format nationwide shall be established by the State Taxation Administration.

Invoices employing a unified format within a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall be established by the tax authorities of the respective provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as the provincial tax authorities).

Article 3 Electronic invoices mentioned in Article 3 of the Measures, refer to the certificates of receipts and payments in the form of electronic data showing the purchase and sale of goods, the provision or acceptance of services, and other business activities in accordance with the administrative regulations of tax authorities.

Electronic invoices have the same legal effect as their paper equivalents and no entity or individual shall refuse to accept them.

Article 4 Tax authorities shall build an electronic invoice service platform to provide services such as issuance, delivery and verification of invoices in digital or other electronic forms to entities and individuals that use invoices. 

Article 5 Tax authorities shall, in accordance with laws and administrative regulations, establish and improve the invoice data security management system and safeguard the security of invoice data.

Entities and individuals shall process invoice data in accordance with regulations of the State Taxation Administration, and undertake the legal obligation to safeguard invoice data security. Entities and individuals shall not preserve invoice data beyond the prescribed quantity limits, and are prohibited from unauthorized use, illegal sale, or unlawful disclosure of invoice data to others. 

Article 6 The basic sheets of a paper invoice consist of the stub copy, the invoice copy, and the accounting copy. The stub copy shall be retained by the payee or invoice issuer for record-keeping purposes. The invoice copy shall be retained by the payer or invoice recipient as the original payment document. The accounting copy shall be retained by the payee or invoice issuer as the original document for keeping accounts.

Tax authorities at or above the provincial level may increase or decrease the number of sheets of invoices except the invoice copy, and determine their uses in accordance with paper invoice management situation and the operational needs of taxpayers. 

Article 7 An invoice shall contain the following essential elements: name of the invoice, invoice code and number, copies and their designated uses, client’s name, account bank, account number, name of goods or business item, unit of measurement, quantity, unit price, value in words and figures, tax rate (collection rate), tax amount, issuer, date of issuance, name (or seal) of the issuing entity (or individual), etc.

Tax authorities at the provincial level or above may specify the contents of invoices based on the requirements of economic activities and invoice management.

Article 8 Any entity that receives and uses invoices may submit a written request to the tax authority for invoices printed with its name. The tax authority shall, in accordance with Article 15 of the Measures, verify the type and quantity of invoices printed with the entity’s name.

Chapter II   Invoice Printing

Article 9 The tax authorities shall supervise and administer invoice-printing enterprises in accordance with government procurement contracts and administrative requirements of anti-counterfeiting special products for invoices. 

Article 10 National unified anti-counterfeiting measures for paper invoices shall be established by the State Taxation Administration. Provincial tax authorities may implement additional anti-counterfeiting measures for paper invoices as needed and shall file these measures with the State Taxation Administration for record-keeping purposes.

Anti-counterfeiting special products for paper invoices shall be kept in a designated warehouse as required to prevent loss. Substandard and waste products shall be collectively destroyed under the supervision of tax authorities.

Article 11 The national unified seal for supervising the invoice manufacture is the legal indication of the tax authorities for invoice management. Its form, specification, content, and color shall be prescribed by the State Taxation Administration.

Article 12 Nationwide invoice version replacement shall be determined by the State Taxation Administration. Invoice version replacement within provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be determined by the provincial tax authorities.

An announcement shall be issued when the invoice version is replaced.

Article 13 Tax authorities responsible for supervising the invoice manufacture shall issue a notice for invoice-printing as required, and enterprises authorized to print invoices shall adhere to the requirements.

The invoice printing notice shall specify the name of the enterprise authorized to print invoices, invoice-issuing entity name, invoice name, invoice code, type, number of sheets, specifications, color, printing quantity, the start-to-end numbers, delivery time, location, etc.

Article 14 Invoices manufactured by invoice-printing enterprises shall be inspected and accepted in accordance with relevant regulations, and shall be stored in a designated warehouse to prevent loss. Waste products shall be promptly destroyed.

Chapter III   Obtaining of Invoices

Article 15 The term “proof of identity for the designated individual” mentioned in Article 15 of the Measures shall be the designated individual’s ID card, passport, or any other document that can verify the designated individual’s identity.

Article 16 The term “invoice-specific seal” mentioned in Article 15 of the Measures shall be the seal used by entities and individuals when issuing paper invoices. The seal shall bear the entity’s name, Unified Social Credit Code or Taxpayer Identification Number, and the words “invoice-specific seal”.

The format of invoice-specific seal shall be determined by the State Taxation Administration.

Article 17 The tax authorities shall retain for future inquiry the template of the invoice-specific seal provided by entities and individuals that obtain paper invoices. 

Article 18 The term “obtaining method of invoice” mentioned in Article 15 of the Measures includes methods such as batch supply, exchanging old invoices for new ones, verifying old invoices before obtaining new ones, and invoice value quota determination.

The tax authorities shall determine or change the type, quantity, quota, and obtaining method of invoice based on the tax risk level, taxpayer credit ratings, and actual operating conditions of the applying entity or individual. 

Article 19 The term “invoice usage” mentioned in Article 15 of the Measures refers to the status of invoice obtaining and storage, as well as related invoice issuance data. 

Article 20 The term “documentary evidence” mentioned in Article 16 of the Measures refers to relevant business contracts, agreements, or other materials approved by the tax authorities.

Article 21 The tax authorities shall sign contracts with the entities entrusted to issue invoices on their behalf, specifying the types, recipients, contents, and related responsibilities of the invoices to be issued.

Chapter IV   Invoice Issuance and Keeping

Article 22 The term “under special circumstances, the payer may issue an invoice to the payee” mentioned in Article 18 of the Measures refers to the following circumstances:

  (1) when the purchasing entity or the withholding agent makes payments to individuals;

  (2) other circumstances deemed necessary by the State Taxation Administration in which the payer needs to issue an invoice to the payee. 

Article 23 The provincial tax authority shall determine whether taxpayers retailing goods in small amounts or providing services periodically to consumers can be exempted from issuing invoices for each transaction.

Article 24 Entities and individuals shall issue invoices when conducting business activities and confirming the revenue. Invoices shall not be issued if no business activity has occurred. 

Article 25 The term “shall not require any alterations to the amount of payment” mentioned in Article 19 of the Measures includes alterations to the unit price and quantity used in the calculation of the amount.

Article 26 If a paper invoice that is already issued needs to be canceled due to refunds, invoicing errors, or suspension of taxable services, all copies of the invoice shall be retrieved and marked “Canceled” before canceling the invoice.

If a paper invoice requires a red-letter correction due to refunds, invoicing errors, suspension of taxable service, or sales discounts, all copies of the original invoice shall be retrieved and marked “Written off in red ink”. If all copies of the original invoice cannot be retrieved, a red-letter invoice shall be issued after obtaining a valid certificate from the other party.

Article 27 After issuing an electronic invoice, if refunds, invoicing errors, suspension of taxable services, or sales discounts, a red-letter invoice shall be issued in accordance with the regulations.

Article 28 Entities and individuals shall ensure that all items are completed and the contents are authentic when issuing invoices.

Paper invoices shall be issued in sequential order by invoice numbers, with clear handwriting. All copies shall be printed at one time with identical contents, and both the invoice and deduction copies shall bear the imprint of an invoice-specific seal.

Article 29 The term “do not accurately reflect the actual business operations” mentioned in Article 21 of the Measures refers to any of the following behaviors:

  (1) issuing or obtaining invoices for goods not purchased, services not provided or received, or other business activities not conducted;

  (2) engaging in the purchase or sale of goods, providing or receiving services, or conducting other business activities, but the invoices issued or obtained contain details such as the buyer, seller, item description, or amount inconsistent with the actual situation.

Article 30 Invoices shall be issued in Chinese. In autonomous regions, invoices may also include a locally prevalent ethnic language.

Article 31 Entities and individuals providing services related to invoice obtaining and issuance to clients shall be subject to the tax authority’s supervision and ensure that the maximum quantity of stored invoice data complies with tax authority requirements.

Article 32 Developing electronic invoice information system to offer tax-related services such as data search, download, storage, and use for others shall comply with the data standards and management regulations of the tax authority, sign an agreement with the client and shall not use invoice data beyond the authorized scope. 

Article 33 The term “prescribed regions for use” mentioned in Article 25 of the Measures refers to the areas specified by the State Taxation Administration and provincial tax authorities.

Article 34 The term “identity verification” mentioned in Article 26 of the Measures means that entities and individuals shall use real names when obtaining, issuing, or requesting proxy issuance of invoices. 

Article 35 Entities and individuals using paper invoices shall properly keep the invoices. In the event of an invoice loss, a written report shall be submitted to the tax authority in charge on the same day when the loss occurs. 

Chapter V   Invoice Examination

Article 36 During invoice examinations, tax authorities may extract, take out, review, or copy invoice data.

Article 37 The term “invoice exchange certificate” mentioned in Article 31 of the Measures is limited to use within the county (or city) where it is issued. When it is necessary to take out invoices from outside the county (or city) for verification, a request shall be made to the tax authority of that county (or city) to take out the invoices.

Article 38 Entities and individuals using invoices have the right to apply to the tax authority to verify the authenticity of the invoices. The tax authority receiving the application shall accept and be responsible for verifying the authenticity of the invoices. If verification is difficult, assistance may be requested to the tax authority supervising the manufacture of invoices.

Invoices discovered at the scene of counterfeiting or alteration, or invoices found at the sale or storage locations, shall be authenticated by the local tax authority.

Chapter VI   Penalties

Article 39 Penalties for violations of invoice management regulations shall be determined by tax authorities at or above the county level. For fines of 2,000 yuan or less, the tax office may determine the penalty.

Article 40 The term “substitution of invoices with other types of vouchers” mentioned in Subparagraph 6 of Article 33 of the Measures includes:

  (1) using other vouchers as substitutes for invoices that should have been issued.

  (2) using documents other than invoices or self-made vouchers where invoices that should have been obtained are not obtained for tax deductions, export tax refunds, pre-tax deductions, or financial reimbursements.

  (3) obtaining invoices that do not meet regulatory requirements for tax deductions, export tax refunds, pre-tax deductions, or financial reimbursements.

If such actions constitute a tax evasion, an export tax refund fraud, or fraudulent invoicing, Tax Collection and Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China and relevant regulations of the Measures shall apply.

Article 41 The term “public announcement” mentioned in Article 38 of the Measures means that the tax authorities shall publicize cases of taxpayers’ invoice violations at taxpayer service centers or through news and media channels, such as radio, television, newspapers, periodicals, and the internet. The announcement content includes: the taxpayer’s name, Unified Social Credit Code or Taxpayer Identification Number, the business location, and details of the violation of invoice management regulations.

Article 42 For severe violations of invoice administrative regulations that constitute a crime, tax authorities shall transfer the case to judicial authorities for legal processing in accordance with the law.

Chapter VII   Supplementary Provisions

Article 43 Tax authorities of municipalities separately listed in the state plan shall conduct invoice management in accordance with the obligations of the tax authorities of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government as specified in the Measures.

Article 44 The Implementation Rules shall enter into force from February 1, 2011. 

All information in this document is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only. In case of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.