No Penalty for Up to Three Invoice Errors Annually
If businesses issue Government Uniform Invoices(GUI) with errors in item descriptions, amounts, or other details, but the original invoice cannot be retrieved, they have three opportunities per year to avoid penalties.
If a business fails to issue GUI with correct information more than three times, businesses will be penalized according to the law. Therefore, businesses are advised to control common errors to minimize mistakes. Businesses must follow regulations when correcting erroneous GUI. Specifically, they must first retrieve the receipt copy (收執聯) and the deduction copy (扣抵聯) of the original GUI before it can be invalidated. Businesses must not unilaterally invalidate GUI without obtaining the original copy or even without informing the buyer. Doing so not only violates regulations but can also lead to sales disputes and penalties.
According to Article 24 of the “Uniform Invoice Usage Regulations,” if the content of a GUI is incorrect, the receipt copy and deduction copy of the original GUI should first be marked “invalid” and attached back to the stub copy (存根聯). Subsequently, a new, correct GUI should be issued to the buyer.
For electronic invoices, the printed invoice certificate should also be retrieved and marked as invalid. Simultaneously, the invalidation information must be uploaded to the Ministry of Finance’s e-invoice platform for record-keeping within the stipulated period. Furthermore, when filing business tax, the invalidation details should be clearly noted in the uniform invoice statement for that period to ensure data consistency.
