Businesses Should Issue GUI for Prepaid Goods Sales
If a business receives part of the payment from a buyer before the goods are delivered (or shipped out), it should issue a Government Unification Invoice (GUI) for the prepaid amount and include as sales when filing VAT.
If business collects part of the payment before delivery (or shipment) and fails to issue the GUI as required, they should voluntarily report and pay the missing tax to the relevant local tax bureau before being investigated by the authorities or the designated investigator from the Ministry of Finance. If this is done promptly, businesses may be exempt from penalties though interest will still apply.
An example as follows:
In early March of 2025, Consumer A ordered an air conditioner from home appliance retailer B at a price of NTD 55,000 and paid NTD 2,000 for deposit. Both parties agreed that delivery would be made by the end of April 2025. When the retailer collected the NTD2,000 deposit from A, it should first issue a GUI for pre-received NTD2,000. When the goods are delivered in April 2025, retailer B should issue one more GUI for the remaining amount NTD53,000.
