e-invoice

Under the consumption tax invoice system, an electronic invoice must be delivered when requested by the counterparty of a transaction (Article 57-4(1) and (5) of the Consumption Tax Law).

The method of delivery includes, in addition to provision by means of recording media such as optical disks and magnetic tapes, the following methods,

(i) Provision of electronic data in EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) transactions

(ii) Provision of electronic data by e-mail.

(iii) Establishing a website on the Internet and providing electronic data through that website.

The business entity that has delivered a qualifying invoice and electronic invoice is obliged to preserve a copy (Article 57-4(6) of the Consumption Tax Law). They can be stored as electromagnetic records (Article 4(2) of the Electronic Bookkeeping Act), but must be stored in accordance with the Electronic Bookkeeping Law (Article 50(1) of the Order for Enforcement of the Consumption Tax Law, Article 15-5 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Consumption Tax Law). It is also permitted to print out and store the information on paper (Article 15-5(2) of the Enforcement Regulation of the Consumption Tax Law).
In order for the party receiving the qualifying invoices and electronic invoices to qualify for the ‘credit for input-consumption tax, the qualified invoices and electronic invoices must be recorded in the books of account and preserved (Article 30(7) and (9) of the Consumption Tax Law). If the electronic invoice is stored as an electromagnetic record, it must be stored in accordance with the Electronic Books and Records Preservation Act, the same as on the delivery side. As with the delivery side, it is also permitted to store the invoice on paper.