The Northern Area National Taxation Bureau has reminded businesses that listed prices must include VAT, and Uniform Invoices must be issued on time, warning that charging an additional 5% VAT or failing to issue invoices may lead to penalties.
Taiwan Northern Area National Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) stated that when business operators sell goods or services, the listed prices of taxable items must include value-added tax (VAT). Uniform Invoices must be issued in accordance with the prescribed time limits for issuing sales documents. Businesses may not require consumers to pay an additional 5% VAT if they request a Uniform Invoice, as doing so may result in penalties.
The Bureau explained that, to prevent businesses from claiming that listed prices do not include VAT and requiring purchasers to pay VAT separately—thereby discouraging consumers from requesting Uniform Invoices and facilitating VAT evasion—Article 32, Paragraph 2 of the Value-Added and Non-Value-Added Business Tax Act (the “Business Tax Act”) expressly provides that the prices of taxable goods or services must include VAT. In other words, the listed price equals the sales amount plus output tax. If a business’s listed sales price does not include VAT and the business fails to issue a Uniform Invoice to the purchaser in accordance with the law, penalties will be imposed pursuant to Article 51, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Business Tax Act and Article 44 of the Tax Collection Act, with the heavier penalty applied.
The Bureau further noted that it has recently identified certain online sellers who failed to display product prices in accordance with regulations. By using AI tools to collect and analyse information flows of sellers on e-commerce platforms, the tax authorities uncovered an online seller whose product prices were listed exclusive of tax. After a buyer placed an order for a product priced at New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) 100 (tax excluded), the buyer was required to pay an additional 5% VAT before the seller issued a single invoice for a total amount of NTD 105. Upon investigation, the tax authority found that the seller had failed to issue Uniform Invoices and underreported sales amounting to more than NTD 9.6 million during the years 110 to 114. In addition to recovering the unpaid VAT, penalties were imposed in accordance with Article 51, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Business Tax Act and Article 44 of the Tax Collection Act.
The Bureau urged business operators selling taxable goods or services to charge customers based on prices that include VAT and to honestly issue Uniform Invoices in accordance with the law. Businesses must not require consumers to pay VAT separately, in order to avoid consumer disputes and penalties arising from the under-issuance or omission of Uniform Invoices.
