In January 2019, the Minh Dan Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (in Da Nang Province) provided 3 products for hospitals and medical centers and issued VAT invoices for the three above products. However, based on the need to use drugs, the hospital only uses 2 products and will return 1 product.

The company has guided the hospital to follow 2 ways as prescribed in Circular No. 39/2014 / TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance as follows:

- Option 1: The hospital issues invoices, records and goods to the Company (but because the hospital is a non-business administrative unit, there is no invoice, so this way cannot be done).

- Option 2: The hospital returns the issued invoice, records, and goods so that the company can re-issue a new invoice for 2 products that the hospital has used up. But the hospital replied, because there are 2 products on the invoice that the hospital has imported into the software to distribute to the patient and have been used up, so they cannot pay the bill that the company has re-exported.

Through the receiving and responding system to businesses’ recommendations, the Minh Dan Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company would like to ask, in addition to the two above methods, is there any other way about the procedures for returning goods and handling invoices and vouchers when shipped for medical facilities?

Regarding this issue, the General Department of Taxation - Ministry of Finance has the following opinions:

In Clause 3; Clause 4, Article 20 of Circular No. 39/2014 / TT-BTC dated March 31, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on invoices for selling goods and providing services as follows:

“3. In case an invoice is found incorrect after it is given to the buyer, goods are delivered or services are provided, the buyer and the seller are declared tax, the buyer and the seller shall make a record or a written agreement specifying the errors, then the seller shall make a corrective invoice. The corrective invoice must specify the adjustment (increase or decrease) to the quantity of goods, sale prices, VAT rates, VAT amounts on the invoice No. .... . According to the corrective invoice, the buyer and the seller shall adjust the sales, input tax and output tax. Negative numbers must not be written on the corrective invoices.

4. Instructions on handling issued invoices in some cases are provided in Appendix 4 enclosed herewith”.

At Point 2.8, Appendix 4 to the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 39/2014 / TT-BTC dated March 31, 2014, guiding invoices for selling goods and providing services as follows:

“2.8. The organization or individual that buys the goods, the seller has issued the invoice, the buyer has received the goods, but later the buyer discovers that the goods are not in accordance with the specifications or quality must return all or a part of the goods, when to issue returned goods to the seller, the establishment must issue an invoice, clearly stating that the returned goods to the seller due to improper specifications, quality, or VAT amount (if any).

In case the buyer does not have an invoice, when returning the goods, the buyer and the seller must make a record clearly stating the type of goods, the quantity of the returned goods value according to the VAT-exclusive price and VAT amount. According to the sale invoice (number of symbols, date and month of the invoice), the reason for the delivery of the goods and the seller withdraws the used invoice.

On December 23, 2015, the Ministry of Finance issued an Official Letter No. 19145 / BTC-TCT guiding the use of invoices for medical examination and treatment activities of public medical establishments.

Accordingly, from June 1, 2016, when public health facilities provide medical services, they will use invoices according to the provisions of Decree No. 51/2010 / ND-CP dated May, 14 2010; Decree No. 04/2014 / ND-CP dated January 17, 2014 of the Government and Circular No. 39/2014 / TT-BTC dated March 31, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance.

Based on the above regulations and guidelines, we recommend clearly state the reason why the Hospital only needs to use 2 products, but the Company gives the Hospital 3 products and will return 1 product. Attach specific documents and contact the Tax Department of Da Nang City for implementation instructions.