Q1. What are invoices?

Invoices are the documents of payment and receipts of payment issued or obtained in sales or purchase of goods, provision or receipt of services, and other business activities.

Q2. How many basic copies do invoices have? And how are they used respectively?

The to-be-filled invoices have 4 basic copies, with the following use respectively: the first copy is the counterfoil that is kept by the issuing party for later check; the second copy is invoice copy that is the original document for payment or receipt of payment by the holder of the copy; the third copy is the recording copy that is the original document for accounting records of the issuing party; the fourth copy is the spare copy that is set aside by the issuing party for later use.

The fix-amount invoices have 2 basic copies, with the left copy as invoice copy that is the original document for payment or receipt of payment by the holder of the copy, and the right copy as the counterfoil that is kept by the issuing party for later check.

Q3. What are the basic contents of invoices?

The basic contents of invoices include: name of invoice, size of character, copies and use, name of customer, bank account number, name of goods or business item, unit of measurement, quantity, price, payment, writer of invoice, date of issuance, and name of issuing party.

For withholding tax, collecting tax on behalf or collecting tax on trust, the contents of invoices should also include the tax rate of withholding or collecting on behalf or on trust and the amount of tax withheld or collected on behalf or on trust.
Besides the nation-wide regulations, the basic contents of the invoices in Guangdong province also include: address of customer, address of the issuing party, term "invalid over limit", reference column, and so on.

Fix-amount invoices may delete some items as needed.

Q4. What is special stamp for invoices?

When enterprises, business units and individual businesses purchase and issue invoices, financial stamp or special stamp for invoices is required. The special stamp for invoices is designed in shape of ellipse, with the size of 4.5cm * 3cm and 0.1cm left for virgin. Its upper half is carved with the owner's whole name, followed by the number of Tax Registration Certificate in second line, and term "special stamp for invoices" in the third line. The letters are in imitation of Song-dynasty typeface, and the sizes of them are determined by local taxation departments at municipal or county level.

Q5. What are "invoice-monitor stamp" and "anti-forgery products for invoices"?

Answer: By nation-wide regulations, invoice-monitor stamp shall be prepared by provincial local taxation departments, and delivered to local taxation departments at municipal or county level to print invoices.

Anti-forgery products for invoices are the materials and products used to make anti-forgery symbols for invoices.

Q6. How to identify false invoices?

Answer: The new-edition invoices in Shenzhen are featured as follows:

(1) They are still made of colorful fiber, and both sides are decorated by the small but visible colorful fiber and the plain fiber invisible but appearing blue in purple light.

(2) The term "supervised by Shenzhen Local Taxation Bureau" in the upper right corner is deleted, with the national 12-digit classification-code for common invoices as a substitute. The type-code is reserved (the same to the enterprise-numbers for those who print invoices by themselves), and the invoice-number is unified to be 8-digit. When checked, the invoice-number and the type-code (in case of self-printing, the enterprise-number) are to be input. Besides the above features, fix-amount invoices are printed on the upper-right hand with temperature-sensitive and flower-edged ellipse pattern, whose inner ring may turn pink from light purple and outer ring may turn plain from deep purple when heated.

What's more, to identify invoices, telephone and on-line services are available, with the enquiry number and address of website printed on invoices. Otherwise, holders may go to district bureaus (or their subdivisions) for help.

Q7. How to purchase invoices for those who have received Tax Registration Certificates?

First, purchase of invoices

For the first time to purchase invoices, taxpayers should go to counters for tax administrative permission in district bureaus (or their subdivisions) where they are registered, with the following materials:

(1) Application Form for Tax Administrative Permission and its attached sheet, the original;

(2) Tax Registration Certificate and its attached sheet (including temporary certificate), the original and duplicate;

(3) original model of financial stamp or special stamp for invoices;

(4) as for Invoices for International Maritime Transportation, certificates issued by the transportation departments; as for Invoices for Road and Inland-river Transportation, certificates which are issued by competent tax departments and entitle taxpayers to issue invoices by themselves; as for Invoices for Insurance Intermediate, Permission of Business; all in original and duplicate.

(5) ID cards of the persons handling the matter, the original and duplicate;

(6) business contracts, the original and duplicate (for large-amount invoices);

(7) the original Entrustment Certificate from the applicant (in case of authorizer's application );

(8) ID cards of the assignees, the original and duplicate (in case of authorizer's application).

(Duplicates are required in paper A4 and with taxpayers' official stamps)

Second, daily supply of invoices

Since the first purchase, relative amount of invoices will be provided if taxpayers present the Application Form for Purchase, Verification and Cancellation of Invoices, take the Recording Book of Invoices, and hand in the for-check copy of the used invoices to tax departments for verification and cancellation. If the type, number of digit (face amount), quantity of the purchase increase, taxpayers should apply to Invoices Divisions with the Application Form for Purchase, Verification and Cancellation of Invoices, the Recording Book of Invoices, and the above materials in items (2), (4), (6).

Q8. How to issue invoices for the taxpayers that need tax departments to issue instead?

The units and individuals in need of invoices temporarily may directly apply to the district bureaus (or their subdivisions), with the following materials:

(1) the filled-in Application Form for Invoices Issued by Tax Departments;

(2) written proof from the payer (as attachment of the Application Form);

(3) the attached sheet of Tax Registration Certificate (ID cards in case of individuals), the original and duplicate;

(4) other materials required;

Where taxpayers apply for invoices for freight-transportation, they should present the following materials to relative counters of district bureaus (or their subdivisions) and pay relative tax:

(1) the filled-in Application Form for Invoices Issued by Tax Departments;

(2) written proof from the payer (as attachment of the application form);

(3) the attached sheet of Tax Registration Certificate (ID cards in case of individuals), the original and duplicate;

(4) if the applicant is a contractor, leaser, or affiliate, he should provide the attached sheet of Tax Registration Certificate of the counterpart;

(5) if the taxpayer applies to issue invoices to common VAT taxpayers, the attached sheets of Tax Registration Certificates of the VAT taxpayers are needed in duplicate.

Q9. How to apply to purchase invoices for the temporary business units (individuals) from outside Shenzhen?

(1) for business units (individuals) from other provinces (municipalities, or counties) to conduct business temporarily in Shenzhen, when they apply to purchase invoices for the first time, they should provide Tax Administrative Certificate for Doing Business in other Jurisdiction to local tax departments where business activities are carried out, and guarantors or the maximum of 10000 Yuan as guaranty payment, and the following materials:

a. Application Form of Administrative Permission and its attached sheet;

b. Tax Administrative Certificate for Doing Business in other Jurisdiction, the original and duplicate;

c. pattern of financial stamp or the special stamp for invoices,

d. ID cards of the persons handling the matter;

e. the Registration Certificate issued by local tax departments which checks Tax Administrative Certificate for Doing Business in other Jurisdiction, the original and duplicate;

f. receipt of guaranty payment, the original and duplicate;

g. the original Guarantee Note confirmed by tax departments (3 copies);

h. the duplicate of guarantor's ID card (3 copies);

i. the original Entrustment Certificate from the applicant;

j. ID cards of the assignees, the original and duplicate;

In case of the application filed by the authorizer, items i and j are needed.
(Duplicates are required in paper A4 and with the taxpayer's official stamp)

(2) for business units (individuals) from other provinces (municipalities, or counties) to conduct business temporarily in Shenzhen but without Tax Administrative Certificate for Doing Business in other Jurisdiction, they should apply to local tax departments where business activities are carried out. Tax departments should require applicants to provide guaranty payment or guarantor, determine the guarantee period due to practice, supply proper amount of invoices during the guarantee period, and set time limit (less than 6 months) for the verification and cancellation of invoices.

Q10. What to do if invoices lost?

In case of invoices lost, taxpayers should report to tax departments with written reports, proofs from relative departments, the Recording Books of Invoices, and reports about the lost invoices, and tax departments will sign on the report about the lost invoices after check and confirmation. Then taxpayers should announce in local newspapers (Shenzhen SEZ , Shenzhen Commercial, and Shenzhen Legal)the invalidity of the lost invoices. After the announcement takes effect, tax departments shall settle the problem according to different cases:

(1) for those who use invoices: it should be reported to competent tax departments with written reports on the same day or the next day (time postponed once holidays met)of the losing , and the invalidity of the lost should be announced through media.

(2) in case of invoices issued by tax departments lost, those who use the invoices may apply to tax departments for a new issue by the Tax-paid Certificate of the lost. When making a new issue, tax departments will make notes about the lost in reference column or blank space: name of the holder, size of character, amount, code, number and the number of relative Tax-paid Certificate. the new issue, together with other copies of the lost, shall be regarded as legal vouchers in making accounts, and no more tax will be collected for it.

In case of the Tax-paid Certificate absent and a new issue applied for, tax shall be collected again.

(3) in case of the invoice copy lost by the issuing party, a new issue should be provided for counterparts to make accounts. And the new issue should be noted in reference column or blank space with the following aspects of the lost: name of the holder, size of character, amount, code, number, furthermore, other copies of the lost should be attached as legal vouchers in making accounts. When only the invoice copy is left, a written proof from the holder with the following contents should be taken as legal vouchers in making accounts: the date of getting invoices, the name of the holder, the amount of the goods or services related, price of single item, specification, total amount in both Chinese characters and Arabic numbers, size of character, code, number and so on.

(4) in case of the invoice copy lost by the holder, he may apply to the issuing party for a written certificate with the following contents: the date of getting invoices, the name of the holder, the amount of the goods or services related, price of single item, specification, total amount in both Chinese characters and Arabic numbers, size of character, code, number and so on; or he may ask the issuing party for a duplicate of the counterfoil or the recording copy of the lost, and after the confirmation of tax departments, the duplicate may act as legal vouchers. No new issue by the issuing party is permitted.

Q11. What types of invoices do local tax departments administer?

Now, Shenzhen Local Taxation Bureau is in charge of 9 kinds (22 types) of invoices as follows: Certificate to Change Invoices; Unified Invoices Issued by Local Tax Departments; Special Invoices Authorized to Issue; Aggregative Vouchers for Business Units; Special Invoices for Transportation, Loading and Unloading; Special Invoices for International Maritime Transportation; Special Invoices for International Shipping Transportation; Special Invoices for International Freight Transportation; Unified Invoices for Road and Inland-river Transportation; Special Invoices for Taxi; Special Invoices for Construction; Special Invoices for Insurance; Special Invoices for Financial Business; Special Invoices for Post and Tele-communication; Special Invoices for Art and Sports; Special Invoices for Service; Fix-amount Invoices for Service; Fix-amount Invoices for Catering and Entertainment; Special Invoices for Medical Service; Invoices for Insurance Intermediate; Special Invoices for Transfer of Intangible Property; and Special Invoices for Transfer of Real Estate.