The Taichung Branch, National Taxation Bureau of the Central Area, Ministry of Finance, stated that invoicing systems used by business entities issuing e-invoices must feature automatic sequential numbering and duplicate-number error-proofing mechanisms to prevent duplicate issuance or misuse of track codes and invoice numbers. If a business entity accidentally issues duplicate invoices or misuses track codes and delivers them to consumers—resulting in designated prize-dispensing agencies overpaying prize money—the business entity must reimburse the full overpaid amount in accordance with Article 15-1 of the "Regulations Governing the Awarding of Uniform Invoice Prizes" to protect the prize-claiming rights of winners.
The Branch provided an example: a well-known local beverage chain store experienced a configuration error during a checkout POS-system upgrade, mistakenly applying track codes and invoice numbers from a previous period to the current period and delivering them to consumers. Upon discovering the mistake, the store was unable to retrieve the issued invoices and immediately reported the incident voluntarily to the National Taxation Bureau prior to any investigation, while truthfully declaring the tax liabilities. After verification confirmed the facts, the business was exempted from administrative penalties, though it was still recorded with one tax violation offense. However, if citizens later claim prizes using these abnormal invoices leading to overpaid prize money, the store remains liable to reimburse the full overpaid amount.
The Taichung Branch further explained that when a business issues abnormal invoices and cannot retrieve them for cancellation and reissuance, it will be penalized under Article 48 of the "Value-Added and Non-Value-Added Business Tax Act”in addition to reimbursing any overpaid prize money. However, if the business voluntarily submits a written report prior to any informant complaint or investigation conducted by the tax authority or investigators designated by the Ministry of Finance, declares the taxes based on actual transactions, and has no underreported or omitted tax amounts, it may be exempted from penalties under the Criteria Reference Table for Reducing or Exempting Penalties for Tax Violations. Nonetheless, the incident will still count as one violation offense, and penalty exemptions are capped at a maximum of two times within a single year (that is, the exemption does not apply to three or more violations).
The Branch reminds business entities to regularly inspect their invoicing equipment and software to ensure they possess automatic import and duplicate-number checking functionality. Should any abnormalities occur, businesses should report them as soon as possible to the tax authority at their location of tax registration.
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Contact person: Sales Tax Section, Mr. Liao
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