Vietnam E-Invoice Errors: When to Replace and When to Adjust

Whether to issue a replacement or an adjustment e-invoice is a question sales accountants in Vietnam face almost every week: a mistyped unit price, a wrong buyer tax code, the wrong VAT rate, or a customer returning part of a shipment. Choosing the wrong treatment costs more than rework; it can distort the VAT return and the receivables ledger. This guide summarises the legal basis across three recent stages, then gives a decision tree you can use straight away.

This article is general guidance, current as of November 2026. For a specific case, check the original instruments and the guidance of your supervising tax office.

Legal basis: three milestones

Milestone 1 — Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, Article 19 "Handling invoices with errors". The original framework for e-invoices, which included cases where the seller cancelled an erroneous invoice and issued a new one.

Milestone 2 — Decree 70/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 June 2025. Clause 13 of Article 1 amends Article 19, retitling it "Replacement and adjustment of e-invoices". The key points:

• Cancellation of erroneous invoices is abolished. Errors are handled by a replacement invoice or an adjustment invoice.
• A written agreement is required before replacing or adjusting when the buyer is an enterprise, organisation, business household or individual business, stating the error. When the buyer is an individual, the seller notifies the buyer directly or on its website.
• One replacement/adjustment invoice can cover several erroneous invoices of the same buyer in the same month, with a list on Form 01/BK-ĐCTT.

Milestone 3 — Decree 254/2026/ND-CP and Circular 91/2026/TT-BTC, both issued 30 June 2026 and effective 1 July 2026. Decree 254/2026 replaces Decree 123/2020 (as amended by Decree 70/2025) and no longer details replacement and adjustment; that is delegated to the Ministry of Finance in Circular 91/2026 (which replaces Circular 32/2025/TT-BTC). According to summaries published by e-invoice providers, Article 10 of Circular 91/2026 continues the principles in place since 1 June 2025:

• Wrong buyer name or address with a correct tax code and other content: no new invoice is needed; the seller notifies the buyer and notifies the tax authority on Form 04/SS-HĐĐT.
• Wrong tax code, amount, tax rate, tax amount, or goods not matching specification or quality: the seller may choose to adjust or replace.
• Error detected by the tax authority: it sends a notice on Form 01/TB-RSĐT, and the seller reviews and then adjusts or replaces.
• Increases are shown as positive (+), decreases as negative (−).

One notable change, according to EY's July 2026 tax bulletin: Circular 91/2026 no longer separately requires adjustment/replacement invoices (for errors in mandatory content) to be declared in the period of the original invoice. Businesses need to read the VAT and tax administration rules together to determine the right declaration period. For trade discounts, returned goods or a revised final value, the adjustment invoice continues to be declared when it is issued.

How replacement and adjustment differ

	Replacement invoice	Adjustment invoice
Nature	A complete new invoice that supersedes the original	An invoice showing only the difference
Original invoice	No longer valid	Remains valid; total = original + adjustment
Amounts	The full correct value	The increase (+) or decrease (−)
Best for	Several fields wrong, or a "clean" document is preferred	One amount, rate or quantity wrong; discounts; returns
In the books	Reverse the original entry, post the new one	Post an additional difference entry

In internal accounting, both reach the same final result if done correctly. The difference is the audit trail: replacement gives one complete, readable document; adjustment preserves history and is usually leaner when a single figure is wrong.

Decision tree when you find an erroneous invoice

1. Has the invoice been sent to the buyer? If the error is caught before sending, review your issuance process and follow current guidance from your e-invoice provider and tax office. Since 1 June 2025, cancelling an issued invoice is no longer an option.
2. Only the buyer's name or address is wrong, the tax code is right? → No new invoice. Notify the buyer; send Form 04/SS-HĐĐT to the tax authority.
3. Wrong tax code, amount, tax rate, tax amount, or goods specification? → Sign a written agreement with an organisational buyer (or notify an individual buyer), then choose:
   • Adjust if only a few figures are wrong and you want to keep the original.
   • Replace if several fields or identifying details are wrong.
4. Several invoices to the same buyer, same month, same type of error? → They can be combined into one replacement/adjustment invoice with Form 01/BK-ĐCTT.
5. Not an error but a post-sale change (trade discount, return, revised final value)? → Use an adjustment invoice, declared when issued.
6. Received Form 01/TB-RSĐT from the tax authority? → Review within the deadline stated in the notice, then replace or adjust.

Illustrative example

Illustrative example — assumed figures.

Company A invoices Company B for 100 units × VND 500,000 = VND 50,000,000, plus 10% VAT of VND 5,000,000, total VND 55,000,000. The agreed unit price was VND 480,000.

Option 1 — downward adjustment. After a written agreement, A issues an adjustment invoice referencing the original:

Item	Amount (VND)
Goods adjustment: 100 × (480,000 − 500,000)	−2,000,000
VAT adjustment at 10%	−200,000
Total adjustment	−2,200,000

Final value = 55,000,000 − 2,200,000 = VND 52,800,000. In the books, A reduces revenue by 2,000,000, output VAT by 200,000 and the receivable by 2,200,000.

Option 2 — replacement. A issues a new invoice for 100 × 480,000 = VND 48,000,000 plus VAT 4,800,000, total VND 52,800,000, stating that it replaces the original. In the books, the original entry is fully reversed and the new invoice is posted.

Both routes arrive at VND 52,800,000. What must never happen is both remaining live in the books: issue a replacement without reversing the original entry and revenue is recorded twice.

Four common control failures

1. No written agreement with an organisational buyer before replacing or adjusting.
2. Issuing a replacement without voiding the original in the accounting system, doubling revenue and receivables.
3. Recording a downward adjustment as a positive amount, which increases revenue instead of reducing it.
4. No link between the original invoice, the replacement/adjustment, the written agreement and the notice to the tax authority. At year-end nobody can reconstruct the chain.

What your software should support

• Issuing invoices through a connected provider and tracking status from the tax authority.
• No "cancel" button for issued invoices; corrections go through replacement or adjustment.
• On replacement, the original is voided in the ledger so revenue is not recorded twice.
• The e-invoice total matches the amount posted to the books.

In XBuddy, sales invoices come out of the Sales app document chain and are issued as e-invoices through MISA meInvoice, VNPT or Viettel; the system tracks tax-authority status, supports replacement invoices and offers no cancel action for issued invoices. Entries post to the Accounting app, so the VAT return is prepared from the same general ledger. See how finance teams run this in the Chief Accountant solution, and the month-end reconciliation calendar in Month-end close in 5 working days.

Frequently asked questions

Can an erroneous e-invoice still be cancelled?

No. From 1 June 2025, Decree 70/2025/ND-CP removed the cancellation of erroneous e-invoices. Errors are handled with a replacement or adjustment invoice, and this principle continues in the framework effective from 1 July 2026.

Does a wrong buyer company name require a new invoice?

If only the buyer's name or address is wrong and the tax code and other content are correct, the seller does not have to issue a new invoice. The seller notifies the buyer and notifies the tax authority on Form 04/SS-HĐĐT.

Wrong buyer tax code: replace or adjust?

Under current guidance, a wrong tax code falls into the group where the seller may choose to adjust or replace. In practice many businesses choose replacement because the tax code identifies the buyer, giving the buyer one complete document.

Is a written agreement needed before adjusting?

Yes, if the buyer is an enterprise, organisation, business household or individual business: both parties sign a written agreement stating the error before replacement or adjustment. If the buyer is an individual, the seller notifies them directly or on its website.

Which rules apply from 1 July 2026?

From 1 July 2026, Decree 254/2026/ND-CP replaces Decree 123/2020/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 70/2025/ND-CP), and replacement and adjustment are governed by Circular 91/2026/TT-BTC. Check the declaration period for adjustment invoices against current VAT and tax administration rules.