The National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, Ministry of Finance (NTBT) expresses that many business entities have inquired about whether they have to receive uniform invoices when purchasing e-electronic services from offshore electronic services business entities.
NTBT explains that in accordance with Article 2-1 of the Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), when a foreign enterprise, institution, group, or organization having no fixed place of business within the territory of the R.O.C. selling electronic services to domestic individuals, it shall be the taxpayer of the business tax. As such, when offshore electronic services business entities sell electronic services to domestic business entities, they would not be the taxpayers and domestic business entities should still pay the business tax in accordance with Article 36 of the Act and would not receive the uniform invoices as well. In addition, in accordance with the provisos of the same Article of the Act, if this domestic business entity computes its tax in accordance with the provisions of Section 1 of Chapter 4, and the purchased services are used solely in conducting business in taxable goods or services, such services are exempted from the business tax.
NTBT appeals that if the domestic business entity does not compute its tax in accordance with the provisions of Section 1 of Chapter 4, or the purchased services are not used in conducting business in taxable goods or services, it shall pay the business tax prior to the fifteenth day of the period following the period in which the payment is made, otherwise it shall be pursued for payment of taxes owed and be fined no more than five times the amount of tax evaded, and the operation of the taxpayer's business may be suspended.
（Contact: Mrs. Lai, Section Head of the 4th Examination Division; Tel: 23113711 #2550）