What is an electronic invoice
- An electronic invoice is a digital alternative to paper invoices that are used in commerce and business.
- Electronic invoices contain the same information that is included in paper invoices, such as supplier and buyer information, details of the product or service sold, prices, fees and taxes related to the transaction.
- Electronic invoices are more efficient and faster than paper invoices, as they can be sent and received easily and quickly over the internet, and they can be easily stored and managed in computer systems and databases.
- Electronic invoices also help to improve the accuracy of financial records and accounts, reduce administrative errors, the cost of printing, shipping and paper storage.
- In many countries, tax authorities require the use of electronic invoices instead of paper invoices, as they improve tax procedures and reduce fraud and manipulation of accounts and taxes. In Egypt, electronic invoices are applied under Law No. 8 of 2018
What are the features of the electronic invoice system
The electronic billing system has several features that help the financier or merchant and also help the state, and we will discuss some of those features
First, what is the benefit to your company from joining the electronic invoice system
There are many advantages to joining the electronic billing system, which can be limited to the following :
- Facilitate and complete tax inspections remotely, and reduce their duration.
- Improve your tax status and classify your company as a low-risk company.
- Termination of repeated tax fulfillment visits.
- Ease of electronic data exchange.
- Reduce the burden of writing and collecting paper data.
- Keep records and not get lost.
- Reduced costs.
- The ease of preparing and submitting your tax return in addition to facilitating and speeding up the process of tax refund, tax settlements.
- Reduce the burden of maintaining and archiving paper invoices.
- Reduces the chance of calculation errors.
- They can be easily signed electronically.
- Reducing the administrative burden.
- Simplification of corporate inspection procedures, with the possibility of remote inspection.
What is the benefit for the average citizen from the electronic invoice system
In general, taxes are imposed to benefit the average citizen more than anything, so the benefit of signing it to the citizen from the electronic billing system.
- Financing and supporting its development policies in the economic and social fields for the benefit of the public interest of the citizen.
- Improving the quality of public services in the fields of education and health services
- Strengthening infrastructure such as roads and public benefit projects .
- A tool to influence unhealthy habits of individuals such as the consumption of harmful products.
What is the benefit to the state of the electronic invoice system
The electronic invoice is a step to achieve tax justice for both business owners and the state as well, so the state will benefit from the electronic invoice system as follows :
- Reducing the burden on the Egyptian tax authority
- The tax examination is carried out in much fewer steps than before, which saves time and effort on tax matters
- Communicate with the tax authority directly electronically, which reduces the congestion on the tax offices and be more accurate
- Limit dealing with shell companies
- Reducing tax manipulation by traders and company owners.
Advantages of joining the electronic invoice system for financiers
- Assist financiers in verifying the validity of billing statements before issuing them.
- Strengthen their tax positions by classifying them among companies with low tax risks.
- Facilitate the procedures for settlements between companies regarding VAT.
- Update the method of exchanging invoices between companies.
- Reducing the administrative burden.
- Reduce the cost of transactions.
- Gradually dispense with archiving bills on paper.
- Simplification of corporate inspection procedures with the possibility of remote inspection.
- Facilitating tax refund procedures and the process of preparing and submitting returns.
- Termination of traditional procedures with companies for the fulfillment of invoices.
Assist financiers in verifying the validity of billing statements before issuing them
Some financiers face the problem of errors made in paper tax records, especially after sending them and are exposed to legal accountability as a result of this, so this problem is addressed by giving financiers the opportunity to review the invoice data before issuing them through the electronic invoice application
Strengthening the tax positions of companies participating in the electronic invoice system
The electronic invoice system works to strengthen the companies enrolled in it by placing them in the (low tax risks) list and facilitating the settlement procedures between those institutions or companies through the instantaneous exchange of invoice data in digital format, which is provided by the system as a result of linking and integration with the accounting systems of financiers.
Facilitating the procedures of settlements between companies regarding VAT
The settlement procedures are practical accounting procedures that are carried out at the end of the financial period in order to identify the real values of all the company's assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues, in order to reach the fixed result of companies, whether profit or loss, the system facilitates those procedures, but only for VAT
Updating the method of exchanging invoices between companies
Before the application of the electronic invoice, companies exchanged invoices in a traditional and paper form, which led to errors and damages to invoices at that stage, so one of the goals of the system was to update the method of that exchange.
Reducing the administrative burden
The electronic invoice system seeks to reduce the administrative burden by reducing the tasks of management, especially with regard to taxes, it has made sending and supporting invoices, whether selling or buying, and all utility bills through electronic services.
Reduce transaction cost
Organizations always seek to reduce transaction costs, and these transactions are represented in many forms such as management and maintenance, but do not depend directly on the quantity of manufactured products and also accounting and management documents were not taken into account, so Egyptian taxes through the electronic invoice system have sought to reduce transaction costs, especially with regard to accounting and taxes.
Phasing out paper archiving of invoices
It is one of the most important features of the electronic billing system, where invoices are archived on paper in the traditional system, but the system seeks to reduce and then dispense with archiving invoices electronically, which leads to reducing the destruction of invoices and the possibility of returning them at any time.
Simplification of corporate inspection procedures with the possibility of remote inspection
Within the traditional system gives you the examination procedure is carried out in 3 main steps, namely:
- Notifying the financier with a book-recommended-accompanied by the arrival flag.
- The financier is obliged to provide data and photos of documents, including lists of customers and suppliers, which the authority requests from him in writing.
- The bailiff performs a comprehensive examination of photos and documents and completes the examination.
The system has provided these procedures and also provided the possibility of remote inspection to save time and effort.
Facilitating tax refund procedures and the process of preparing and submitting returns
The system managed to simplify the steps of tax refund by simplifying and facilitating the processes of preparing and submitting paper returns.
End the traditional procedures with companies to meet invoices
In summary, the Egyptian Tax Authority has worked through the electronic invoice system to facilitate and reduce the procedures for invoices submitted to the Egyptian tax authority and work to end the traditional procedures for collecting invoices for companies.
Problems faced by financiers when registering with the electronic invoice system
There are some problems facing financiers at the time of registration in the electronic invoice system and after registration :
- Electronic signature problems.
- Activating and downloading an electronic signature to computers.
- Problems with accounting systems.
- Problems with coding.
- The departure of your company's products or services from the global coding.
- Communication problems with the Egyptian tax authority to code your products and services.
- Invoices cannot be sent after 4 days from the date of issue.
- Invoices cannot be deleted or modified except through returns.
No comment