Regulatory Analysis

Posted November 21, 2024 by Carolina Silva
Singapore and EU Digital Trade Agreement

Singapore has concluded negotiations for a Digital Trade Agreement with the European Union in July 2024. The aim is to streamline digital trade by fostering cross-border data flows and regulatory cooperation. Therefore, there is a focus on e-invoicing, and both parties are committed to supporting cross-border interoperability of e-invoicing standards. This aim is already aligned with the use of Peppol […]

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Posted September 20, 2024 by Stephen Kaye
Thailand Approves Extension of 7% VAT Rate to 2025

The Thailand Department of Revenue announced an extension to the reduced VAT rate of 7% from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 through PR 29/2024 issued on September 17, 2024.  

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Posted August 23, 2024 by Marta Sowińska
Taiwan: E-Invoicing Updates Regarding e-GUI

The Taiwanese Congress has updated the “Value-Added and Non-Value-Added Business Tax Act” (BTA) to revise the procedures for electronic invoices. These amendments require taxpayers to transmit electronic government uniform invoices (e-GUIs) and all necessary related information to the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) Integrated Service Platform for storage and verification. The transmission deadlines are 7 days […]

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Posted July 30, 2024 by Robert Pelletier
Vietnam: Extension of Temporary 8% Standard VAT Rate Reduction until December 31, 2024

Pursuant to Decree 72/2024/ND-CP as published on June 30, 2024, supplies of goods and services subject to the standard 10% VAT rate will continue to apply the temporary 8% standard VAT rate until December 31, 2024. The 2% VAT rate reduction, which was previously set to expire on June 30, 2024, has been extended by […]

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Posted June 20, 2024 by Marta Sowińska
New Zealand: e-Invoicing Discussions Ongoing

New Zealand has recently signed an e-invoicing Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Singapore, whereby the countries have agreed to cooperate on initiatives that promote, encourage, support, or facilitate the adoption of e-invoicing by businesses. In addition, mandatory e-invoicing is being discussed within the e-Invoicing Adoption Leaders Group, which includes representatives from both the business and […]

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Posted April 30, 2024 by Robert Pelletier
Laos Standard VAT Rate Increase to 10%

Pursuant to Laos Presidential Decree No. 003/PS signed on March 19, 2024, the standard VAT rate in Laos is increased from 7% to 10%. This Decree was published in the Lao Official Gazette on March 26, 2024. The Decree, as published in the Official Gazette, can be found here (in Lao).

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Posted April 9, 2024 by Carolina Silva
Malaysia: Updates Published to e-Invoicing Documentation

The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia has released new versions of the e-invoice and e-invoice specific guidelines, alongside a new version of the Software Development Kit (SDK). The update to SDK, first launched in February, includes clarifications and new technical information, namely e-signature requirements for the CTC mandate, going live in August of 2024. An […]

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Posted March 6, 2024 by Robert Pelletier
Malaysia: Services Tax Rate Increase to 8% from March 1, 2024

Pursuant to the Service Tax (Rate of Tax) (Amendment) Order 2024, effective 1 March 2024, the service tax rate is increased from 6% to 8% on all taxable services except for food and beverage preparation, telecommunications, parking provision services, and logistics, which will remain at the 6% rate. The order can be found here (in […]

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Posted February 29, 2024 by Carolina Silva
Malaysia: MDEC Has Released PINT Specifications

Alongside the developments of the CTC e-invoice reporting mandate in Malaysia, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has become the Peppol Authority in the country. MDEC is implementing the Peppol framework in Malaysia and it will be available for the exchange of e-invoices, complementing the e-invoice reporting mandate, which will not handle the delivery of […]

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Posted February 9, 2024 by Carolina Silva
Malaysia: Technical guidelines for e-invoicing system released

The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) has just released the long-awaited Software Development Kit, which includes relevant technical documentation for the CTC mandate to be implemented, starting in August of 2024. According to the IRBM, the e-Invoice Software Development Kit is a collection of tools, libraries, and resources providing a set of functionalities, Application […]

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Posted February 5, 2024 by Carolina Silva
Malaysia: Pilot Phase starting in May 2024

Malaysia is implementing a CTC clearance model starting in August 2024 for large taxpayers undertaking commercial activities in the country. Following recent postponements of the mandate, the pilot phase set to start in January of 2024 has also been postponed and, until recently, no date had been communicated for its launch. The Inland Revenue Board […]

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Posted January 8, 2024 by Robert Pelletier
Malaysia: Sales Tax on Low Value Goods from January 1, 2024

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department announced that cross-border sales of goods valued at MYR500 or less are subject to 10% sales tax when sold to businesses and consumers in Malaysia effective January 1, 2024. The low value goods regulations can be found here.

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Posted January 8, 2024 by Robert Pelletier
Vietnam: Extension of Temporary 8% Standard VAT Rate Reduction until June 30, 2024

Pursuant to Decree 94/2023/ND-CP as published on December 28, 2023, supplies of goods and services subject to the standard 10% VAT rate will continue to apply the temporary 8% standard VAT rate until June 30, 2024. The 2% VAT rate reduction, which was previously set to expire on December 31, 2023, has been extended by […]

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Posted December 14, 2023 by Marta Sowińska
China: last province added in the Pilot Program

Following the recent developments in China regarding the Pilot Program for e-Invoicing, whereby the program has been expanded to new provinces and cities in November 2023, the last province of Tibet has now been added to the Pilot Program for issuing fully digitalized electronic invoices (e-fapiao) among selected taxpayers. Therefore, from December 1, 2023, the […]

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Posted December 1, 2023 by Dilara İnal
Bahrain: E-invoicing without prior approval from tax authority

The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) released an updated edition of the Value Added Tax (VAT) General Guide in November 2023. A VAT-registered individual or entity is now authorized to issue, retain, and manage VAT invoices, along with credit and debit notes, in an electronic format without NBR’s prior approval. Previously, the NBR had announced […]

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Posted November 29, 2023 by Robert Pelletier
Singapore: Standard GST Rate Increase to 9% from January 1, 2024

Pursuant to Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill No. 30/2022, the standard GST rate in Singapore is increasing to 9% effective January 1, 2024. The Bill can be found here.

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Posted November 20, 2023 by Dilara İnal
Saudi Arabia: New taxpayer group in scope of Phase 2 of e-invoicing announced

The Saudi Arabian Tax and Customs Authority, ZATCA, announced the ninth wave of Phase 2 of e-invoicing. The ninth wave covers taxpayers with at least SAR 30 million (app. USD 8 million) revenue subject to VAT for 2021 or 2022. Taxpayers within this group are expected to integrate as of 1 June 2024. Phase 2 […]

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Posted November 14, 2023 by Marta Sowińska
China: expansion of the e-fapiao pilot program

The Pilot Program for issuing fully digitized electronic invoices (e-fapiao) has been expanded to the new provinces and cities: Anhui, Beijing, Guizhou, Hunan, Ningxia, Qinghai and Shandong. According to the announcements published by the tax authorities in October 2023, selected taxpayers in these provinces and cities, will be able to issue fully digitized e-fapiao. In […]

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