Type: Legislation
In 2020, the Chinese government launched the e-Fapiao system, which is an electronic invoice system. This is a five-year digitalization project that will see the use of electronic invoices become more widespread across the country.
The Chinese government began implementing the e-Invoice system in 2020 with a pilot phase that included three regions. The number of regions increases over time. In December 2021, three regions (Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, and Shanghai) joined the pilot system. Over 40 regions will be working to integrate their systems into the new digitalized electronic invoicing system by 2022. Until 2025, electronic invoice integration will continue to spread and be used across the country.
Although issued invoices should be in electronic format, because the digitalized e-Invoice system is not yet fully implemented, paper invoices are still valid. A signature is required on both electronic and paper invoices. A suitable type of seal can be used to sign paper invoices.
Effective date: 2020
