When members of an online shopping platform use the platform's bonuses or points to offset part of the price of goods, how should the business operator issue a unified invoice?

A business operator called to ask, when selling goods on an online shopping platform, consumers use the platform's bonus points or coupons to offset part of the purchase price. How should the business operator issue a unified invoice?

The Kaohsiung National Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance stated that when consumers purchase goods on an online shopping platform and use the bonus points or coupons given by the platform to offset part of the purchase price, since the business operator has determined to give the consumer a discount, a unified invoice should be issued based on the original sales price, and the discount amount should be noted in the invoice remarks column. The total sales column should be filled in with the actual amount received (amount after discount). When the operator subsequently receives the discount payment from the online shopping platform operator, he/she will issue an invoice to the platform operator based on the amount.

The bureau gave an example. Xiao Ming purchased goods from Company A on an online shopping platform. The marked price of the goods was NT$1,000 (the same below). Xiao Ming used the coupon of the platform to discount NT$100. When Company A issued the unified invoice, it filled in NT$1,000 in the amount column, and noted the discount amount of NT$100 in the "Remarks" column of the invoice. The total sales column was filled in with NT$900 based on the actual amount received (i.e. the amount after discount) (as shown in the figure). When Company A later receives a payment of NT$100 from the online shopping platform operator, it issues a unified invoice for the amount of NT$100 to the platform operator.

The Bureau specifically reminds that business operators who sell goods or services should correctly issue unified invoices based on the actual amounts collected to avoid being fined for incorrect amounts. If you have any questions about the above regulations, you can call the National Tax Bureau’s toll-free service number 0800-000-321 for inquiries, or go to the bureau’s website (https://www.ntbk.gov.tw) and use the National Tax Bureau’s smart customer service "National Tax Bureau Assistant" to inquire online.

Provided by: Fengshan Branch
Contact Person: Manager of World Amway Contact Number: (07) 7404001 ext. 5930
Written by: Liu Jiarong Contact: (07) 7404001 ext. 5931