E-invoices make online shopping easier

Nearly 120 e-commerce companies have submitted applications of electronic invoices for individual buyers in Tianjin, said Dong Jiye, general economist of Tianjin Municipality office of State Administration of Taxation (SAT) on Thursday in Tianjin E-commerce industry park.

"It will further enhance efficiency and reduce the unnecessary cost for e-commerce companies in tax declaration," said Dong.

Dong said that the online electronic invoices system will automatically generate a series of identifier codes to certify electronic invoices' legality after e-commerce companies upload the transaction records. And consumers can check the information on the electronic invoices on the Internet.

He noted that e-invoices are temporarily not claimable for personal reimbursements but they are critical for protecting consumers' rights and interests when shopping online.

The e-invoices appear as strip-shaped PDF files for ease of customers' reading on smart phones, which are different from the formats that Beijing and Shanghai utilized.

"The electronic invoice is an energy-saving and low-cost way to hand out tax certificates," said Yao Fang, senior finance director of Vipshop (China) Co.

"It would benefit the taxation authority, customers and e-commerce companies at the same time," added Yao, whose company just successfully issued Tianjin's first electronic invoice on Thursday.