Starting December 1, 2024, civil aviation passenger transport services will promote the use of fully digitalized e-invoices (with interpretation)

State Taxation Administration, Ministry of Finance, Civil Aviation Administration of China

Announcement on Promoting the Use of Fully Digitalized Electronic Invoices in Civil Aviation Passenger Transport Services

State Taxation Administration, Ministry of Finance, Civil Aviation Administration of China Announcement No. 9 of 2024

　　To implement the requirements issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State CouncilOpinions on Further Deepening the Reform of Tax Collection and AdministrationRegarding the requirements for advancing the electronic reform of civil aviation passenger transport invoices, the State Taxation Administration, the Ministry of Finance, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China decided to promote the use of fully digitalizedElectronic invoice. The relevant matters are hereby announced as follows:

　　I. Public air transport enterprises registered within the territory of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as air transport enterprises) and air transport sales agency enterprises (hereinafter referred to as agency enterprises) that provide domestic passenger transport services may issue electronic invoices (air transport electronic ticket itineraries) (hereinafter referred to as electronic itineraries).

　　II. Electronic itineraries are fully digitalized e-invoices. The basic contents include: invoice number, invoicing status, domestic/international identifier, passenger identity document information, itinerary information, date of filling, issuing entity, buyer information, fare, fuel surcharge, VAT amount, VAT rate, civil aviation development fund, QR code, etc. See Attachment 1 for the format of the electronic itinerary.

　　III. The invoice number of the electronic itinerary consists of 20 digits, of which: digits 1-2 represent the last two digits of the Gregorian calendar year, digits 3-4 represent the administrative division code, digit 5 represents the channel code for issuing the electronic itinerary, and digits 6-20 represent the business sequence code.

　　IV. After all itineraries of the purchased air ticket are completed, passengers may obtain an electronic itinerary through channels such as the official website, mobile client, or service telephone of the air transport enterprise or agency enterprise. The air transport enterprise or agency enterprise shall truthfully issue the electronic itinerary based on the purchaser name, unified social credit code, and itinerary information provided by the passenger, and deliver the electronic itinerary to the passenger through official website download, mobile client download, or email.

　　V. Passengers requiring reimbursement and accounting entry shall obtain an electronic itinerary or other invoice as required. For flight dates before September 30, 2025, the original paper air transport electronic ticket itinerary (hereinafter referred to as paper itinerary) obtained by passengers may still be used for reimbursement and accounting entry, and the paper itinerary, electronic itinerary, and other invoices may not be issued repeatedly among the three. Purchasers are encouraged, after receiving the electronic itinerary, to realize full-process paperless processing of the electronic itinerary in accordance with the relevant requirements of the accounting data standards for electronic vouchers.

　　VI. Where the purchaser is a general VAT taxpayer, the input tax amount for domestic civil aviation passenger transport services purchased shall be determined according to the VAT amount indicated on the electronic itinerary or the special VAT invoice; for paper itineraries with flight dates before September 30, 2025, the input tax amount shall still be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, Item 1, Point 2 of the Announcement of the Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration, and General Administration of Customs on Policies for Deepening VAT Reform (No. 39 of 2019).

　　Seven, after passengers obtain an electronic itinerary, if it needs to be reissued due to incorrect buyer information or other reasons, the air transport enterprise or agency enterprise shall issue a red-letter electronic itinerary according to the following provisions:

　　(1) If the purchaser has not carried out purpose confirmation and accounting confirmation, the air transport enterprise or agency enterprise shall fill out the "Red Letter Invoice Information Confirmation Form" (hereinafter referred to as the "Confirmation Form", see Appendix 2) and issue a red electronic itinerary.

　　(II) Where the buyer has already undergone purpose confirmation or accounting confirmation, the air transport enterprise or agency enterprise shall fill out the Confirmation Form, and after confirmation by the buyer, issue the red-letter electronic itinerary based on the Confirmation Form. If the buyer has already used the electronic itinerary for VAT filing deduction, the VAT amount listed in the confirmed Confirmation Form shall be temporarily transferred out from the current period's input tax, and after obtaining the red-letter electronic itinerary issued by the air transport enterprise or agency enterprise, it shall be used together with the Confirmation Form as original vouchers.

　　Eight, the electronic itinerary information system operation and maintenance unit shall upload electronic itinerary information to the tax authorities as required. The tax authorities shall synchronously transmit the electronic itinerary to the purchaser through the tax digital account of the electronic invoice service platform (hereinafter referred to as the tax digital account). The purchaser may query, verify, download, print, and confirm the use of the electronic itinerary through the tax digital account, or throughNational VAT Invoice Verification Platform(https://inv-veri.chinatax.gov.cn) for verification. Passengers can query and download electronic itineraries through the personal ticket folder in the Individual Income Tax APP.

　　IX. If the purchaser is a general VAT taxpayer, it may confirm the use of compliant electronic itineraries through the tax digital account and handle VAT input tax deduction as required. The input tax amount of electronic itineraries declared for deduction by general VAT taxpayers shall, at the time of tax filing, be filled in the relevant columns of "Certified Special VAT Invoices" in the Supplementary Information to the VAT and Additional Tax Return (Table 2) (Current Period Input Tax Details).

　　10. This announcement shall take effect on December 1, 2024.

　　Hereby announced.

Attachment:

1. Electronic invoice (air transport electronic ticket itinerary) format

2. Red-letter invoice information confirmation form

　　State Taxation Administration, Ministry of Finance, Civil Aviation Administration of China

　　November 6, 2024

Interpretation

Interpretation of the Announcement of the State Taxation Administration, Ministry of Finance, and Civil Aviation Administration of China on Promoting the Use of Fully Digitalized Electronic Invoices for Civil Aviation Passenger Transport Services

　　I. What is the background for issuing the Announcement?

　　The "Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of Tax Administration" issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council in 2021 requires: orderly advance the electronicization of invoices in railways, civil aviation, and other fields. To implement the above requirements and promote the use of fully digitalized electronic invoices, the State Taxation Administration, the Ministry of Finance, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China jointly issued the "Announcement of the State Taxation Administration, the Ministry of Finance, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Promoting the Use of Fully Digitalized Electronic Invoices for Civil Aviation Passenger Transport Services" (No. 9 of 2024). The promotion of electronic invoices (air transport electronic ticket itineraries) (hereinafter referred to as electronic itineraries) for civil aviation passenger transport services will effectively reduce invoice usage costs, improve invoice management and usage efficiency, and meet the demand of passengers for convenient access to electronic itineraries.

　　II. How do air transport enterprises or agency enterprises issue and deliver electronic itineraries to passengers?

　　Within 180 days after all segments of the purchased air ticket are completed, passengers can apply for an electronic itinerary through the official website, mobile client, service phone, and other channels of the air transport enterprise or agency, excluding additional services such as refunds, seat selection, and excess baggage; beyond 180 days, the agreement between the passenger and the air transport enterprise applies. The purchase of international and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan air passenger transport services does not currently support the issuance of electronic itineraries.

　　Air transport enterprises or agency enterprises issue electronic itineraries truthfully based on the purchaser name, unified social credit code, and itinerary information provided by passengers, and deliver the electronic itineraries to passengers by downloading from official websites, mobile clients, or email.

　　III. What is the "insurance premium" listed on the electronic itinerary?

　　The insurance premium refers to the fee paid by the passenger to the insurance institution when purchasing electronic comprehensive air passenger insurance while purchasing domestic civil aviation passenger transport services. The total column of the electronic itinerary receipt is the total price of the electronic itinerary receipt excluding the insurance premium.

　　IV. After the promotion and use of electronic itineraries, can paper itineraries still be used for reimbursement, bookkeeping, and tax deduction?

　　Passengers who need reimbursement and booking shall obtain an electronic itinerary or other invoice as required; where the purchaser is a general VAT taxpayer, for domestic civil aviation passenger transport services purchased, the input VAT amount shall be determined according to the VAT amount indicated on the electronic itinerary or the special VAT invoice.

　　To maintain a smooth transition, for paper air transport electronic ticket itineraries with flight dates before September 30, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as paper itineraries), passengers may still use the paper itineraries for reimbursement and booking, and purchasers may still determine input tax in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, Item 1, Point 2 of the "Announcement of the Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration, and General Administration of Customs on Policies for Deepening VAT Reform" (2019 No. 39).

　　V. What services do tax authorities provide to taxpayers and passengers regarding electronic itineraries?

　　Tax authorities transmit electronic itineraries synchronously to buyers through the tax digital account of the e-invoice service platform (hereinafter referred to as the tax digital account). Buyers can use the tax digital account to query, verify, download, print, and confirm the use of electronic itineraries, and can also verify through the National VAT Invoice Verification Platform (https://inv-veri.chinatax.gov.cn). Passengers can query and download electronic itineraries through the personal ticket folder in the Individual Income Tax APP.

　　VI. After a general VAT taxpayer issues or obtains an electronic itinerary, how to fill in the VAT return?

　　The amount and tax amount of electronic itineraries issued by a general VAT taxpayer shall be filled in Columns 3 to 4 "Other Invoices Issued" of the VAT and Additional Tax Filing Form Annex (I) (Current Period Sales Details).

　　For the input tax amount of electronic itineraries claimed for deduction by a general taxpayer, when filing taxes, it shall be filled in the relevant columns of "VAT special invoices verified as compliant" in Appendix II of the VAT and Surcharge Tax Return (Details of Input Tax for the Current Period).

　　Where a general VAT taxpayer has already used an electronic itinerary for VAT filing deduction, after the invoicer initiates the red-letter reversal process, the VAT amount listed in the corresponding Red-Letter Invoice Information Confirmation Form shall be filled in Column 20 "Input Tax Specified in the Red-Letter Special Invoice Information Form" of the VAT and Additional Tax Filing Form Annex (II) (Current Period Input Tax Details).

　　VII. How are electronic itineraries reimbursed and recorded?

　　If a taxpayer obtains an electronic itinerary for reimbursement and booking, it shall implement in accordance with the Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the National Archives Administration on Standardizing the Reimbursement, Booking, and Archiving of Electronic Accounting Vouchers (Cai Kuai [2020] No. 6), the Measures for the Management of Accounting Archives (Order No. 79 of the Ministry of Finance and the National Archives Administration), the Specifications for Accounting Informatization Work (Cai Kuai [2024] No. 11), the Basic Functions and Service Specifications of Accounting Software (Cai Kuai [2024] No. 12), and the Ministry of Finance's provisions on accounting data standards for electronic vouchers.

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