Guidelines for developing the Revenue Department’s e-Tax Invoice & e-Receipt System to support Digital Transformation

Abstract

This qualitative research collected data through document analysis and in-depth interviews with seven key informants. The research findings revealed that the Revenue Department had established a comprehensive technological architecture and legal foundation. This included defining five types of electronic document formats: full tax invoices, abbreviated tax invoices, debit notes, credit notes, and receipts. Furthermore, it facilitated automated authorization registration channels utilizing users' own electronic certificates and authorization via Service Providers, alongside developing data transmission channels and validation systems for XML files and digital signatures capable of processing up to 8 million files per day. Significant problems and obstacles included the inadequacy of some XML structural standards to cover certain transactions, delays in the manual authorization approval process by officers, and the cost burden of acquiring electronic certificates for small-scale entrepreneurs. Proposed system development guidelines involved amending laws and data structures to enhance flexibility, upgrading the authorization approval process to be fully automated, shifting the IT system architecture to a Cloud-Native model, and integrating the digital tax database for advanced analytics to enable pre-filled tax returns and accelerated tax refunds. These measures will ultimately drive the Revenue Department toward becoming a truly data-driven digital organization.