South Korea
KRSouth Korea runs a national electronic tax invoice system under the National Tax Service (NTS). Corporations and larger individual businesses issue tax invoices electronically and send them to the NTS by the next day, through Hometax or certified ERP and ASP systems rather than Peppol.
Guide reviewed .
Invoicing and electronic documents
Hometax
The NTS portal. Businesses can issue electronic tax invoices on it free of charge, and the NTS receives the invoice data that other systems transmit. It is a national clearance and reporting channel, not a Peppol network.
NTS electronic tax invoice standard (XML with electronic signature) · Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, overview and background
Certified ERP and ASP systems
Accounting and invoicing systems that hold NTS standard certification. They issue electronic tax invoices, usually by email to the buyer, and transmit them to the NTS.
XML file with electronic signature, per the NTS standard · Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, overview and background
Electronic invoices (전자계산서)
The electronic form of the invoice (계산서) used for VAT-exempt supplies. It is issued through the same certified systems, the NTS system or a cash receipt device.
XML file with electronic signature · Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, overview and background
South Korea’s electronic tax invoice is a tax-authority system. What counts is a correctly signed XML invoice that reaches the buyer and is transmitted to the NTS by the next day. Delivery is usually by email from Hometax or a certified ERP or ASP system. A Peppol connection does not meet this duty by itself, because the NTS guidance names only those channels.
An individual business should check its previous year’s combined supply value against the KRW 80 million threshold. Once it is covered, the duty continues. Plan corrections as amended tax invoices, and watch the issuance and transmission deadlines, since penalties are a percentage of the supply value.
Legal guide
B2B · electronic tax invoices
Mandatory for corporations and individual businesses above the thresholdAll corporations must issue electronic tax invoices. Individual businesses must do so when their combined taxable and exempt supply value in the previous year was KRW 80 million or more. Smaller individual businesses may issue paper tax invoices. Since 1 July 2023, an individual business that becomes subject to the duty stays subject to it.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, main tax law amendmentsIssuance and transmission
MandatoryTax invoices are issued at the time of supply under Articles 15 to 17 of the VAT Act, or by the 10th of the following month for monthly consolidated invoices. The invoice must reach the buyer as the signed XML file, and it must be transmitted to the NTS by the day after issuance. Electronic invoices need not be stored by the parties, unlike paper ones.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, overview and backgroundPenalties
In forceFailing to issue costs 2% of the supply value, and issuing late within the final return deadline costs 1%. Issuing on paper when electronic issuance is required costs 1%. Late transmission costs 0.3%, and no transmission 0.5%. Penalties are capped at KRW 50 million per type of breach for small and medium enterprises and KRW 100 million for others, with no cap for intentional breaches.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, benefits and penaltiesTax credit for small issuers
Available until 31 December 2027Individual businesses with prior-year supplies below KRW 300 million, or that opened during the year, receive a credit of KRW 200 per electronic invoice, up to KRW 1 million a year. Invoices transmitted by the 11th of the month after the tax period also free the business from listing each counterparty in its VAT return.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, benefits and penaltiesPeppol
No Peppol obligation found in the sources reviewedOpenPeppol lists no national Peppol Authority for South Korea, so OpenPeppol acts as the authority. The NTS sources describe exchange through Hometax and certified systems only.
Official source: OpenPeppol · Peppol Authorities
Timeline
-
Electronic tax invoice system introduced
The NTS launched the electronic tax invoice system and its e-Sero service.
Official source: National Tax Service · brief history of the NTS (English) -
Mandatory for corporations
All corporations had to issue tax invoices electronically.
Official source: National Tax Service (via korea.kr) · Understanding the electronic tax invoice system, May 2015 -
Larger individual businesses covered
Individual businesses with prior-year supplies of KRW 1 billion or more had to issue electronically.
Official source: National Tax Service (via korea.kr) · Understanding the electronic tax invoice system, May 2015 -
Threshold lowered to KRW 300 million
Individual businesses with prior-year supplies of KRW 300 million or more were brought in.
Official source: National Tax Service (via korea.kr) · Understanding the electronic tax invoice system, May 2015 -
Issuance tax credit introduced
Small individual businesses began receiving KRW 200 per electronic invoice, up to KRW 1 million a year.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, main tax law amendments -
Threshold lowered to KRW 100 million
Applied to supplies from this date, and the duty became continuous once triggered.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, main tax law amendments -
Threshold lowered to KRW 80 million
Applied to supplies from this date. This is the current threshold.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, main tax law amendments - Upcoming at review
Issuance tax credit ends
The credit is scheduled to apply until this date under current law.
Official source: National Tax Service · electronic tax invoices, main tax law amendments
Peppol in South Korea
- Directory participants
- 16
- Document families
- 5
Peppol Authority: OpenPeppol.
Peppol Directory data as of .
How to read these numbersDocuments on Peppol
- 15 participants
- 15 participants
- ApplicationResponse8 participants
- 8 participants
- 5 participants
Registrations over time
Peppol Directory data as of .
Show as a table
| Month | New registrations |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 4 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 |
Registration dates in the current Directory snapshot.