BTSDB Guide · Business — invoices, VAT and the paperwork of buying from Korea
WHERE IS MY INVOICE?
4컷
1Accounting needs proof
The goods arrived, but the paperwork your accountant wants has not.
2세금계산서, right?
Korea's legal e-invoice is issued electronically and reported to the tax office.
3I am a small trader
Simplified-tax businesses often cannot issue one at all — check before ordering.
4Checked upfront
The supplier's tax type is public. Confirm it before the deal, not after.
Sooner or later a Korean supplier will mention a
세금계산서 ("tax invoice"). It's not just an invoice — it's a legal VAT document reported
electronically to Korea's National Tax Service, and it only exists between Korean VAT-registered
parties. Knowing how it works helps you ask for the right paperwork and spot suppliers who aren't what
they claim.
The essentials
What it is
A statutory VAT invoice, issued electronically and reported to the tax
authority. It carries both parties' business registration numbers, the supply value and 10% VAT.
Who can issue one
Businesses registered as general taxpayers, and simplified
taxpayers with prior-year sales of KRW 48 million or more. Smaller simplified taxpayers cannot — our
checker shows a company's tax classification in English.
Exports are different
Direct exports are zero-rated for Korean VAT.
For a cross-border sale you'll typically receive a commercial invoice for customs instead of a
세금계산서 — that's normal and correct.
Why you still care
If your supplier claims to be a large registered trader but is
classified as a simplified or VAT-exempt business, their scale story doesn't add up.
Which document to ask for, by situation
Goods shipped to you abroad:
commercial invoice + packing list (customs), and confirm the exporter's business number is Active.
Services consumed in Korea
(your Korean branch, filming, events): a 세금계산서 issued to your Korean entity's business number.
Personal shopping refunds:
that's the separate Tax-Free/Tax Refund scheme at stores and airports — not tax invoices.
Quick legitimacy test: a supplier who "can't" put their business registration number on an
invoice, or asks you to pay a personal account "to avoid tax", is telling you exactly who they are.
Verify first — 5-step check.
Who can issue what
Lookup code
Tax type
Document it issues
Buyer's VAT credit
01
General taxpayer
Tax invoice (세금계산서)
Yes
07
Simplified taxpayer required to issue tax invoices (prior-year sales of KRW 48 million or more)
Tax invoice
Yes
02
Simplified taxpayer below that level
Receipt only
No
04
VAT-exempt business
Invoice without VAT (계산서)
No VAT to credit
Simplified taxation is available only to sole proprietors with annual sales under KRW 104 million. Corporations are
always general taxpayers.
Timing and penalties, in brief
Issue deadline
At the time of supply; monthly consolidated invoices by the 10th of the following month.
Electronic issue mandatory for
All corporations, and sole proprietors whose prior-year supply value was KRW 80 million or more.
Transmission
To the National Tax Service by the day after issue.
Late or missing issue
Penalty on the supplier of 1% (late) or 2% (not issued) of the supply value.
These rules bind the Korean supplier, not you. They matter to a foreign buyer in one situation: when your own Korean
subsidiary or branch is the customer, it needs a correct tax invoice to deduct the 10% input VAT, and an invoice from a closed
business is not deductible. Check the supplier's status before your Korean entity pays.
Four fields that must be right
A tax invoice is valid only if it states the supplier's registration number and name, the recipient's registration number,
the supply value and VAT amount, and the date. An error in any of them can cost the recipient the VAT credit. The recipient's number is
the usual culprit — give your supplier the number exactly as printed on your Korean entity's registration certificate.
Tax rules change and depend on your situation; consult a tax professional for advice.
Data shown by BTSDB comes from official Korean government services.
Frequently asked questions
Will a Korean exporter issue me a tax invoice?
Normally not. A tax invoice is issued between Korean VAT-registered parties. Direct exports are zero-rated, and an overseas buyer receives a commercial invoice for customs.
What is the VAT rate in Korea?
The standard rate is 10% of the supply value. Exports are zero-rated, and some goods and services such as unprocessed food, medical and educational services are exempt.
Can a simplified taxpayer issue a tax invoice?
Only if its sales in the previous year were KRW 48 million or more. The lookup shows these businesses as a separate category. Smaller simplified taxpayers issue receipts only.
When must a Korean tax invoice be issued?
At the time of supply. Monthly consolidated invoices may be issued by the 10th of the month after the supply.
Why does my Korean subsidiary need to check the supplier's status?
A tax invoice issued by a business that had already closed is not accepted for input VAT deduction, so the subsidiary would lose the 10% credit.