E-invoice FAQ: FOC Items, Grocery Order, Company Claim

Post title 'RM0 E-invoice Accepted? (FAQ)' on white banner overlaying a thumbnail of Bispoint E-invoice 2025 trainer

Starting August 1, 2024, all businesses with an annual revenue exceeding RM100 million are required to implement e-invoicing as part of Phase 1. By Jan 1, 2026, e-invoicing will be fully enforced for all eligible businesses in Malaysia.

If your business isn’t prepared yet, waiting until LHDN follows up could put you at risk of non-compliance!

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most common e-invoicing questions:
📌 Do free-of-charge (FOC) items require an e-invoice?
📌 Must grocery stores list every individual item in an e-invoice?
📌 Can expenses without an e-invoice still be recorded in your accounts?
📌 How should dates be filled in for regular invoices vs. e-invoices?

Use this quick FAQ to improve your understanding of daily e-invoice challenges and implement them confidently into your business operations.

E-Invoicing FAQ: What You Need to Know For Daily Operations

1. Do free-of-charge (FOC) items require an e-invoice?

No, FOC items do not require an e-invoice. However, consider this scenario: Your accounting system records all transactions, including issued e-invoices. If you don’t submit an e-invoice for an FOC item, it may create an incomplete sales record in your system.

To maintain consistency and avoid discrepancies, you can still submit an e-invoice with a total amount of RM0. There’s no penalty for doing so, and it ensures your records remain complete.

2. Can a grocery store issue a lump sum e-invoice instead of listing each item?

No, you must list all individual items in the e-invoice. LHDN regulations do not allow lump sum invoicing unless it is for a bundle sale where multiple items are sold as a single package.

3. Can expenses without an e-invoice still be recorded?

Yes, your company can still record and reimburse expenses that don’t have an e-invoice. However, these expenses might not be eligible for tax deductions in the future.

4. If I issued a normal invoice on May 2 but my customer requested an e-invoice on May 20, what date should I use?

The invoice date should remain May 2, as that’s when the transaction was recorded in your accounting system. You can submit the e-invoice to LHDN on May 20, but your system will reflect:
📌 Invoice Date: May 2
📌 Validation Date: May 20

This is perfectly fine. However, if you plan to issue a consolidated e-invoice for the following month, you cannot include this transaction in it, as it has already been recorded separately.