Three Types of Automatic Vending Machines Required to Issue a GUI for Each Transaction from 2023 Onwards (Taiwan)

December 2022

Oli Wong and Lilian Hsu

In recent years, there have been citizens complaining that they could not directly obtain government uniform invoices (GUIs) after making payments on automatic vending machines[1] for consuming foods and beverages or on carpark payment machines.  This not only provides business entities with room for tax evasion but also undermines the rights and interests of the people in claiming GUIs to redeem prizes.  Therefore, the Ministry of Finance of Taiwan (“MOF”) announced the new rules, which require business entities that sell food and beverages and collect parking fees through automatic vending machines to issue a GUI for each transaction pursuant to law from January 1, 2022 onwards.[2]

In view of the time needed by business entities to replace equipment or revise programs, the MOF has planned grace periods of one year and six years.[3] When an business entity obtains an automatic vending machine, unless it has the function of printing GUIs on its own, if a GUI is not issued for each transaction as required during the grace period, the national tax administration will provide consultation and no penalty will be imposed.

Depending on the different grace periods, the national tax administration have printed two dedicated labels with red and yellow labels respectively applying to automatic vending machines under the one-year or six-year grace period and guided business entities to attach them to the conspicuous places on automatic vending machines so that the people can understand the timeline for the business entities issuance of a GUI for each transaction.[4] The grace periods are provided in the following table, depending on the types of automatic vending machines and the timing of the acquisition of the vending machines:

Type Grace Period
Food and Beverage Automatic Vending Machines Acquisition after January 1, 2022 One year, until December 31, 2022 (a label marked in red will be attached)
Acquisition before December 31, 2021 Six years, until December 31, 2027 (a label marked in yellow will be attached)
Automatic Vending Machines that Collect Parking Fees One year until December 31, 2022 (a label marked in red will be attached)

Currently, the one-year grace period will end on December 31, 2022. Business entities should cope with and adjust to this new rule. If an business entity still fails to issue a GUI for each transaction after the grace period when selling food and beverages and collecting parking fees through automatic vending machines, the national tax administration will impose one of the penalty stipulated in Article 48 and Article 52 of the Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act and Article 44 of the Tax Collection Act (whichever is heaviest) based on the actual violation of the business entities.


[1] Except for the electronic game machines regulated by the Electronic Game Arcade Business Regulation Act, machines that automatically sell goods or services after coins, bills, sensor cards or other substitute payment instruments are inserted are all “automatic vending machines.”  The coin operated machines that sell food and beverages and collect parking fees and karaoke booths in the current market are all automatic vending machines (Point 3 of the Guidelines for Collecting Business Tax on the Sale of Goods or Services by Business Entities via Automatic Vending Machines and Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Electronic Game Arcade Business Regulation Act).

[2] Business entities that sell goods or services through automatic vending machines are, in principle, required to issue a GUI for the aggregate amount actually collected each day, provided that for the sale of food and beverages or collection of parking fees through automatic vending machines, a GUI shall be issued for each transaction upon collection of the payment (Article 18, Paragraph 2 of the Regulations Governing the Use of Uniform Invoices).

[3] See the Tai-Cai-Shui-Zi 11004529370 Directive of June 4, 2021 and the Tai-Cai-Shui-Zi 11004647344 Directive of October 22, 2021 from theMOF.

[4] See the newsletter titled Automatic Vending Machines Attached with “Red Labels” is required to issue a GUI for Each Transaction from January 1, 2022 from the Ministry of Finance at: https://www.mof.gov.tw/singlehtml/384fb3077bb349ea973e7fc6f13b6974?cntId=1915ffa8022a4619bb5c7d5f520abf28 (last reviewed on November 25, 2022).


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