E-Invoicing in China

China’s e-invoicing ecosystem is centred on the fapiao, China’s official tax invoice. Its electronic form, commonly referred to as e-fapiao, is administered by the State Taxation Administration (STA) through the Golden Tax System and related national e-invoicing infrastructure. China has progressively moved from paper fapiao and earlier electronic invoice models toward a fully digitalised electronic invoice regime.Under this model, in-scope VAT invoices are issued and cleared through STA-controlled or STA-approved channels before they can be treated as legally valid tax invoices. Once cleared, the invoice is assigned official identifiers and verification data, such as an invoice number, QR code, digital signature and clearance timestamp.China operates a highly centralised clearance model. The exact access route can vary depending on taxpayer setup, local tax bureau requirements and approved service provider arrangements, but the tax authority infrastructure remains the authoritative source for invoice issuance, validation and record keeping.