The special value-added tax (VAT) invoice, also called special VAT fapiao, is an essential document used to offsett input VAT from output VAT, thereby relieving the taxpayer from VAT payment liabilities.
Traditionally, a company must obtain VAT general taxpayer status in order to be able to issue special VAT invoices. However, in August 2016, China launched a pilot program to allow small-scale taxpayers in the hotel industry to issue special VAT invoices by themselves. This pilot program has since expanded several times to include more sectors and a wider geographical scope.
Source: china-briefing.com
