If it is not a compliant fapiao, your VAT credit and many deductions are storytelling — platforms and QR issues still need the right type.
Fapiao are China-specific invoices issued through STA systems. Special VAT fapiao generally support input credits for general taxpayers; ordinary fapiao often do not. Buyer name, tax ID, and item wording must match the deal. Electronic fapiao are mainstream; rules still punish falsification. This wiki is the invoice definition. VAT rates stay on the rates URL. Expense claims without fapiao are a classic audit finding. Criminal false-invoice risk is a different escalation.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
Special or ordinary needed?
Credit goal.
TypeBuyer name/tax ID exact?
Match.
IDE-fapiao archived?
Retention.
ArchiveVAT definition clear?
related pages.
VATWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Can I reclaim VAT with an ordinary fapiao?
Usually not as special-fapiao input credit. Facts and taxpayer status matter.
Where are VAT rates?
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.