Hong Kong does not levy sales tax or VAT. The main business tax is profits tax, administered by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). Because there is no indirect consumption tax, you do not need to format invoices for a tax authority or report them in real time. The IRD's record-keeping guidance does not set an e-invoicing or real-time reporting requirement.
Who must keep records
Section 51C of the Inland Revenue Ordinance applies to every person carrying on a trade, profession or business in Hong Kong. You must keep records of income and expenditure that are sufficient to work out your assessable profits. This applies to companies and sole traders alike.
What records to keep
The IRD lists books of accounts, vouchers, bank statements, invoices and receipts. It also expects records of assets and liabilities and daily entries of money received and spent. Goods dealers must keep records of goods bought and sold, including enough detail about sellers and buyers to identify them and the related invoices. Service providers must keep records of services provided in enough detail to verify the entries.
For a platform, this means every invoice and payment should be stored with its date, parties, amounts, and the underlying supply. Store them so you can retrieve them by customer and by period.
Retention and language
Keep records for not less than seven years. Records must be kept in English or Chinese. Plan your data retention policy and any localized exports around these two rules.
Electronic records
The IRD refers readers to a separate pamphlet on the admissibility of business records kept in electronic form for tax purposes. The main record-keeping page does not state the conditions for electronic-only storage. Check that pamphlet before you rely on electronic copies in place of the originals.
Penalties
Failing to comply without reasonable excuse can lead to a fine of up to HK$100,000.
Next step
Read the developer documentation to see how to export and store invoice records with the required fields.
Start with one workflow, not a whole rewrite
Free sandbox with no time limit. Prove one entity and one invoice flow before deciding how much UI, compliance, and rollout surface you want to own.