China Railway to Adjust Rules for Issuing Passenger Transport Electronic Invoices Starting December 1

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, China State Railway Group announced adjustments to the railway passenger transport electronic invoice service, specifying that starting December 1, a new function will be added allowing ticket purchasers to issue electronic invoices online on behalf of actual passengers. The invoicing period shall be within 180 days from the date the journey ends or the date refund or rebooking procedures are completed. A white-background electronic invoice format will also be added while offline application channels will be retained.

This adjustment mainly targets scenarios involving group travel and ticket purchases made on behalf of others. Under the original rules, railway passenger transport electronic invoices could only be applied for by the ticket purchaser in person and could not be issued directly for other actual passengers. After the new rules take effect, as long as the ticket purchaser handles the relevant business through Railway 12306 for passengers, they may apply for invoicing on their behalf within the specified period. Electronic invoices will be issued based on the actual passenger's information, reducing the invoicing steps in scenarios such as group travel, centralized ticket purchases by organizations, and family purchases on behalf of others.

The electronic invoice format will also be adjusted accordingly. In response to some passengers' feedback that blue-background electronic invoices lack sufficient legibility when printed, the railway authorities will add a white-background electronic invoice format while retaining the original blue-background format. Passengers may choose the appropriate format based on their financial reimbursement and printing needs. The electronic invoice service will continue to be provided through the Railway 12306 platform.

In addition to online services, the railway authorities will continue to retain offline application channels at stations. Elderly passengers, those unable to use online services proficiently, and other groups without internet access may bring the valid identity document of the passenger used at the time of ticket purchase to a station ticket window or self-service ticket machine to apply for an electronic invoice and obtain a QR code invoicing slip. They can then use the Railway 12306 application to scan the QR code on the slip, supplement the relevant information as required, and complete identity verification to finish issuing the electronic invoice.

This optimization also further clarifies the official service channels for railway passenger transport electronic invoices. Railway 12306, as the only official online train ticket sales platform of China Railway, is also the only legitimate channel for issuing, delivering, and downloading railway passenger transport electronic invoices. Third-party platforms and individuals involved in railway ticket sales business may not provide railway passenger transport electronic invoice-related services.

After the new rules take effect, the railway passenger transport electronic invoice service will form a more complete processing flow in aspects such as invoicing on behalf of passengers, invoice format selection, and offline applications, applicable to scenarios including individual travel, group travel, and centralized ticket purchases by organizations.