"Am I missing something?" is the right question
Most invoice problems in Cambodia are not about arithmetic. They are about a field that should have been there and was not: a buyer TIN on the wrong document, a tax line that was never itemised, a riel total nobody printed, an English-only layout.
The field list comes from Prakas No. 723 MEF.Prk, issued 14 August 2019 and effective 1 January 2020, with the rules for use in GDT Instruction 3033 / Notification 3218 of 6 February 2020. Below is that list as a checklist — and where the tax invoice and the commercial invoice differ, both are shown.
1. The supplier block
- Legal name of the issuing business.
- Address.
- TIN — the taxpayer identification number.
Both invoice types carry the supplier TIN. There is no version of a Cambodian invoice without it.
2. The buyer block
| Field | Tax invoice | Commercial invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer name | Required | Required |
| Buyer address | Required | Required |
| Buyer TIN | Required | Not required |
This is the field that most often reveals the wrong template. If you are a small taxpayer handing a document to a walk-in customer, the buyer TIN should not be on it. If you are a medium taxpayer invoicing a registered business, it must be.
3. Numbering and dates
- A sequential invoice number, in chronological order.
- The invoice date.
- VAT invoice sequences restart each tax year.
- Each branch keeps its own sequence.
If you issue from two locations, you have two sequences — and each one runs in its own order.
4. The line items
For every line: description, quantity, and price. A lump-sum line with no quantity is a weak document; itemise what you sold.
5. The total and the taxes
Tax invoice (វិក្កយបត្រអាករ):
- The total is shown exclusive of taxes.
- Each tax is itemised on its own line.
- Taxes that may appear: VAT, specific tax, public lighting tax, accommodation tax.
Commercial invoice (វិក្កយបត្រ):
- The total is inclusive of all taxes.
- Taxes are not itemised.
The reason is structural: a registered business receiving a tax invoice needs the tax breakdown to claim input VAT. An end user does not, and a document that itemises taxes to a consumer looks like a tax invoice without being one.
6. Signature
- Tax invoice: the name and signature of the seller or the buyer.
- Commercial invoice: the name and signature of the seller.
7. Language
Khmer must be used, and any foreign language must be displayed below the Khmer — per label, not per document. Instruction 3033 / Notification 3218 is explicit: not beside the Khmer, not instead of it, and not behind a language switch.
This is why a "language toggle" is not sufficient on a Cambodian invoice. Bilingual here means Khmer above and the other language underneath, everywhere on the document.
8. The riel total
Notification 4908 GDT of 18 March 2019 requires registered self-assessment taxpayers to show the total amount payable, including VAT, in KHR. Line amounts may stay in another currency. You may convert at the GDT's published monthly rate for the previous month, or at a market rate that is not lower than the National Bank of Cambodia daily rate. A remainder above 0.5 riel rounds up; below 0.5 riel rounds down.
9. Tax rates, if you are charging tax
- VAT: 10% standard rate.
- Public lighting tax: 5% — raised from 3% by Prakas No. 168 MEF.PrK.GDT of 20 March 2024. It applies to manufacturers and importers of alcohol and tobacco; distributors were removed from scope by the same prakas. If you are a general trader or service business, it does not apply to you.
- Accommodation tax: 2% — Prakas No. 173 MEF.Prk.GDT of 20 March 2024. Accommodation services only.
The single most common error in circulating English summaries is stating public lighting tax at 3%. That figure was superseded in March 2024.
10. What is not on the invoice but still required of you
- Record retention: 10 years for medium and large taxpayers, 3 years for small taxpayers, per Prakas 723.
- The payer's withholding is not a line on your invoice. Withholding tax is deducted by the payer when they pay you — it does not change the total due on the document. (See Withholding tax on service invoices in Cambodia.)
- CamInvoice clearance is a separate system. A PDF invoice is not a CamInvoice e-invoice, and producing one does not make you compliant with the 2026 B2B mandate.
The checklist, in one place
| # | Field | Tax invoice | Commercial invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supplier name | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | Supplier address | Yes | Yes |
| 3 | Supplier TIN | Yes | Yes |
| 4 | Buyer name | Yes | Yes |
| 5 | Buyer address | Yes | Yes |
| 6 | Buyer TIN | Yes | No |
| 7 | Sequential number + date | Yes | Yes |
| 8 | Description, quantity, price per line | Yes | Yes |
| 9 | Total exclusive of taxes | Yes | No |
| 10 | Total inclusive of taxes | No | Yes |
| 11 | Each tax itemised separately | Yes | No |
| 12 | Khmer, with any other language below | Yes | Yes |
| 13 | Total payable in KHR (registered self-assessment) | Yes | Yes |
| 14 | Signature | Seller or buyer | Seller |
Why getting this right matters
Under the Prakas 723 framework, non-compliance draws obstruction penalties, additional tax and interest, and issuing false or inaccurate invoices — or failing to issue one — can lead to reassessment, business closure, fines up to KHR 10,000,000, or imprisonment of up to one year. This is not paperwork for its own sake.
How the tool handles it
The Cambodia Invoice Generator asks for your taxpayer profile and your customer type first, then selects the tax-invoice or commercial-invoice variant and shows only the fields that variant requires — so a commercial invoice never asks for a buyer TIN, and a tax invoice always itemises each tax. It renders Khmer above English per label, computes VAT at 10% and, where they apply, public lighting tax at 5% and accommodation tax at 2%, and stamps the riel total at the National Bank of Cambodia daily rate with the rate and its date on the document. It is free, needs no account, and keeps nothing after the PDF is returned.
If you issue invoices continuously — numbering sequences, a customer list, VAT returns and GDT reporting — that is a different product for a different need: khmerinvoice.com.
This article explains the requirements; it is not tax advice. Confirm your own position with the General Department of Taxation or a qualified adviser.