(Yicai) March 5 -- More than CNY440 trillion (USD63.82 trillion) worth of electronic invoices were issued in China last year, accounting for 98 percent of the total value of invoices, according to the latest official data.

Nineteen billion e-invoices were issued in China last year, making up 91 percent of the country’s overall number of invoices, the State Taxation Administration said yesterday.

The establishment of a unified national e-invoice service platform has driven the digital transformation of China’s economy and society, not only effectively cutting corporate operating costs but also comprehensively increasing the law enforcement, service, and supervision capabilities of tax authorities, the STA noted.

After the introduction of e-invoices, taxpayers in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region saved about CNY1.2 billion (USD174.07 million) on average in operating costs a year, the average invoice issuance time was shortened to five minutes, and the invoice issuance efficiency rose 90 percent, according to the STA.

Tax authorities have formed a unified national electronic tax bureau, covering over 234 tax and fee payment items and more than 96 million taxpayers. All the tax and fee payment items can now be processed online, with a total of over 4.5 billion related transactions completed last year, STA data showed.

The comprehensive score of Chinese taxpayer satisfaction climbed to 89.5 points last year from 86.1 points five years ago, the STA said, citing data from a survey.

The time spent by Chinese firms on tax payment was slashed by over 78 percent last year from 2019, with the overall efficiency ranking among the top worldwide, according to the World Bank’s latest business environment assessment survey.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione