China launches crackdown on underground invoice trade

China has launched a crackdown on fake invoices that are being traded over the Internet.

A circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Public Security and State Administration of Taxation said the online trade of fake invoices has become "increasingly rampant".

It has induced tax evasion, provided a platform for the "underground economy" and impaired the normal operation of law-abiding businesses, the circular said.

Staff of the two departments were asked to act promptly to crack down the illegal trade. The circular also called on taxation authorities to further enhance invoice administration.

The police authority on Thursday publicized four major invoice forgery cases they have solved so far this year.

Forty-seven suspects were arrested in four separate cases in Heilongjiang Province, Zhejiang Province and Sichuan Province, the police said.

In the Zhejiang case, police cracked an "organized and sophisticated" underground network for producing and selling invoices, seizing fake invoices with a total face value of more than 117.43 billion yuan (14.86 billion U.S. dollars).

On April 6, police in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, raided an underground factory used to manufacture fake invoices, arresting 17 people and confiscating 72,000 invoices with a total face value of 68 billion yuan.

Source: Xinhua