A Qualified Invoice Issuer (適格請求書発行事業者) is a business registered with the NTA to issue qualified invoices under the Invoice System.
Registration conditions
- Corporations: granted automatically (already taxable) - Sole proprietors over ¥10M revenue: auto-taxable → eligible to register - Sub-¥10M tax-exempt businesses: **opt-in registration** → triggers taxable-business conversion
How to apply
- NTA online or tax office visit - 1–3 months review - T-number assigned upon approval - Listed in public database
Pros and cons
### Pros - B2B counterparties can claim input VAT credit → easier to retain deals - Once you pass ¥10M revenue, taxable status becomes mandatory anyway
### Cons - Tax-exempt businesses gain consumption tax liability → higher tax burden - More paperwork (consumption tax calc + filing) - Must distinguish 10% vs 8% (reduced rate) categories
Real cases
- Freelance creators: unregistered → B2B contracts shrink - SaaS startups: registering before ¥10M still helps B2B - Korean/foreign PEs in Japan: consider registering if doing domestic transactions
HR SaaS integration
- **freee / MF Cloud**: auto-generate qualified invoices, auto-fill T-number - Tax accountant usually assists registration (¥10,000–30,000 fee)