Value-added tax, invoices and transaction classification
Follow the transaction from its substance and place in the business to the applicable Korean VAT treatment. Distinguish taxable supplies, zero-rated supplies, exempt supplies and transactions outside the relevant supply definition. Zero rating and exemption can have different consequences for input tax, so they are not interchangeable merely because the seller charges no positive output tax.
A VAT calculation separates the supply value from the tax itself. Where a problem states a tax-inclusive price and supplies the rate, divide appropriately to recover the tax-exclusive amount. Input tax recovery depends on the applicable transaction, use and evidence; the appearance of tax on a document alone does not establish deductibility. Mixed taxable and exempt activities can require allocation under the actual rule.
Invoice timing, required particulars, corrections and filing obligations need the applicable provision and facts. A sales return is not the same event as an unexplained ledger adjustment. Preserve supporting documents and reconcile output tax, eligible input tax, adjustments and payments. Do not copy a foreign VAT invoice rule or a remembered Korean deadline into an unspecified current-year case. Software competence includes selecting the correct transaction treatment and retaining the evidence, not merely entering a number that makes the return balance.