Recently, eight departments including the Medical Reform Office of the State Council and the National Health and Family Planning Commission have jointly issued the Implementing Opinions on Carrying out the Dual Invoicing System for Drug Procurement among Public Medical Institutions (for Trial Implementation) (the "Opinions").
According to the Opinions, the dual invoicing system is a system under which invoices are issued by drug manufacturers to drug distributors for one time while invoices are issued by drug distributors to medical institutions for one time. Public medical institutions are encouraged to settle up directly with drug manufactures with regard to the payment for drugs, while drug manufacturers shall settle up with drug distributors for the distribution costs. The Opinions point out that provinces(autonomous regions and municipalities) subject to the pilot program of integrated medical insurance reform and cities subject to the pilot reform for public medical institutions shall take the lead to implement the dual invoicing system, while other regions are encouraged to carry out such system; and the system will be comprehensively promoted across the whole nation by 2018. Besides, the Opinions clearly state that, drug manufacturers and distributors shall issue special or general VAT invoices for the sales of drugs; and drug distributors ought to claim for invoices from drug manufacturers on their own initiative when they purchase drugs and such invoices must be issued by drug manufacturers.