- In a Malaysian e-commerce transaction, the e-commerce platform provider, not the merchant, assumes the role of Supplier and issues the e-invoice to the purchaser [e-Invoice Specific Guideline v4.8, para 14.4.2].
- Merchants and service providers selling on a platform are not required to issue an e-invoice or a receipt to the purchaser for goods sold or services performed on that platform [v4.8, para 14.4.5].
- A single marketplace order can generate three separate e-invoices, and the merchant issues none of them: platform to purchaser, platform to merchant as self-billed, and platform to merchant for platform charges.
- The platform must issue a self-billed e-invoice to the merchant for all transactions concluded on the platform, and may submit these at its existing statement frequency, whether daily, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly [v4.8, para 14.5.5].
- Any single transaction exceeding RM10,000 must be issued as an individual e-invoice and cannot be consolidated, across all industries, effective 1 January 2026 [v4.8, Table 3.6].
- The exemption is channel-specific, not business-specific. Sales through your own website, your own app or a physical outlet remain your obligation.
Who Issues the e-Invoice in a Malaysian E-Commerce Transaction?
The e-commerce platform provider does. Upon implementation of e-invoicing, platform providers are responsible for assuming the role of Supplier and facilitating the issuance of either an e-invoice, where the purchaser requests one, or a receipt, where the purchaser does not [v4.8, para 14.4.2].
The guideline is explicit about what this means for you as a merchant. Merchants and service providers are not required to issue an e-invoice or a receipt to the purchaser for the goods sold or services performed on the platform [v4.8, para 14.4.5]. That is the whole of the seller-side rule for marketplace sales.
LHDN defines an e-commerce transaction broadly: any sale or purchase of goods or services conducted over any network by methods specifically designed for receiving or placing orders. Payment and delivery do not have to happen online for the transaction to count [v4.8, para 14.1].
One point that catches sellers out: the issuance of an e-invoice is for tax compliance only. It does not change the nature of the transaction or the commercial liability attached to it [v4.8, para 14.4.2]. The platform issuing a tax document in its own name does not make the platform the commercial seller of your goods.
| Party | Role in the transaction | e-Invoice obligation |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce platform provider | Supplier, for issuance purposes | Issues e-invoice or receipt to purchaser; issues self-billed e-invoice to merchant; issues e-invoice for platform charges |
| Merchant or service provider | Seller of the goods or services | None, for transactions concluded on the platform |
| Purchaser | Buyer | Requests an e-invoice if one is needed for tax purposes |
The Three e-Invoices Behind One Marketplace Order
A single order generates up to three tax documents, running in three different directions. Understanding which is which is the difference between a clean set of accounts and a reconciliation problem in March.
| # | Document | Issued by | Issued to | Guideline reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | e-Invoice, or a receipt if none requested | Platform provider | Purchaser | Section 14.4 |
| 2 | Self-billed e-invoice for your sales proceeds | Platform provider | You, the merchant | Section 14.5 |
| 3 | Normal e-invoice for platform charges | Platform provider | You, the merchant | Section 14.6 |
Documents 2 and 3 point in opposite commercial directions, and that is exactly why they take different forms. Document 2 records money flowing to you, so you are the Supplier and the platform self-bills on your behalf. Document 3 records money flowing to the platform, so the platform is the Supplier and invoices you normally.
1. Platform to purchaser
Where the purchaser asks for an e-invoice, the platform issues one. Where the purchaser does not, the platform may aggregate those transactions on a monthly basis and submit a consolidated e-invoice to LHDN within seven calendar days after month end [v4.8, para 14.4.3]. The activities listed in Table 3.6 of the guideline are excluded from consolidation and always need an individual e-invoice.
For a purchaser that is a foreign business with no available TIN, the platform inputs the general TIN EI00000000020 [v4.8, Table 14.1].
2. Platform to merchant, self-billed
When a sale concludes on the platform, you become entitled to payment for the goods sold or services performed. The platform is required to issue a self-billed e-invoice to you for all transactions concluded on the platform [v4.8, para 14.5.2].
The roles invert here, which is the part most sellers find counterintuitive:
- Supplier: you, the merchant or service provider
- Buyer: the e-commerce platform provider, which assumes the Supplier role in order to issue the self-billed e-invoice [v4.8, para 14.5.3]
The platform is allowed to create and submit these self-billed e-invoices in line with its existing statement frequency, whether daily, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly [v4.8, para 14.5.5]. This is why Shopee’s two-week cycle and another platform’s monthly cycle are both compliant. There is no single mandated cadence.
Where a merchant is a foreign business and no TIN is available, the platform inputs EI00000000030 [v4.8, Table 14.2].
3. Platform to merchant, for platform charges
Platforms charge merchants for the use of the platform. For those charges, the platform is responsible for issuing a normal e-invoice to you [v4.8, para 14.6.2], with the platform as Supplier and you as Buyer [v4.8, para 14.6.3].
In practice this covers commissions taken from each sale, marketing and advertising fees, transaction and payment processing charges, and subsidised logistics deductions. These are your deductible business expenses, and the platform’s e-invoice is your proof of them.
Selling on your own store as well?
JomeInvoice connects Shopify, WooCommerce and custom storefronts straight to MyInvois. Book a demo or start free.
What Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop Do in Practice
The guideline sets the obligation. Each platform implements it slightly differently, and the differences matter mainly for where you go to retrieve your documents.
| Platform | Where to retrieve documents | Issuance cadence | What you must maintain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopee | Seller Centre, My Income, My Tax Invoice | Validated e-invoices released on a two-week cycle | Business name, SSM number, TIN, registered address |
| Lazada | Lazada Seller Center | Released after LHDN validation | TIN, company name, SSM registration number |
| TikTok Shop | TikTok Seller Center | Released after LHDN validation | TIN, company registration, address |
Across all three the seller-side task is identical and unglamorous: keep your tax profile accurate and current in the platform’s settings. The platform cannot issue a valid e-invoice with your details on it if those details are wrong, and a rejected submission becomes your problem at filing time even though you never issued the document.
What you provide depends on how you are registered:
- Individual seller: full name as per MyKad, identification number, TIN, contact details
- Registered business: company name, SSM registration number, TIN, registered address
If a buyer requests an individual e-invoice rather than being swept into the platform’s monthly consolidation, the platform issues it on your behalf. You take no action.
Verify current retrieval paths and cadences directly with each platform’s seller documentation, since platform interfaces change more often than the guideline does.
Where Your Own Obligation Starts
The marketplace exemption is attached to the channel, not to your business. This is the single most expensive misreading in Malaysian e-commerce compliance, because a seller who reads it as business-wide simply stops filing.
LHDN addresses the mixed case directly. Where a business conducts sales through a physical store as well as an e-commerce platform, it must issue e-invoices for the physical store transactions. For the platform sales it is not required to issue any e-invoice, because that obligation rests with the platform provider [LHDN e-Invoice FAQ Q100].
The same logic extends to every channel you control yourself:
- Your own website on Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom build
- Your own mobile app
- Direct sales over WhatsApp, Instagram DM or phone order
- Your physical outlet or pop-up
For all of these you are the Supplier, and every sale needs an e-invoice submitted to MyInvois for validation, individually or by monthly consolidation within seven calendar days after month end.
The revenue threshold that determines your phase is also business-wide, not channel-wide. RM800,000 of Shopee revenue plus RM300,000 from your own store is RM1.1 million of annual revenue, and your phase is set on the total.
For the storefront side of this, see our guides to e-invoicing for a Shopify store in Malaysia, e-invoicing for a WooCommerce store and e-invoicing for eCommerce stores.
The RM10,000 Rule in E-Commerce
Any single transaction with a value exceeding RM10,000 requires its own individual e-invoice and cannot be consolidated. This applies to all industries and took effect on 1 January 2026 [v4.8, Table 3.6, item 7].
The rule binds whoever is issuing, which means it lands in three different places depending on the channel:
- High-value marketplace sales. The platform must issue an individual e-invoice for that order rather than sweeping it into the monthly consolidation. Nothing changes for you.
- High-value own-store sales. You must issue the individual e-invoice. It cannot go into your monthly consolidated submission.
- Large platform charges. Where a single platform fee or advertising charge exceeds RM10,000, the platform must issue that e-invoice individually.
There is no phase-based or relaxation-based escape from this rule. It applies to every business regardless of implementation phase. Our RM10,000 e-invoice rule guide works through the threshold in detail.
Imported Stock Is a Separate Obligation
Marketplace sellers frequently source stock from foreign suppliers, and this is where a genuine self-billing duty does land on you.
Where you buy goods or services from a foreign supplier, that supplier issues an invoice under its own country’s rules and not a Malaysian e-invoice. You, as the Malaysian purchaser, must issue a self-billed e-invoice to record the expense [v4.8, Section 10.4]. Timing runs to the end of the second month after customs clearance for goods, and to the end of the month following the earlier of payment or receipt of the foreign invoice for services.
This has nothing to do with your marketplace activity. It applies because you are the buyer of imported goods, and it applies whether you resell on Shopee or nowhere at all. Our self-billed e-invoice scenarios guide covers all nine circumstances in which self-billing is required.
Returns, Refunds and Cancellations
Where a transaction is reversed, the correction is made through the adjustment documents rather than by altering the original. LHDN provides for credit notes, debit notes and refund notes for this purpose [v4.8, Section 6].
For marketplace orders the platform issued the original document, so the platform issues the corresponding adjustment. For your own-store sales you issued the original, so the adjustment is yours to raise. A validated e-invoice may also be cancelled within 72 hours of validation, after which the adjustment-document route is the only one available.
Penalties for Getting This Wrong
Failure to issue an e-invoice, including a platform provider’s failure to issue self-billed e-invoices for third-party transactions, carries a fine of RM200 to RM20,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, per offence, under section 120(1)(d) of the Income Tax Act 1967.
The exposure is asymmetric and worth stating plainly. As a marketplace-only seller your exposure on platform transactions is close to nil, because you are not the issuing party. The moment you open a direct channel, the exposure is entirely yours. Our e-invoice penalty guide sets out the full schedule, and the complete LHDN e-invoice guide covers the wider framework.
How JomeInvoice Helps E-Commerce Sellers
JomeInvoice is not needed for your marketplace sales. The platform handles those, and any vendor telling you otherwise is selling you a problem you do not have.
Where it earns its place is the channel the marketplace does not cover: your own store. JomeInvoice connects Shopify, WooCommerce and custom storefronts directly to MyInvois, so every direct order produces a validated e-invoice without manual entry.
- Order-triggered issuance. Each order on your own store generates and submits an e-invoice automatically.
- Consolidation handled. Qualifying transactions are batched into compliant consolidated e-invoices and submitted inside the seven-day window after month end.
- RM10,000 detection. Transactions above the threshold are flagged and issued individually rather than consolidated.
- TIN validation before submission. Buyer TIN format and required fields are checked before submission, so errors surface for correction instead of returning as an Invalid status.
- One view across channels. Your direct-sales compliance sits in a single dashboard while the marketplaces run their own.
Setup runs on the Shopify and WooCommerce connectors, or by API for a custom build.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do Shopee sellers need to issue an e-invoice for each sale?
No. Merchants are not required to issue an e-invoice or a receipt to the purchaser for goods sold on the platform. Shopee assumes the Supplier role and issues to the buyer, then issues you a self-billed e-invoice for your sales proceeds.
Q: Who issues the e-invoice in an e-commerce transaction in Malaysia?
The e-commerce platform provider. Under Section 14.4.2 of the e-Invoice Specific Guideline, the platform assumes the role of Supplier and issues either an e-invoice on request or a receipt where none is requested.
Q: Why does the platform issue me a self-billed e-invoice?
Because the money flows to you. For your sales proceeds you are the Supplier and the platform is the Buyer, so the platform self-bills on your behalf under Section 14.5. Platform charges run the other way and come to you as a normal e-invoice.
Q: How do I get my e-invoice from Lazada?
Through Lazada Seller Center, once LHDN has validated the submission. Keep your TIN, company name and SSM registration number current in your seller profile, or the platform cannot issue a valid document in your name.
Q: I sell on Shopee and on my own website. What do I do?
Nothing for the Shopee sales. Everything for the website sales. The exemption attaches to the channel, not to your business, so every direct order needs an e-invoice submitted to MyInvois by you.
Q: Are marketplace sellers below RM1 million exempt?
Yes, effectively, for platform sales: the issuance obligation rests with the platform regardless of your revenue. You must still provide your details to the platform so it can issue correctly [LHDN e-Invoice FAQ Q96].
Q: Does the RM10,000 rule apply to marketplace sales?
Yes. Any single transaction exceeding RM10,000 needs an individual e-invoice and cannot be consolidated, in every industry and every phase. On marketplace orders the platform carries that duty.
Q: How often does the platform issue self-billed e-invoices?
At its existing statement frequency, which may be daily, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly. The guideline permits the platform to follow its current cycle rather than mandating one.
Q: Do I need e-invoice software if I only sell on marketplaces?
No. Your obligation for platform sales is to keep your tax profile accurate in the seller centre and retain the documents the platform issues you. Software becomes necessary when you open a direct channel.
Get your own-store sales onto MyInvois
Marketplaces cover their own transactions. Everything you sell directly is yours to file. JomeInvoice automates it.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. LHDN guidelines are subject to updates. Always refer to the latest official LHDN e-Invoice Guidelines at myinvois.hasil.gov.my and consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your business.
Last updated: 31 March 2026 | Written by Yinn Sheng Ng, Head of Marketing