Tencent's logo File photo: IC

Internet giant Tencent Corp is leading the drafting of the first international standard for blockchain tech-based invoices, after gaining approval for the project from China's taxation regulators and support from other countries, the company said.

The project, named "General Framework of DLT-Based Invoices," was approved and supported by countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Sweden and Brazil during an ITU-T international meeting on e-invoice standards, the company said.

The project has also been approved by the State Administration of Taxation, which means the drafting work of the standard has been launched, read the press release.

Tencent, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and the taxation bureau in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, have jointly begun drafting the standard, the world's first. The three will be responsible for its discussion and revision before it is approved and published.

Representatives from different countries agreed at the ITU-T meeting that blockchain tech-based invoices will be an important part of the infrastructure of the future digital economic society, and they stressed the importance of developing a standard, it said.

The project represents the Chinese company's technology strength and progress in blockchain applications, and it will also advance international cooperation and exchange, according to analysts. 

"The project shows China's industry and market activity in blockchain tech application," Li Ming, director of the Blockchain Research Department at the China Electronics Standardization Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"E-invoicing is an appropriate field for blockchain application probes and trials currently, which could in turn promote tech development," Li said.

The elements of transparency, trust and verifiability of the technology are needed for application scenarios involving multiple parties, and they largely improve efficiency, Li added.

"As of August 10, more than 6 million blockchain e-invoices have been issued, and more than 5,300 companies have been registered in China to use blockchain e-invoices since the first...was issued by Tencent on August 10, 2018," the Guosheng Securities said in a recent report, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday.
Newspaper headline: Tencent leads development of standards for tech-based blockchain invoices