Obligation to use electronic invoicing in public administration

According to a publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on December 28, 2013, a process has been initiated to promote electronic invoicingin public administration, which will culminate on January 15, 2015, when the deadline for companies that supply goods and services to public bodies to adapt to this new measure will expire. Therefore, as of that date, all invoices for amounts exceeding €5,000submitted to public administrations must be in electronic format.

Electronic invoicing in public administration

At present, it is not a mandatory measure for amounts less than €5,000 or for services outside the Public Administration, but the law leaves the door open for regulations that may be published in the future.

From this moment on, the countdown begins, and all companies that are suppliers to the public sector must start getting used to managing their invoices electronically and processing them online, which will be subject to controlled accounting records that are more accessible to the tax authorities.

Electronic invoicing process in the Public Administration

The process within this context will be as follows:

1. Preparation of the electronic invoice by the administration's supplier, complying with the regulatory format and with Advanced Electronic Signature.
2. Submission of electronic invoices at the General Entry Point for Electronic Invoices. In principle, there is a PGEFE offered by the General State Administration for the entry of these invoices, but it is foreseeable that there will be one for each administrative level or even that each Autonomous Community will have its own, but this will depend on how the different parts of the administration fulfill their part.
3. Accounting recordof the electronic invoice. Since January 1, 2014, this procedure has been followed for processing invoices received, in which they are assigned an identification code.
4. Recognition of payment obligation by the competent body and accounting processing.

What do you need to know about electronic invoicing in public administration?

Thanks to the identification code and the traceability inherent in electronic systems, suppliers will be able to check the status of their invoices, and it will no longer be so easy for them to be forgotten by the Administration.

The main objective of this measure is to put an end to late payments by public administrations, improve financial sustainability through the control of commercial debt, increase efficiency, and avoid "invoices in the drawer." However, it is also fairly clear that this is a mechanism that will allow the tax authorities to gain a more transparent view of the situation affecting them in terms of taxation. We therefore recommend that the entire business sector adapt to this system as soon as possible, as sooner or later the measure will be extended to all invoices issued and received in Spain.