After the webinar we held at easyap on the Create and Grow Law and electronic invoicing, some very interesting questions arose about the current status of the regulation. During the talk, attendees asked numerous questions that we tried to answer live. Below, we provide detailed answers to all the questions that were raised during the talk.
To what extent is it mandatory to send an invoice to the Tax Agency?
The percentage of mandatory invoices to be sent to the Tax Agency is 100%. You must do so at the same time you issue the invoice, provided that it is between Spanish companies.
Is this mandatory for all types of invoices (corrective invoices, credit notes, etc.)?
Yes. The Crea y Crece law does not differentiate between corrective invoices, simplified invoices, etc. Every time you issue an invoice, you must send it to the Tax Agency.
If there is more complex information, do two invoices need to be sent to two different recipients (customers and the Tax Agency)?
No. There are actually two invoices, but they are the same with identical numbering, although with different content.
The content of the invoice you send to the Tax Agency is the basic invoice content. In other words, the Tax Agency will require the mandatory information for invoicing. They will not ask you for detailed lines.
According to the regulation, the billing company, intermediary, or platform must be able to adapt the invoice before it is signed with the information agreed upon with the customer. Therefore, there can be two billing events:
- 1. You issue the invoice to the customer, adapted as agreed with them and including the mandatory information required by the Agency. In this case, that single invoice is valid for both the customer and the Tax Agency.
- You issue an invoice with additional information because you want to and the customer requires it (for example, a fleet number or flight number). As the Tax Agency does not need this information, it will not accept it. Therefore, you will have to issue a second invoice with the minimum mandatory information required by the Tax Agency.
What about PDF or paper invoices? Can you send the simple invoice to the tax agency and send a PDF or paper copy to the customer?
According to the standard, yes, but there is a catch. When you issue the electronic invoice to the Tax Agency, you will have to process it manually. In that case, you run the risk of creating a discrepancy between the paper invoice and the electronic invoice that sets off all the alarms.
For example, if you issue an invoice to the Tax Agency for €10,000 and manually make a mistake and deduct €100,000, it would be very dangerous. The Tax Agency will have reliable content and we will have erroneous content due to human error.
In short, paper or PDF invoices are a possible channel according to the regulations, but not recommended due to the differences they may generate.
What is the relationship between the Create and Grow Law and the Immediate Supply of Information (SII)? Do they replace each other?
They will run in parallel, according to the Tax Agency. The Create and Grow Law is a project backed by the Ministry of Economy, which, as it does not have the technical capacity to undertake a project of this type, has requested assistance from the Tax Agency, which has set its conditions.
In this regard, the Tax Agency points out that electronic invoices do not currently provide all the information offered by the Immediate Information Supply (SII). With accounting books, it would only cover invoices issued to Spanish taxpayers, but not to foreign taxpayers. Therefore, the Create and Grow Law is only a subset of the information reported in the SII and, as such, it does not intend to change or eliminate it.
The tax authorities will have the invoices in the SII, but also at their electronic headquarters. This will provide them with a source of information for comparison. It is here where it is vitally important to work with a service provider that has the capacity to send invoices simultaneously to customers, the tax authorities, and the Tax Agency's information system. If there are disconnected processes and differences arise, you will be giving grounds for inspections or for them to carry out an analysis.
Is the SII process similar to that of TicketBAI?
No, it has nothing to do with it. TicketBAI is not a process for sending invoices to regional agencies. It is a process in which you send the data to the regional agencies and they provide a seal of authenticity so that the recipient knows that it is genuine.
With this system, regional agencies also have the invoices, but the main objective is for them to have a seal of authenticity and for it to be known that they are valid invoices. It is like having a third party certify that it is authentic and that all tax obligations have been met. However, a supplier will not be able to connect to the regional agencies to download the invoices.
It is still unknown how long they will be kept. It is believed that it will not be the planned four years, although they will be kept for a reasonable period of time.
In any case, the Tax Agency has not established a protocol for the authenticity or acknowledgment of receipt of this invoice. It simply requires a copy of the invoices (without a QR or identification code, as is the case with TicketBAI). Therefore, it is different.
Is Facturae the same as Verifactu?
No. Verifactu is another project by the Tax Agency and the Ministry of Economy, which has been running for 10 years and is more similar to TicketBAI. It is aimed at companies with a turnover of less than €6 million, each of which, when issuing invoices, will request a QR code from the Tax Agency to verify the authenticity of the invoice.
Verifactu is still in draft form, but the process will be as described. For large companies, the regulations do not provide for any type of QR code or acknowledgment of receipt of the invoice submitted.
Do invoices to non-residents and intra-Community invoices also have to be reported to the Tax Agency?
According to the regulations, no. Only if both companies are located in Spain. Therefore, it makes sense for a company such as easyap, as a service provider, to arbitrate and send invoices to each of the agents.
There is already a European electronic invoicing regulation for public administrations, but in two years we will have a European electronic invoicing regulation between companies. We have the PEPPOL network, and in the future, invoices sent between European companies will have to follow these same channels and continental standards.
Electronic invoicing service providers will have to meet some very costly requirements. Among other things, they will need to know who to send invoices to, in what format, and how to report statuses, including to third-party providers. In other words, the architecture becomes more complex, it is simplified (as it is electronic processing), and the process of issuing and receiving invoices becomes more complicated. That is why it is advisable to rely on a company such as easyap.
Is there any feedback to the Tax Agency? For example, if a customer receives an invoice but rejects it, should they notify the Agency?
You do not have to inform the Tax Agency that the invoice has been rejected, but you do have to inform them of the status. However, how this should be done has yet to be defined. An invoice must report its status, so although the rejection itself does not have to be reported, the implications of that rejection (a change in the payment, in the amount, a corrective invoice, etc.) must be reported.
What deadlines and invoice statuses must be reported?
The invoice statuses that we must report according to FACe are:
– Acceptance or rejection of the invoice.
– The full payment
– Partial partial acceptance or rejection.
– Partial partial payment of the invoice with amount and date.
– The assignment of the invoice to a third party for collection or payment.
Regarding deadlines:
– The Royal Decree will enter into force 12 months of its publication in the BOE.
– Companies with a turnover of more than €8 million annually must be ready within 12 months of the publication of the Royal Decree in the BOE.
– Companies with a turnover of less than €8 million must be ready within 24 months of the publication of the Royal Decree in the Official State Gazette.
– During the first 12 months after the entry into force of the Royal Decree, companies that are required to issue electronic invoices must accompany these invoices with a document in PDF format.
It is not yet known when the Royal Decree will be published in the Official State Gazette, but everything points to it being in 2023.
Even so, you should optimize the process internally so that when the deadline arrives, you can send invoices in your preferred format (UBL format, Facturae, etc.). It is an ongoing process that complements paper invoicing, but once you start the process, you will be able to do everything simultaneously.
If my company is required to issue electronic invoices, do I also have to receive them in electronic format?
Those of your suppliers who invoice more than 8 million euros, yes. Those of other suppliers with a turnover of less than €8 million do not, until 24 months have elapsed months since the publication of the Royal Decree in the Official State Gazette. We will be living in a mixed scenario in which electronic invoices are accepted, from the Tax Agency and from suppliers who issue them in PDF format.
You can negotiate to be billed electronically only, but ideally you should offer the option of billing in multiple formats, as not all companies will be ready to bill online. The transition will not happen overnight, but will it will be a gradual process. The important thing is to automate the process and tasks.
What happens when simplified invoices are issued to individuals?
As the issuer, you will need to send them to the Tax Agency. For individuals who are not part of the process, you will give them a receipt or send them the invoice by email.
How do you know which format a recipient uses?
On the one hand, in the contract signed at the outset, the recipient usually establishes how and in what format they want to receive the invoices.
On the other hand, you need to know both the format and the address. The law stipulates that billing service providers such as easyap must keep addresses in a format that is readable by everyone. Each platform must define its own mailboxes. In our case, we will have as many as our customers want, and there will be no centralized directory. Ultimately, it will be the issuer themselves who decides and knows.
Must invoices received from suppliers be kept for four years?
Yes. All invoices issued and received and your financial statements must be available to customers and suppliers for 4 years. However, there may be changes in the Crea y Crece Law that modify this period.
What is the deadline for sending invoices to the Tax Agency?
As soon as you issue the invoice. As soon as it is issued to the customer, it is communicated to the Tax Agency. It does not work in the same way as the SII, and you must communicate it electronically at the same time as it is issued to the customer.
To do this, does the system need to be connected to the ERP for communication to be immediate?
When issuing and signing an electronic invoice, the valid date is the date of signature.
If you still have questions, don't hesitate to write to us. The digitization process for your company is at your fingertips!
