- Royal Decree 1007/2023 of 5 December approves the regulation on requirements for computerised invoicing systems and was published in the Gazette on the 6th.
- Programs must ensure integrity, retention, accessibility, legibility, traceability and unalterability of invoicing records.
- There will be two modes: Verifactu, sending each invoice to the Tax Agency when issued, or a system that keeps the records and produces them on request.
On 6 December 2023 the Official State Gazette published Royal Decree 1007/2023 of 5 December, which approves the regulation setting the requirements that systems and computer programs supporting the invoicing processes of businesses and professionals must meet, and lays down standard formats for invoicing records. It implements article 29.2.j) of the General Tax Law, introduced by the 2021 law on preventing tax fraud.
The stated aim is to combat software that allows sales to be manipulated or hidden and to help the fight against the informal economy. For anyone invoicing with a program or an app, the regulation means that the program will have to meet technical requirements and that, in one of the two modes, it will send the information on each invoice to the tax authorities at the time of issue. It affects a self-employed person issuing invoices from a simple app as much as a large company with its own management system.
What the regulation requires
Invoicing systems must guarantee the integrity, retention, accessibility, legibility, traceability and unalterability of the records, which will be generated simultaneously with, or immediately before, the issue of each invoice. Each record will carry an electronic fingerprint linking it to the previous one, so that any later alteration is detectable, and the program and its producer must be identifiable.
The regulation allows two options. In the first, known as Verifactu, the system sends the Tax Agency, when each invoice is issued, a record with its main data; in return, the system is spared other technical requirements, such as electronically signing each record. In the second, the system does not send the records automatically, but must keep them intact and be able to produce them if the authorities ask.
Who is affected and when
The obligation falls, in general, on businesses and professionals who issue invoices with computer systems, and also on companies that produce and sell those programs. Some cases are excluded, such as those that already keep their VAT books through the immediate information supply system or are governed by regional tax authorities with their own systems. The General Tax Law provides a specific penalty regime for manufacturers and users of non-compliant systems.
The regulation will be completed by a ministerial order detailing the technical specifications, and it allows a period for manufacturers and users to adapt their systems. It should not be confused with the mandatory electronic invoicing between businesses provided for in the Crea y Crece law, which governs the format and exchange of invoices and will be developed in another regulation: they are two different, though complementary, obligations.
What to review
Self-employed people and companies can start by identifying which program they use for invoicing and asking their provider whether it plans to adapt it to the new regulation and in which mode. Those who develop their own software or customise applications will have to review the design: records will not be able to be modified or deleted without leaving a trace, and retention and accessibility become legal requirements.
It is also worth reviewing contracts with invoicing and management software providers: responsibility for compliance, update costs and support. Until the technical order is published and the deadlines are set, there is no need for hasty decisions, but it pays to find out in good time. This note is general information; for your case, consult your adviser.
The invoice stops being just a document and becomes a record that the program must protect.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
