The Official State Gazette (BOE) of September 29, 2022, published Law 18/2022, of September 28, on the creation and growth of companies, which expands the subjective scope of the obligation to issue electronic invoices.
We inform you that until now, electronic invoicing was mandatory in relations with individuals by businesses and professionals who provide services to the general public and who operate in certain economic sectors, both when the individual agrees to receive electronic invoices, and when they expressly request them.
This will change with the approval of Law 18/2022 on the creation and growth of businesses, which extends this obligation to commercial transactions between businesses and professionals. The obligation applies to all their transactions, regardless of the sector in which they operate.
However, the entry into force of this new provision is subject to obtaining the Community exemption to Articles 218 and 232 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of VAT.
Obligation to issue and send electronic invoices to all businesses and professionals in their commercial relationships
Firstly, the general rule is established that all business owners and professionals are obligated to issue, send and receive electronic invoices in their business relationships with other business owners and professionals.
However, this general rule will produce effects:
- For business owners and professionals whose annual turnover exceeds 8 million euros: one year after the regulatory development is approved.
- For the rest of the business owners and professionals: two years after the regulatory development is approved.
Requirements for electronic invoices
- In any case, they must comply with the provisions of the specific regulations on invoicing.
- Both the recipient and the issuer of the invoices must report on the status of the invoices.
- Recipients may request a copy of the electronic invoices for a period of 4 years from the date of issue without incurring additional costs.
- The recipient of the invoice may not force its issuer to use a predetermined electronic invoicing solution, platform or service provider.
Requirements of electronic invoicing solutions and platforms
- The technological solutions and platforms offered by companies providing electronic invoicing services to businesses and professionals must guarantee their free interconnection and interoperability.
- The electronic invoicing solutions and platforms used by issuing and receiving companies must meet the same criteria for interconnection and free interoperability with other electronic invoicing solutions.
- The computer or electronic systems and programs that manage the invoicing processes and store electronic invoices must comply with the requirements referred to in article 29.2.j) of the LGT and its regulatory development, that is, they must guarantee the integrity, preservation, accessibility, legibility, traceability and immutability of the records, without interpolations, omissions or alterations that are not duly recorded in the systems themselves.
Obligations of companies providing services to the general public of special economic significance
Concept of this type of company
These companies are those that have more than 100 employees or whose annual turnover, calculated in accordance with VAT regulations, exceeds 6,010,121.04 euros and that, in both cases, operate in the following economic sectors, among others:
- From electronic communications services to consumers;
- Financial services intended for consumers, which will include banking, credit or payment services, investment services, private insurance operations, pension schemes and insurance mediation activity;
- From water supply services to consumers;
- Retail gas supply services;
- From electricity supply services to end consumers;
- Travel agency services,
- Passenger transport services by road, rail, sea, or air, etc.
Obligations:
- These companies must issue and send electronic invoices in their dealings with individuals who agree to receive them or who have expressly requested them, regardless of the size of their workforce or their annual volume of operations.
Exceptions: Travel agencies, transport services and retail activities are only required to issue electronic invoices when the contract has been carried out by electronic means.
- They must provide access to the necessary programs so that users can read, copy, download and print the electronic invoice free of charge without having to resort to other sources to obtain the necessary applications for this purpose.
- They must enable simple and free procedures so that users can revoke their consent to receive electronic invoices at any time.
Deadline for consulting electronic invoices
In the event of contract termination with the company or revocation of consent to receive electronic invoices, the three-year period during which the customer can view their invoices electronically remains unaffected. Nor does their right to access previously issued invoices expire.
Sanctioning regime
They will be sanctioned with a warning or a fine of up to 10,000 euros:
- Companies that are legally obligated to do so but fail to offer users the option of receiving electronic invoices or do not allow former customers access to their invoices will be subject to penalties. The determination and severity of the penalty will follow the criteria established in Article 2.2 of the Law regulating certain aspects of electronic trust services.
- Companies that provide services to the general public of special economic importance that do not comply with the other obligations provided for in article 2.1. The person in charge of the State Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence is competent to impose this sanction.
Procedure for accrediting the interconnection and interoperability of platforms
It is established that this will be determined by regulation. According to the law, the Regulation must be published within a maximum period of 6 months from the publication of this Law (Official State Gazette, September 29, 2022).
You can contact this professional office for any questions or clarifications you may have.
Warm regards,
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A Àmbit Assessor, SL has 40 years dedicated to the tax, comptable and labor consultancy of the Pime.
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