Type: Legislation
The Congress of Spain, the lower house of the Spanish parliament, has approved a technical specification bill that will launch mandatory B2B e-invoices with government pre-approval from AEAT, the state tax authority. Only Spanish-based companies with fixed establishments would be subject to this as of January 24, 2024. In Spain, B2G e-invoicing is already required for invoices to public bodies that are over €5,000.
Soon after being gazetted, the law will go into effect. After that, the government has six months to publish technical guidelines and rules.
There is now a requirement for invoices to have QR codes. For large taxpayers, the obligation will begin on January 24, 2024. Early in 2026, all other businesses would have to comply.
The rollout will likely be as follows:
– 2024: large taxpayers (turnover above €8 million); and
– 2026: all other taxpayers.
In addition to increasing the effectiveness of business operations, the proposal to make e-invoices mandatory for all corporations and non – incorporated businesses when conducting business with other corporations aims to combat VAT fraud. According to the European Commission’s VAT Gap report, Spain lost out on expected Value Added Tax revenues worth €6.8 billion.
Effective date: 24 January 2024
