Spain hesitantly embarks on its fiscalization journey, with Verifactu legal framework yet to be approved
Although Spain is rapidly approaching its 2027 deadline to start issuing fiscal invoices, no concrete regulatory framework for Verifactu has yet been published, leaving taxpayers uncertain about the next steps. This article delves into the status of this initiative and what these legal changes will mean for taxpayers.
We will first present the various concepts currently taking shape in the country, as each one addresses different aspects of Spain’s fiscalization project.
Verifactu, Spain’s fiscalization project
The Verifactu regulation, introduced by the Spanish Tax Authority (AEAT), aims to reduce tax fraud, particularly among small businesses and freelancers who currently remain outside the mandatory scope. Although adopting standards related to the already published regulation criteria is already possible to taxpayers willing to participate voluntarily, the AEAT hasn’t yet regulated or formally enacted the legal obligation to issue fiscal invoices in electronic form.
Once it is, electronic invoices will have to be sent to the public platform that the AEAT will make available. Taxpayers will have the option to choose how to submit these invoices: either through their own private platform or directly via the public platform provided for this purpose. If they opt for the former, taxpayers will need to make sure they interconnect their private platforms to allow seamless data exchange between suppliers and customers.
Moreover, the regulation will accept various formats for electronic invoices, provided that the version submitted to AEAT’s public platform complies with the Universal Business Language (UBL) standard. Invoicing records will not require electronic signatures, and each issued invoice must include the legend “Verifiable Invoice at AEAT’s electronic seat or Verifactu.” Additionally, every issued invoice must contain a QR code, granting access to specific invoice information.
The SIF or computerized billing systems
Another key concept in Spain’s fiscalization process are the so-called SIFs, or computerized billing systems. These are IT systems that companies have always used to issue, record, and store all invoices digitally. Once the AEAT defines the regulations, taxpayers will be able to continue using these systems voluntarily, provided they obtain the necessary certification that states their system is compatible with Verifactu regulations.
Among the most important specifications disclosed from this project are that each fiscal invoice generated through a SIF must include an invoicing record containing a unique digital fingerprint. These records will be created upon issuing new invoices, as well as when modifications or cancellations occur, and must be digitally signed. The main purpose of this requirement is to prevent the use of dual-purpose software, specifically, software that enables the concealment or diversion of income. The main function of these systems is to ensure that all data remains unchanged once entered. In this manner, greater transparency is fostered before the Tax Authority.
For the time being, the AEAT requires SIFs to have the capacity, but not the obligation, to transmit invoicing records to the Tax Authority electronically, in a continuous, secure, accurate, automatic, and consecutive manner, and in real time. Once they implement this functionality, the AEAT will recognize these SIFs as systems capable of issuing verifiable invoices, or Verifactu.
The “Crea y Crece” law compared to Verifactu
Confusion often arises from misinterpreting the Verifactu regulation and conflating it with the Crea y Crece (Create and Grow) Law, which is in preparation to take effect. Verifactu is the regulation that encompasses the establishment of the requirements that computer or electronic systems and programs must adopt. While the “Crea y Crece” law will simply trigger the obligation for certified systems operating within the Verifactu regulations and subject to fiscalization to mandatorily issue fiscal invoices in the electronic format. The Crea y Crece Law and the Verifactu regulation are separate legislations, each with distinct objectives and independent implementation timelines.
Who is currently under the fiscalization scope and who is not?
The Verifactu project applies to businesses and self-employed people who use a computerized billing system (SIF) and pay corporate tax, personal income tax (IRPF), or non-resident income tax (IRNR) if they have a permanent base in Spain, as well as to partnerships that share income among their members and carry out business activities. Although electronic invoicing for B2B national operations will become mandatory, several exceptions may apply, either excluding certain taxpayers from this obligation or requiring non-resident entities conducting activities in Spain to issue electronic invoices.
Another key exception, not subject to the Verifactu initiative, is taxpayers who are actively using the SII (immediate supply of information) VAT management system. In more detail, this system essentially involves the electronic provision of invoicing records, which are part of the VAT Record Books. To do so, the SII must submit the invoicing details to the AEAT electronically (via web services based on the exchange of XML messages, or, where appropriate, through the use of a web form), with which information the system will configure the various Record Books, practically in real time.
Why is the approval schedule for this fiscalization project so crucial?
Alongside the taxpayers’ uncertainty regarding any precise details or timelines for the regulation’s approval, another challenge has arisen. Namely, the European Commission intends to adopt a regulation that will standardize the format of fiscal invoices across the European Union, making it mandatory by 2030. This will happen exactly three years after Spain should have published and enforced its own legal framework and technical specifications for issuing fiscal invoices.
This uncertain scenario has led taxpayers affected by the legal changes stemming from the implementation of the Verifactu project to call on AEAT to guarantee that the electronic invoice format established by the forthcoming legislation will be compatible with European standards, thereby preventing taxpayers from having to invest twice in the same initiative.
