Electronic invoicing in Spain

On the 29th of September of 2022, the “Crea y Crece Law” was published in Spain (Disposición 15818 del BOE núm. 234 de 2022). According to it, all Spanish companies will be obliged to issue electronic invoices in their B2B relations.

What is electronic invoicing?

An electronic invoice is a document with the same validity as a paper invoice but is issued and received electronically.‍There is no universal e-invoicing format, and although there are some international protocols such as EDIFact or PEPPOL, most countries that have implemented e-invoicing have defined their own structure based on the XML format.

Furthermore, certain countries have taken advantage of the benefits of electronic invoicing to add additional requirements such as digital signatures or “stamping” with that country’s tax authorities.‍In addition to electronic invoicing, countries usually define portals/channels for the automated delivery of electronic invoices for each business.‍In Spain, electronic invoicing has been compulsory since 2015 for all Public Administration suppliers (B2G) whose invoices exceed €5,000. According to the new law, it will be mandatory for all B2B invoices. However, Spain has not yet defined the specific format it will require for B2B invoices.

What are the timings considered by the law?

The law stipulates three future periods:

• Regulatory development: The Government has up to 6 months from the publication of the BOE to approve the regulatory development, where it will define the technical specifications of electronic invoicing (maximum February 2023).
• 1st adoption deadline: Companies and self-employed with an annual turnover of +8M€ will be obliged to apply this measure one year after the regulatory development is approved (maximum February 2024).
• 2nd deadline for adoption: The rest of the companies and self-employed, that is, those with annual turnover of less than 8 million euros, will be obligated to apply this measure two years after the regulatory development has been approved (maximum February 2025).

What can I do to prepare myself?

Presumably, all countries will end up including some level of mandatory e-invoicing in B2B commercial relations and, in the longer term, in B2C.‍At Invopop, we have created a platform to automate and scale the generation, management, storage, and configuration of invoices and e-invoices. Contact us to learn how we can help you prepare for this change.‍Contact us to find out more!