Tax Alert: Computer or Electronic Systems to support the invoicing processes

On December 6, 2023, Royal Decree 1007/2023, of 5 December, was published in the Official State Gazette, approving the Regulation establishing requirements to be adopted by the computer or electronic systems and programmes that support the invoicing processes of companies and professionals, and the standardisation of invoicing record formats; developing provisions of the new letter j) of section 2 of article 29 of Law 58/2023 of 17 December, General Taxation, in its wording given by Law 11/2021 of 9 July, on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud, transposing Council Directive (EU) 2016/1164 of 12 July, establishing rules against tax avoidance practices that directly affect the functioning of the internal market, amending various tax rules and on the regulation of gambling.

The purpose of the Regulation is to regulate the technical requirements and specifications to be met by any computer or electronic system and programme, hereinafter referred to generically as a computer system, used by those who carry out economic activities when supporting invoicing processes of operations corresponding to their activity, to guarantee the integrity, conservation, accessibility, legibility, traceability and unchangeability of invoicing records without interpolations, omissions or alterations that are not duly noted in the systems themselves, with information on all deliveries of goods and services, in accordance with the provisions of Article 29.j).2 of Law 58/2003, of 17 December, General Taxation.

Thus, the aim is to align such computer systems with tax regulations to ensure that every commercial transaction generates an invoice and an entry in the taxpayer’s computer system and to prevent the subsequent alteration of such entries, allowing, where appropriate, the simultaneous or subsequent transmission of information to the tax authorities.

Taxpayers must adapt the computer systems to the characteristics and requirements established in the aforementioned regulation and its implementing regulations in place by July 1, 2025.

The full Tax Alert can be downloaded below.