Invoicing Guide

Xolo
Escrito por Xolo
el 21 de diciembre, 2022 4 min de lectura

Invoice content requirements laid down in the Regulation

Invoice numbering, which must be correlative. For credit invoices (Which we will see later) a different series is MANDATORY.

  • Date of issue
  • Name and surname, legal or corporate name (issuer and recipient)NIF/CIF or VAT number
  • Legal address of both parties (place of business)Description of the transactions
  • Taxable amount, VAT rate to be applied, withholding tax (if applicable) and invoice total.
  • Effective date of the transactions and, where applicable, date of the advance payment (if different from date of payment). If the recipient of the invoice is also the issuer (self-billing), the words “facturación por el destinatario” (invoicing by the recipient) must be included.
  • In case of reverse charge, the words “inversión del sujeto pasivo” (reverse charge) must be included.
  • If the special scheme for travel agents applies, the words “régimen especial de las agencias de viajes” (special scheme for travel agents) must be included.

 

Simplified invoice content

What are they?

Those invoices that are addressed to an individual and therefore it is not mandatory that they contain the data of the person who receives the invoice.

What must they contain?

  • Numbering of simplified invoices must be correlative and, if there are amending invoices, they must be numbered differently. Date of issue.
  • Date on which the relevant transactions were made, or, where appropriate, on which the advance payment was received, if it is different from the date of issue.
  • NIF, as well as full name, legal or corporate name of the issuer. Identification of the type of goods delivered or services provided.
  • Tax rate applied and optionally also the words “IVA incluido” (VAT included).
  • If the same invoice includes several types of VAT, each of the base amounts and each of the corresponding VAT rates shall be specified separately.
  • Total consideration.
  • In case of credit invoices, always mention which issued invoice they amend.
  • If the recipient of the invoice is an entrepreneur or professional and wants a full invoice, the issuer of the simplified invoice must also provide the following details:
  •           Spanish NIF (TIN) or equivalent identification number issued by another EU State.
  •           The applicable tax rate, if appropriate, which must be entered separately.
  • The details referred to in the previous section must also be entered where the recipient of the transaction is not an entrepreneur or professional but requires these details for the exercise of any taxation rights.

 

🇪🇸 Invoices issued at national level

What are they?

Invoices issued within Spain.

  • Private customer

        BASE + VAT = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Business or professional customer
    BASE + IVA - WITHHOLDING (if applicable) = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • In the event that the activity is EXEMPT FROM VAT (eg: teaching):
    BASE - WITHHOLDING (if applicable) = TOTAL INVOICE.

In this last scenario, in addition, this observation must be included to the invoice "Factura exenta de IVA de acuerdo con artículo 20.uno, apartado 102 de la Ley 37/1992 del IVA".

 

🇪🇺 Intra-Community invoices (inside EU)

What are they?


Invoices issued outside of Spain but within the European Union.

Both you and your customer must be registered as (ROI/VIES)intra-Community operators. Here is a link where you can consult the register.

:white_check_mark:The self-employed person or company will appear in green if registered in the ROI (Register of Intra-Community Operators).

:x: If, on the other hand, the self-employed person or company is not registered in the ROI or is a private individual, you will have to include Spanish VAT in your invoice and mark “Nacional de servicios” as transaction type.

  • Private customer

       BASE + VAT = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Business or professional customer (NO ROI)
    BASE + IVA = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Business or professional customer (in ROI)
    BASE = TOTAL INVOICE.

 

This observation must be included to the invoice : "Factura exenta de IVA por aplicación de la Directiva 2006/112/CE y el art. 25 de la Ley 37/1992 del IVA".

🌏 Extra-Community invoices (outside EU)

What are they?


Invoices issued outside of European Union.

  • Provision of services to private customer

    BASE + VAT = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Good sale to a private customer (export, VAT is paid by the recipient at customs)
    BASE = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Business or professional customer
    BASE = TOTAL INVOICE.

 

In this case, it is mandatory to add the identification number of the receiver and this observation must be included to the invoice : "Operación no sujeta por normas de localización en virtud del art. 69 de la Ley 37/1992, del IVA" 

It is not possible to issue invoices with a VAT different from the one you are subject to; for Spain it is 21%, regardless of where your customer is located. Withholding tax only applies to companies or self-employed based in Spain.

❗ IMPORTANT NOTE: in case of invoices issued to private customers for the provision of services such as:

  • Advertising
  • Consulting, audit, engineering, law, advice, tax accounting, etc.,
  • Translation, correction, copywriting and interpreting
  • Dubbing

The invoice must NOT include Spanish VAT because this type of services are not subject to VAT in the territory where the service was provided (Spain), therefore:  BASE AMOUNT = TOTAL INVOICE

Invoicing to the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla

In these cases, invoices must be issued just like invoices issued outside the European Union:

  • Provision of services to private customer

       BASE + VAT = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Good sale to a private customer (export)
    BASE = TOTAL INVOICE.

  • Business or professional customer
    BASE = TOTAL INVOICE.

 

This observation must be included to the invoice : "Operación no sujeta por normas de localización en virtud del art. 69 de la Ley 37/1992, del IVA". 

Unpaid issued invoices

If a customer has failed to pay due invoices, the following conditions must be met for you to recover the output VAT you have already paid to the Tax Agency:

  • They have been registered in the Accounting books
  • The recipient of the invoice is an entrepreneur or professional, or the amount of the invoice exceeds EUR 300 (taxable amount).
  • Payment has been due for at least 6 months after payment of VAT (since the due date for payment).
  • Payment has been requested by means of an injunction or notarized request.

If the above conditions are met, an amending invoice may be issued to recover the output VAT.

Editing or deleting issued invoices


Once the invoice has been issued and delivered to the customer, it cannot be subject to any changes. You must create a credit invoice to set aside the wrong one, issue a new one, and send both to the customer (remember to consider the conditions under which amending invoices may be issued).

:x:Under no circumstances can invoices be deleted, as this would create a numbering gap. Where an invoice has already been issued for services that ultimately were not provided, an amending invoice must be issued. If you are not sure if the service is going to be provided or not, you can issue a proforma invoice and thus avoid issuing an amending invoice.

It is important to remember that the date of issue of the invoice will be the one considered when returning it to the Tax Agency, and not the date of actual payment.

Finally, it is important to notice that invoices can only be issued in accordance with the IAE heading (Economic Activities Tax) registered before the Tax Agency. If due to specific circumstances you decide to perform other type of activity, it is important to register this activity prior to invoicing.

Invoice template