07.03.23

Draft Royal Decree publication outlining further B2B e-invoicing arrangements

The Spanish Government has published a draft Royal Decree incorporating details around its projected Business to Business (B2B) e-invoicing mandate.  

The exact e-invoicing model Spain had intended to facilitate was in many respects uncertain – the VAT in the Digital (ViDA) proposal had stalled Spain’s progress in confirming a precise e-invoicing model. Fortunately, the Spanish draft Royal Decree has answered many of the outstanding questions in respect of the mandate.  

Amongst other issues, the draft Royal Decree has confirmed the following: 

• E-invoicing model: a hybrid centralised and decentralised model, where a public platform, alongside private certified platforms, can be utilised for invoice data exchange 
• Invoice formats: Facturae, CII, UBL, EDIFACT- which private platforms must have the capability to support 
• Digital signature requirements: required for private platforms only 
• Requirements for private platform providers: these include, amongst others, the ability to interoperate free of charge and the capability to accommodate all invoice formats, as well the obligation to send a copy of the invoice to the public platform  
• Specific buyer obligations: including the requirement to inform suppliers of the invoice status via specific responses, namely invoice acceptance or rejection and the corresponding date, as well the payment of the invoice and the corresponding date for this. 

As with many other proposed European mandates, the mandate advocates phased implementation, in line with the following: 

• Large taxpayers: 12 months after the Royal Decree publication  
• Remaining taxpayers: 24 months after the Royal Decree publication 

It is presently uncertain precisely when the draft Royal Decree will be approved. Spain is hosting General Elections in July 2023, and, amidst a period of intense political activity, it is certainly not set in stone that the text will be approved before this, or even whether a new potential government would be prepared to continue Spain’s current e-invoicing trajectory. 

Crucially, it is also important to note that Spain has not yet requested EU derogation to mandate e-invoicing in the country. In line with the current VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) timeline (still to be ratified), the derogation process is still active until 1 January 2024- signifying that Spain presently will still need to request derogation before it can implement B2B e-invoicing in the country. 

The draft Royal Decree has now triggered a public consultation, which is open until 10 July 2023.  

The draft regulation is available via the following link (in Spanish only):  

https://portal.mineco.gob.es/RecursosArticulo/mineco/ministerio/participacion_publica/audiencia/ficheros/ECO_Pol_AP_20230619_RD_factura_electronica.pdf