Spain introduce a New Invoicing and Tax Compliance System

Every country aims to achieve greater control over tax revenue generated by business activities, especially in the B2C area. According to recent updates (released at the end of March 2020) in Spain three regional tax authorities (Gipuzkoa, Biscay, and Álava) and the Basque government have undertaken a joint venture to combat tax fraud. They plan to launch the TICKET BAI system, which is basically a set of technical and legal requirements that will change the way invoices are generated.

All physical and legal persons that conduct business activities under the jurisdiction of these three tax authorities and the Basque government are affected by this new system. Ticket BAI also affects all invoices, no matter if they are simplified and full, printed or electronic, as well as receipts issued when an invoice is not mandatory.

In the Ticket BAI system, when it goes into effect, all sales will generate an XML- TBAI file with tax information that will be sent directly to the regional tax authorities. An invoice with a special code and a QR code will also be generated based on this tax file. The invoices will have all the information required for end customers to verify whether the invoice has been issued according to the legal requirements. All the businesses in these regions are advised to start preparing. To comply with the new regulations they will need an invoicing system that is capable of performing the following tasks:

• Generate an XML TBAI file following the technical specifications of each regional tax authority.
• Electronically sign XML TBAI files.
• Send files automatically to the tax authorities via the established telecommunications system.
• Generate invoices for end customers with QR codes for consultation.

The Ticket BAI system will be introduced in each region with a different time scope. Álava will introduce it gradually until its fully implemented in January 2022. Gipuzkoa tax authority has established a schedule of mandatory adhesion which is likely to be rolled out according to business activity. They expect the system to be fully operated by October 2022. In Biscay ,the system will be voluntary from October 2020 until January 2022. From then on, the system is mandatory or every affected business in the region.

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Resources: edicomgroup.com

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