E-invoice in Spain: latest regulations update

E-invoice in Spain is certainly in the development stage. The Draft Royal Decree 18/2022, which introduces a range of new measures, including the e-invoice, which is mandatory for all exchanges between businesses and professionals, has been introduced and forwarded to the EU Commission. But the European Commission has recommended changes to a preliminary draft Royal Decree 18/2022. The draft requires electronic invoicing in the business sector and outlines the use of advanced electronic signatures to ensure the authenticity and integrity of invoices exchanged between businesses.

The Commission has recommended using “advanced electronic signatures or seals” to align with EU Regulation No. 910/2014, which differentiates between electronic signatures for natural persons and electronic seals for legal entities. The Spanish authorities have been requested to consider these recommendations and notify the Commission of the final text once adopted, as required by EU Directive 2015/1535.

If we consider the timeline, the goal of the Spanish authorities was to impose obligatory e-invoices even in 2024, but this will not happen. The legislation is likely to be approved by the Spanish government, and implementation is expected in July 2025 for large taxpayers and in 2026 for all other taxpayers. Spain’s government is expected to approve in May 2024 legislation to introduce mandatory e-invoicing on B2B transactions. Since the draft law then requires at least 12 months’ notice of the rollout of the reporting requirement, the earliest date would likely be July 1, 2025, but possibly later given the lack of technical specifications and the need for long development times for the tax authorities, businesses, and accounting/ERP providers.