Uruguay: Tax Authority Intensifies Nationwide Tax Inspections of Retail Sales, Invoicing and Small Business Regimes

Uruguay's Tax Authority confirmed nationwide inspections targeting undeclared sales, understated revenue and misuse of small taxpayer regimes. The controls focus on businesses selling directly to consumers, including retailers and hospitality operators, and cover invoicing and tax registration.

Uruguay's Tax Authority announced that it has intensified tax inspections across the country, focusing on businesses that sell goods or provide services directly to consumers.

The inspections began in late September 2026 and are primarily intended to identify businesses that fail to document all sales, declare revenue below actual amounts or incorrectly benefit from simplified tax regimes intended for small taxpayers.

According to the official Tax Authority announcement, inspections are selected mainly through taxpayer risk analysis, although the authority is also conducting random checks of tax registration and invoicing practices.

The announcement does not introduce new electronic invoicing requirements, fiscal receipt formats or tax rates. Instead, the Tax Authority is increasing checks on compliance with existing obligations.

The Tax Authority has identified three principal areas of concern involving businesses that mainly serve final consumers.

1. Undeclared or incorrectly documented sales

The authority is examining situations where businesses fail to document all transactions carried out with customers.

For retailers, this concerns whether sales are correctly recorded and supported by the applicable tax documentation.

A business may process payments and record revenue internally, but those records must also be consistent with its invoicing and tax reporting obligations.

2. Understatement of actual sales

The Tax Authority is also targeting businesses suspected of declaring sales amounts below the revenue actually generated.

The inspections may examine inconsistencies between business activity and the amounts reported to the tax authority.

For businesses processing frequent consumer transactions, including retail stores and restaurants, accurate sales recording is particularly relevant.

3. Incorrect use of simplified tax regimes

Another priority concerns businesses that continue benefiting from tax regimes intended for small taxpayers despite exceeding the applicable conditions.

The Tax Authority specifically refers to situations where actual sales exceed the permitted limits for remaining in these regimes.

In addition, inspectors are conducting random registration and invoicing checks, including among businesses not previously identified as presenting a high risk of non-compliance.

Which businesses are most likely to be inspected?

The nationwide inspections primarily concern taxpayers whose activities are directed toward final consumers.

This includes retail stores, restaurants, cafés, food establishments and other businesses providing goods or services directly to the public.

The Tax Authority selects many inspection targets by analysing available taxpayer information and identifying circumstances associated with a higher probability of non-compliance.

However, the authority also conducts random checks.

Consequently, being selected for an inspection does not necessarily mean that the Tax Authority has already identified an irregularity.

Uruguay operates an electronic invoicing framework known as electronic fiscal documents (CFE), under which applicable taxpayers issue electronic fiscal documents.

For retailers, the practical connection with the inspection campaign concerns the consistency of sales recorded through their POS systems, the corresponding fiscal documentation and the amounts reported for tax purposes.

Differences between sales records, invoices, payment settlements and declared turnover may indicate problems requiring investigation.

However, the October 7 announcement does not establish new technical requirements for POS software or electronic invoicing systems.

The Tax Authority has not announced a new CFE schema, reporting deadline, certification obligation or transaction communication protocol as part of these inspections.

The practical priority is therefore reviewing compliance with existing fiscal documentation and reporting requirements rather than implementing new software functionality.

The Tax Authority has highlighted the incorrect use of tax regimes intended for taxpayers with relatively small economic activities.

These regimes provide simplified tax treatment where businesses satisfy conditions concerning their activity, revenue or other applicable criteria.

Businesses that expand beyond the permitted conditions may no longer qualify for the same treatment.

The inspection campaign aims to identify cases where a business's actual level of activity is inconsistent with the simplified regime under which it remains registered.

According to the Tax Authority, the intensity of enforcement measures depends on the risk identified in each case.

The Tax Authority may initially issue preventive communications or warnings where potential problems are detected.

Where corrections are required, the authority may formally request that the business address the identified discrepancies.

Cases presenting higher compliance risks may lead to more extensive tax inspections.

The legal consequences of established irregularities depend on the circumstances and applicable legislation and may include additional tax liabilities or sanctions.

Impact on affected businesses

The inspections are particularly relevant to retailers, retail chains, restaurants, cafés and other businesses processing large volumes of consumer transactions.

For retail operators, the main compliance concern is ensuring that all sales are properly documented and that declared revenue corresponds to actual business activity.

Businesses should also confirm that payment records, fiscal documentation and accounting information remain consistent.

For POS software providers and system integrators, the inspections reinforce the practical importance of accurate transaction recording and reliable data exchange between checkout applications and accounting systems.

Electronic invoicing alone does not guarantee that all transactions are correctly recorded or that reported turnover is accurate.

Businesses must still maintain appropriate controls over sales registration, payment reconciliation and tax declarations.

What should retailers and POS providers do?

Retailers should review their sales recording procedures and verify that all transactions are supported by the required fiscal documentation.

Businesses should reconcile POS sales data with electronic invoices, payment information and accounting records to identify potential discrepancies.

Companies using simplified tax regimes should confirm that their actual activities and revenue remain within the applicable eligibility conditions.

POS and accounting software providers should review whether existing solutions reliably record transaction amounts and support accurate reconciliation and reporting.

From a retail compliance perspective, the inspections demonstrate that the Tax Authority is focusing not only on whether businesses issue fiscal documents, but also on whether their recorded and declared sales accurately reflect their activities.

The October 2026 campaign does not require retailers to implement new fiscalization technology. It increases the practical importance of using existing systems correctly and maintaining consistent transaction records.

The main source is the Tax Authority announcement regarding audits - Source

Ivana Picajkić Medior Legal Consultant Linkedin profile