Invoice Compliance

Obligation to issue invoices

According to the Spanish Legislation, businesses and professionals are required to issue invoices for the provision of services and delivery of goods they carry out, and to keep a copy of said invoice.

Invoice Types

SIGN ES API supports the creation of the following types of invoices:

• Simplified Invoices: Can only be issued up to amounts of 400€ (including VAT) or up to 3.000€ in some cases (retail sales, restaurants and hospitality, parking services, among others). Does not contain information about the recipient of the invoice, only of the issuer.

• Complete Invoices: Includes information of both the issuer and recipient of the invoice.

The legislation indicates when a simplified and a complete invoice can be issued, as well as the minimum content required for each of them.

• Correcting Invoices: In case of errors or mistakes - according to Invoicing Regulations - a correcting invoice has to be issued, indicating the type of correction carried out. There are regulations for the issuing of correcting invoices.

• Enrichment Invoices: Can be issued when the original invoice was created without any recipients, and the only modification required is the addition of recipient(s).

• External Invoices: The purpose of the external invoice feature is to input details of the invoices that were issued before the integration of SIGN ES API. This is to ensure corrections can be made in compliance with Verifactu regulation. The creation of an external invoice does not trigger a Verifactu transmission, nor does it generate a Verifactu XML file for the invoice. Once an external invoice is created and a UUID is assigned, this UUID can be referenced when issuing a correcting or an enrichment invoice.

• Remedy Invoices: Can be issued to remedy incorrect invoice information that does not require a correction by law.

note

The creation of additional documents, such as drafts, is not contemplated within SIGN ES because these documents are not involved in Verifactu compliance. Nevertheless, the REST API could be integrated within a system that supports the generation of additional documents and files.

Verifactu Compliance

Verifactu legislation establishes that issued invoices must include:

• a QR code according to the technical specifications, together with the indication of this being a fiscal code, and
• a compliant text indicating the invoice was issued in Verifactu Mode

Both of these have to be placed according to the following guidelines.

SIGN ES API provides the compliant information to be printed on the invoice in the successful response of the invoice creation. The VerifactuCompliance information includes the URL and Verifactu-compliant text to be printed in the invoice, as well as the possibility to obtain the PRINTABLE_CODE and obtain a vector (scalable) image of the compliant positioning.

Verifactu Compliant Text

Since SIGN ES API currently only supports Verifactu Mode, all invoices issued must therefore include one of the following compliant texts in the printed documents:

• VERI*FACTU, which is the shorter version provided in the compliant response from the invoice creation in SIGN ES API, or
• Factura verificable en la sede electrónica de la AEAT, the spanish text provided by the Verifactu legislation, indicating that the invoice can be checked in the Tax Authority's online portal

Verifactu QR Code

The readable QR Code identifies the invoice and contains a URL to access the website for the official Verifactu invoice validation.

The QR code is always accompanied by the indication of it being the fiscal QR code, with the words “QR tributario” (tributary QR) placed above the image. This allows to distinguish from any other QR codes present in the invoice.

The size of the QR Code has to be between 30x30 millimeters and 40x40 millimeters, guaranteeing visibility.

If an invoice has more than one page, the QR code must be shown in the first one.

note

If transmitting the invoice electronically, then the URL contained in the QR code must also be printed on the invoice.

Validation URL​

The URL contained in the QR code is a validation URL specific for Verifactu Mode. It allows the taxpayer to access the web application for the validation of invoices issued with a Verifactu Software. This website is specific for the Spanish National Tax Authority (AEAT), but additional parameters are contained in this URL:

• The taxpayer’s NIF
• Invoice series and number
• Total amount of the invoice
• Invoice issue date

What happens when a taxpayer scans the QR code?

When a taxpayer scans the Verifactu fiscal QR code on an invoice, they will be forwarded to the AEAT-managed website and obtain the information of this invoice. An invoice can either be:

• Invoice correctly found: the invoice was correctly received by the AEAT and it is verifiable through the QR code. The successful message includes the invoice information contained in the URL.
• Invoice not found: the invoice could not be found in the AEAT. This could be due to different validation errors during the transmission, which can be reviewed in the response when creating an invoice through SIGN ES API.
• Invoice not verifiable: for invoices issued with other systems, in Non-Verifactu Mode, the QR code leads to a message indicating that this invoice can not be verified in the authority’s servers, since it was not transmitted in real time. This is not applicable for invoices issued with SIGN ES API.

Position

According to the orientation of the invoice, the codes have to be placed in a specific way, according to the technical specifications for the Verifactu QR code, but always at the beginning of the invoice. The following images are illustrative of how the Verifactu codes should be printed on the invoice, both for a horizontal or vertical structure.

Source: Examples extracted from technical specifications for the Verifactu QR code. The images provided do not have valid size and content.