Deadlines and legal requirements: Everything you need to know about issuing invoices

Issuance and submission deadlines: When should you invoice?

The moment when an invoice must be issued mainly depends on who the recipient of the transaction is:

1. Ordinary and Simplified Invoices

• Particular recipient: The invoice must be issued at the same time the transaction takes place.

• Business or professional recipient: There is a longer margin; it must be issued before the 16th day of the following month to the one in which the VAT became chargeable.

• Intra-community deliveries of goods: The deadline is the same: before the 16th day of the month following the start of the goods' transportation.

2. Recapitulative and Corrective Invoices

• Recapitulative: They must be issued at the latest on the last day of the natural month of the operations. If the customer is a professional, the deadline extends to before the 16th day of the following month.

• Corrective: They must be issued as soon as the reasons requiring the modification are known (due to error, return, etc.), with a general limit of four years.

3. Sending to the recipient

As a general rule, the invoice must be sent at the time of its issuance. However, if the recipient is a professional or the transaction falls under the special cash accounting scheme, the sending must be done before the 16th day of the month following the transaction.

What concepts must be included in an invoice to be valid?

For an ordinary invoice to be accepted by the Tax Agency, it must necessarily contain:

1. Number and series: Consecutive numbering and different series if necessary.

2. Complete identification: Name, corporate name, TIN, and address of both the issuer and the recipient.

3. Description of the operations: Detail of the goods delivered or services provided.

4. Taxable base: Total amount of the operation before taxes, detailing unit prices and discounts.

5. Tax rate and Amount: The percentage of VAT applied (21%, 10%, 4%) and the resulting tax amount separately.

6. Key dates: The date of issue and, if different, the date on which the transactions were carried out or the advance payment was received.

Special mandatory mentions

Depending on the nature of the transaction, additional notes must be included such as:

• "Reverse charge" (if the recipient self-assesses VAT).

• "Billing by the recipient" (if the customer issues the invoice).

• "Special cash accounting scheme" or references to specific exemptions from the VAT Law if the transaction is VAT exempt.

Compliance with deadlines and the correct completion of invoices is a fundamental part of business management. Not only does it ensure transparency with the Administration, but it also facilitates cash flow and avoids conflicts with professional clients who need the invoice on time and in the correct form for their own VAT settlements. In complex operations, such as intra-community transactions or special regimes, having expert advice is the best guarantee of legal security.