This blog was last updated on March 21, 2017
As governments across Latin America continue to refine their e-invoicing and fiscal reporting processes to improve the accuracy of transaction-level insights, change has become the norm in this region. Ecuador is no exception, announcing in 2015 that it would move to an offline e-invoicing model to help streamline compliance for enterprises by providing a buffer for submissions. Now, the deadline for implementation of this new offline schema is looming, with the online model terminating on December 31, 2017.
Though this new process does buy companies in Ecuador more time to submit invoices to the SRI, Ecuador’s tax authority, it does not change the fact that error-free compliance in Ecuador is as critical – and challenging – as it is elsewhere in Latin America. The primary difference between the “online” and “offline” schemas is that now suppliers will have 24 hours to send an invoice to their customers and will submit the invoice to the SRI simultaneously. Instead of relying on a government verification code to be able to ship goods, companies will create their own 49-digit access key. This key will be how the government tracks the invoice and what enables suppliers to ship. Once that code is generated, companies have no more than 24 hours to submit the XML e-invoice to the SRI and buyer.
The implications of e-invoicing in Ecuador remain unchanged under the offline model, and so do many 
of the requirements. With the SRI still receiving XML e-invoice transmissions, it will still be cracking down on errors and discrepancies between these submissions and tax reports. Invoices will still require AP validation and must be archived for seven years, and shipments still require an authorization number (access key). That means a proactive compliance strategy is still a must in Ecuador in order to keep business running smoothly.
Time is quickly running out to move to the new invoicing schema in Ecuador. Companies need to act now to ensure the transition is seamless and that they leave no room for costly, business-disrupting errors.
Contact us to learn more about these new requirements and how the offline model will affect your organization.
