Update: 7 May 2023 by Andrés Landerretche
Ecuador updates how taxpayers cancel electronic receipts.
Ecuador’s Internal Revenue Service (SRI) has published an updated version of its Guide for Taxpayers on Cancellation of Electronic Receipts. The guide details how to cancel electronic receipts already authorised by the tax entity.
The improved and updated version of the previous edition, which the SRI published in 2018, is part of the body’s work to gradually expand its visibility of taxpayers’ activity over taxpayers and optimise the country’s tax practices.
The functionality highlighted in the guide allows taxpayers to carry out the entire process of annulling electronic receipts, including:
- The request for cancellation of electronic receipts by the issuer
- Confirmation of cancellation of electronic vouchers by the recipient of the voucher
- The consultation of cancelled electronic vouchers, both issued and received
Cancellation of purchase settlements
The updated guide includes details of how to request cancellation of a purchase settlement – adding to other electronic vouchers which taxpayers can also cancel such as invoices, withholding vouchers, credit notes, debit notes and remittance guides.
The SRI has established that any request for cancellation from the issuer through the portal must be accepted by the same means by the taxpayer receiving the electronic receipt. They must consent to the status change from “Authorised” to “Cancelled” once the issuer has complied with the annulment process.
The ruling excludes invoices, purchase settlements and delivery notes, as the SRI will cancel them directly if there are errors or the transaction or withholding has not been effective.
Those looking to submit an annulment request must do so exclusively online. The taxpayer issuing electronic receipts and the recipient of the electronic receipt must have an access code to the online SRI portal.
New deadlines for cancellations
An additional relevant change is an extension of the term to request a cancellation to 90 days after the date of issuance of the proof of sale, withholding or complementary document.
It is important to consider that once somebody starts the annulment process, no procedure allows for the withdrawal of the annulment. If the recipient rejects a cancellation request due to “error”, then the issuer can commence another cancellation request.
Finally, documents with the “Pending Cancellation” status have tax validity, while those in the “Cancelled” status do not.
Interested in learning more about tax compliance in Ecuador? Contact our team of experts.
Update: 21 June 2022 by Victor Duarte
Ecuador: November 2022 E-invoicing Changes
Due to the economic crisis and the necessity of the government to take measures aimed at economic growth and efficient tax collection, on 29 November 2021, the Organic Law for Economic Development and Fiscal Sustainability after the COVID-19 Pandemic was published in Ecuador’s Official Gazette. According to this law, taxpayers obliged to issue invoices must be incorporated into the electronic invoicing system within one year from the publication.
To comply with such measure, on 27 May 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (SRI) published Resolution NAC-DGERCGC22-00000024. It establishes the obligation to issue e-invoices to taxpayers who are required to issue invoices, and the obligation for these taxpayers, qualified as agents of withholding, to issue the Simplified Transactional Annex (ATS) version of withholding documents. These taxpayers will have to adopt the e-invoicing scheme.
New taxpayers in scope for the e-invoicing mandate
1. Income Tax taxpayers who are obliged to invoice but not obliged to issue invoices, sales receipts, withholding and complementary documents in the electronic modality must adopt the e-invoicing scheme into their activity until 29 November 2022, at the latest.
2. Natural persons and companies that are not considered taxpayers of the Income Tax and are obliged to invoice – but not obliged to issue invoices, withholding and complementary documents in the electronic modality – must adopt the e-invoicing scheme into their activity until 29 November 2022, at the latest.
3. Taxpayers required to issue invoices, withholding and complementary documents under the electronic modality, according to numerals 1. and 2. who are qualified as withholding agents by the SRI, must implement the ATS version of withholding documents, following the technical documentation made available by the SRI, until 29 November 2022.
For purposes of the application of this resolution, the subjects obliged to invoice are all taxpayers registered in the Single Taxpayer Registry (RUC) and who must issue and deliver invoices, withholding and complementary documents according to current tax regulations.
Persons with an annual gross turnover below USD 20,000 are not in the scope of this resolution. These taxpayers are known in Ecuador as Popular Businesses (Negocios Populares).
Other measures adopted in the new resolution
• As of 30 November 2022, only taxpayers responsible for issuing bills of sale (notas de venta) may request authorisations, modifications or renewals for the issuance of receipts through registering machines.
• As of 30 November 2022, taxpayers required to issue invoices, retention and complementary documents in the electronic modality may request authorisations for pre-printed documents only after they have obtained the authorisation to issue electronic documents in the production environment of the e-invoicing system.
New limit for pre-printed document issuance
The resolution introduces a limit for invoices or receipts issued under the pre-printed modality, which may not exceed 1% of the total receipts issued in the previous fiscal year.
Pre-printed documents should only be issued in exceptional cases of contingency when, due to force majeure or fortuitous event, taxpayers authorised to issue documents under the electronic modality cannot generate them electronically.
Free tool maintenance will be optional for SRI
According to this resolution, the SRI may keep a free tool available for taxpayers to generate electronic documents without prejudice to taxpayers using their computer systems. There was a significant change compared with the previous resolution, which established that the SRI will “maintain” this free tool, indicating that the maintenance of said tool is now optional for the SRI.
What’s next?
According to the original plan of implementation, the SRI had plans to gradually expand the e-invoice mandate for all taxpayers in the country, with more taxpayers scheduled to start issuing e-invoices from 2023 and 2024. However, with this resolution, the schedule of mandatory e-invoicing implementation has been modified. All these taxpayers must start adopting the e-invoicing system this year until 29 November 2022 at the latest.
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