The Spanish government is pursuing various routes for digitizing tax controls, including introducing software requirements on the billing system. Back in February 2022, a Draft Royal Decree was published establishing invoicing and billing software requirements to secure Spanish antifraud regulations.
This ensures that billing software meet the legal requirements of integrity, conservation, accessibility, legibility, traceability and inalterability of billing records. It sets standards for systems known as SIF (Sistemas Informaticos de Facturación). To comply with SIF standards, taxpayers may use a Verifactu system – a verifiable invoice issuance system.
Now, the long-awaited decree has been finalized and officially published by the Spanish Ministry of Finance. Taxpayers and SIF developers must be aware of several new deadlines set forth by the Spanish tax authority:
- From July 1, 2025: Only ordinary SIF or Verifactu-approved billing systems may be used to prepare and submit invoices for the taxpayers under scope.
- Billing software developers and sellers must offer their product fully adapted within a maximum period of nine months from the approval of the Ministerial Order that specifies all the technical details, which is still to be approved.
These new rules will apply to:
- Taxpayers subject to corporate tax (IS), except for exempt or partially exempt entities.
- Taxpayers subject to income tax for physical persons (IRPF) who obtain income from economic activities.
- Taxpayers subject to income tax for non-residents (IRNR) with a permanent establishment in Spain.
- Entities under the income allocation system carrying out economic activities.
Companies that do not fall within the above categories do not need to comply, but those who do must ensure their computer systems are adapted to this regulation as of July 1, 2025.
