The best way to describe the delay in the implantation of the new billing system to be brought in by Hacienda is... phew!
The government has postponed until 2027 (less than a month before it was due to take effect) the mandatory implementation of the new, electronic, invoicing software, developed by the Tax Agency – the Verifactu system
This measure, part of the Ley Antifraude (Ley 11/2021), aims to combat the black economy and guarantee transparency in invoicing, but in recent months it has faced resistance from thousands of autónomos due to the uncertainty the new system was causing.
This last-minute postponement means that Verifactu will not be obligatory for professionals and companies until January 1st of next year, if they pay Corporation Tax, and July 1st of that year for all others. Autónomos, as said above, won’t be affected until the 1st of January 2027.
Verifactu stipulates that invoicing systems must generate a record that cannot be modified or deleted and must be accessible to Hacienda, either by sending the information directly or by storing it securely.
Furthermore, new invoices must include a QR code through which customers can verify that the registration requirements with the Tax Agency have been met and, therefore, that the IVA or Personal Income Tax (IRPF) included in the invoices has been correctly withheld.
The project offered companies two options: implement software approved by the Agencia Tributaria (Tax Agency) or connect directly to the system provided by the government agency, so that their invoices would be automatically added to its database.
In other words, just another bureaucratic nightmare!
The extension approved yesterday will produce a sigh of relief from autónomos, who, through the Federación Nacional de Asociaciones de Trabajadores Autónomos (ATA), had been requesting “common sense” since October 31st and a postponement of this measure as the deadline approached.
The ATA were not the only body that was pressuring the Government to back off, at least temporarily, because the Catalan independence party, Junts and other look-warm allies of the minority, Central Government had also insisted on delaying it for autónomos.
Along the same lines, the Chairwoman of the Small & Medium Businesses Association (Cepyme), Ángela de Miguel, pointed out that thousands of small businesses and autonomos don’t have the, resources, and technical capabilities large companies have to handle this extra administrative burden.
On the other hand, another body that looks after the interests of the self-employed, Unión de Profesionales y Trabajadores Autónomos (UPTA), described it as “utterly absurd” for the Government to raise issues and then backtrack.
“This only breeds distrust, it doesn’t create a sense of security,,” stated its Chairman, pointing out that Verifactu will not be able to counter fraud committed by highly qualified professionals who see their clients in their offices. “They simply won’t issue an invoice, and as an invoice isn’t issued, Verifactu is completely pointless,” he pointed out.
Editorial comment: autónomos are already the lowest caste in the whole system and the ones that are paying the salaries of all the bureaucrats and politicians, yet they are continually being dumped on by the Government, no matter who is in power.
(News: Spain)
Keywords: Autonomos, Self-Employed Workers, Small Businesses, Invoicing, Hacienda, Verifactu
news, spain, autonomos, self-employed workers, small businesses, invoicing, hacienda, verifactu