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Practical manual VAT 2024.

Delivery times and invoicing

The following table shows the different delivery and shipping times for invoices, depending on the recipient's status or the nature of the operations:

Recipient status /
Nature of operation
Delivery timeDelivery time
Recipient is not a business or professional When performing the operation At the time of its issue
Business or professional recipient Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued
Summary invoices intended for non-businessmen and non-professionals The last day of the calendar month in which the documented operations were carried out At the time of its issue
Summary invoices for business owners or professionals Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued
Invoices for exempt intra-community deliveries of goods Before the 16th day of the month following the month in which the shipment or transport of the goods to the purchaser begins Before the 16th day of the month following the month in which the shipment or transport of the goods to the purchaser begins
Rectification invoices As soon as the person obliged to issue it becomes aware of the circumstances that require its issuance Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the invoice was issued

For these purposes, the operations are understood to be carried out when the accrual of VAT occurs.

In the case of operations under the special regime of the cash criterion, these will be understood to have been carried out for these purposes, at the moment in which the accrual of VAT would have occurred if said special regime had not been applicable to them. Therefore, the deadline for issuing invoices for these operations is governed by the general deadlines.