Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The place where the RF is kept will ultimately be a decision of the person obliged to issue the invoice (OEF) that uses the SIF (it may depend on the circumstances and characteristics of said SIF ).

At this point, it should be remembered that the SIF VERI*FACTU (and the OEF that use them) are not required to retain the RF generated, since they have been sent to the Tax Agency and are therefore in its possession.

Having clarified this nuance, in principle, the SIF will store under its control (see below, at the bottom of this answer, the NOTE 1 the RF that it generates (due to storage limitations, it may need at some point that the RF be exported and deleted from it to make free space). In any case, the SIF must offer a procedure for downloading, dumping and securely archiving the billing records generated by it, which must be able to be exported to external storage in a readable electronic format.

Regulations/Doctrine:

• Articles 8.2.c) of the regulation that establishes the requirements that must be adopted by the computer or electronic systems and programs that support the billing processes of entrepreneurs and professionals, and the standardization of billing record formats ( RRSIF ), approved by Royal Decree 1007/2023, of December 5.

• Article 8 of the Ministerial Order developing the technical, functional and content specifications referred to in the regulation establishing the requirements to be adopted by the computer or electronic systems and programs that support the billing processes of entrepreneurs and professionals, and the standardization of formats of billing records, approved by Royal Decree 1007/2023, of December 5, and in article 6.5 of the regulation governing billing obligations, approved by Royal Decree 1619/2012, of November 30.

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NOTE 1

The generated RF can be stored remotely, even “in the cloud”, in order to comply with all applicable regulations, and, in particular, with the requirements of the regulation and the order of requirements of the SIF , especially with regard to their accessibility.

Indeed, for the SIF to be able to stop keeping “inside it” the RF that it has generated, this can only be done through a correctly executed export operation that allows the possibility of stopping keeping them in it.

Before continuing with the answer, it should be remembered that this matter related to the export of the RF generated only applies to non-verifiable invoice issuing systems, since the SIF VERI*FACTU are not obliged to keep the RF they generate or to offer their export (although they could voluntarily do both), since they send them to the Tax Agency and, therefore, they are in its possession.

Having clarified the above, it must be said that, although for the SIF it is mandatory to have the functionality to export the RF generated by said SIF , it is not mandatory to offer the possibility that said functionality allows their elimination from the SIF , that is, to stop keeping them “inside” the SIF (under its management and control). Therefore, this is an aspect that will depend on the characteristics of the SIF : If you do not have this option, you will be obliged to keep within it – under your management and control – and forever all the RF generated. On the other hand, even if this option is available, it will depend on the person obliged to issue the invoice (OEF) user of the SIF whether he uses it or not (although, in practice, he could be "forced" to do so for various reasons, such as limitations in the performance or storage capacity of the SIF ).  

Therefore, it is most likely that, in general, non-verifiable invoice issuing systems will offer this possibility of exporting RF generated which means no longer keeping them in the SIF .

The requirements for using this option will be the following:

• That it is part of the export process and is only accessible from that functionality.

• That before it is carried out, the user of SIF is clearly warned of what executing this option implies (stop keeping the RF in the SIF , being now only available outside of it, under the responsibility of the OEF user of SIF ), giving him the opportunity to continue or cancel the process.

• In the event that the OEF user of the SIF agrees to continue, the SIF may only stop keeping the RF generated and exported in said process when it ends correctly.

• Furthermore, you may only stop retaining the exported RF when this does not entail non-compliance by the SIF with any requirement of the regulation and the order "on requirements for SIF ". For example, if the method used by the SIF to carry out the obligation to verify the correct traceability of the last RF generated (before being able to generate the next RF ) is to expressly consult said last record and the previous one, it may not fail to retain these two records.

• Finally, to avoid the appearance of gaps between the billing records kept in the SIF , this possibility of stopping keeping the exported RF can only be applied to consecutive RF , always starting with the oldest ones still kept in the SIF . That is, the OEF user of the SIF cannot be offered the possibility of “exporting and stopping keeping in the SIF ” RF generated if they do not start from the beginning of the chain of RF held by the SIF (and must also be in a row, as if they formed a block).

No. The export process that allows the secure download, dump and archiving of the billing records generated by it must be a specific additional functionality (with its own characteristics) of the SIF , different from the backup procedures available to the SIF or the computer installation in which it resides.

Please note that the export functionality is only required for non-verifiable invoice issuing systems, i.e. SIF VERI*FACTU are not required to have it.

Everyone has their share of responsibility:

• The producer (manufacturer) of the SIF is responsible for ensuring that the SIF generates and stores or sends the RF in the required time and manner, as well as providing quick, easy and intuitive access to them while they are in said SIF , together with a secure download (export) procedure. Therefore, the producer (manufacturer) of SIF , who has signed a responsible declaration for said SIF , is responsible for ensuring that it complies with the requirements demanded by the regulations in this regard.

• The OEF user of the SIF is responsible for ensuring that it retains the generated RF for the period provided for that purpose, even if it has stopped using the SIF that generated them. It is therefore highly recommended – and considered good practice – that the OEF frequently export the RF generated by the SIF and keep them redundantly in a safe place.

In any case, it is recalled that the conservation of the RF is only required for non-verifiable invoice issuing systems and for OEF users of this type of SIF . Therefore, the SIF VERI*FACTU and the OEF users of these are not obliged to keep the RF generated (although they can do so), since they have sent them to the Tax Agency.

This is the same period required in article 19.1 of the Regulation governing billing obligations (ROF), approved by Royal Decree 1619/2012, of November 30, for the conservation of issued invoices (see below, at the bottom of this answer, NOTE 1 ).

In the LGT (Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax) there are various mentions of deadlines (see below, at the bottom of this answer, NOTE 2 ) for various aspects, with their nuances and exceptions. On the other hand, the LIVA (Law 37/1992, of December 28, on Value Added Tax) contemplates its own deadlines (see below, at the bottom of this answer, NOTE 3 ), according to article 165 of the LIVA) and section 6.4 of the 2011 billing manual (see below, at the bottom of this answer, NOTE 4 ). A reference to retention periods of more than 10 years for certain invoices can also be found in question 4 of the 2023 VAT practical manual (see below, at the bottom of this answer, NOTE 5 ).

Therefore, it could be concluded that the period depends on the operation in question and the circumstances that occur, and may range from a minimum of 4 years from the deadline for filing the declaration or self-assessment corresponding to the fiscal year or tax period that applies to said invoice to more than 10 years in some cases.

This response is accompanied by the aforementioned notes 2 to 5 with documentation and examples in this regard.

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NOTE 1 :

The retention of invoices required by the ROF should not be confused with the retention of the RF required by the regulation and order "on requirements of the SIF ". Both (invoice and RF ) are different products and are regulated by different regulations.

NOTE 2 :

Some deadlines mentioned in Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law (LGT):

• Article 66: 4 years for certain rights.

• Article 66a, in particular its paragraph 2, on the right to verify and investigate compensated or pending compensation bases or quotas or deductions applied or pending application: 10 years from the day after the end of the regulatory period established for submitting the declaration or self-assessment corresponding to the fiscal year or period in which the right to offset said bases or quotas or to apply said deductions was generated.

• Articles 70.2 and 70.3: Other periods are mentioned, which may be longer than 4 years (period provided for in commercial regulations; period for enforcing its own formal obligations referred to in the previous section, if the latter is longer; The obligation to justify the origin of data originating from transactions carried out in prescribed tax periods shall continue during the limitation period for determining the tax debts affected by the corresponding transaction.

• Article 115, which states that the powers and functions of verification and investigation may exceed the 4 years provided for in Article 66 to investigate other rights that have not expired.

NOTE 3

(Although in this case it refers to invoices received, it also applies to those issued, according to article 165 of the LIVA ):

Ask

What is the period for which received invoices must be kept?

Reply

As a general rule, any invoice received must be kept for the duration of the four-year limitation period for the tax. However, if the invoice refers to the acquisition of a good that must be regularised, it must be kept during the regularisation period and the following four years. If transactions involving investment gold are carried out, invoices and records relating to such transactions must be kept for five years.

Regulations/Doctrine:

• Article 165 Law 37/1992, of December 28, 1992, on Value Added Tax (LIVA).

• Article 140 Sexies Law 37/1992, of December 28, 1992, on Value Added Tax (LIVA).

NOTE 4

Section 6.4 of the 2011 billing manual:

6.4 Conservation period.

Billing documents must be kept for the period provided for in the General Tax Law.

When invoices received or issued refer to purchases for which VAT has been incurred and the deduction is subject to a regularisation period, they must be kept during the corresponding regularisation period and the following four years.

Furthermore, businessmen or professionals who carry out operations involving investment gold must keep copies of the invoices corresponding to said operations for a period of five years. (article 140 sexies LIVA).

Billing Manual .

NOTE 5 :

Question 4 of the practical VAT manual 2023, containing an example referring to article 165.One of the LIVA, on article 107.Four of the LIVA , which deals with regularizations:

4.How long should the purchase invoice for a building be kept?

If it is started in the same year of acquisition, it must be kept for 14 years: the year of purchase, the following 9 years as it is the regularization period and the following 4.

If the instrument is used in the years following its acquisition, it must be taken into account that the adjustment period begins in the year of use and that the years in which the invoices must be kept must be increased.

VAT Manual 2023 .

Accessibility should be understood as providing quick, easy and intuitive access to the functionalities required of the SIF by the regulation and the order, as well as to the RF generated by the SIF , either to consult them or to download them safely and reliably, regardless of where and how they are stored and preserved. All of this must also be done while preserving the confidentiality of data other than those required by the regulations and the order.

Accessibility must be guaranteed both by the SIF (with the nuance that what refers to the RF only applies when the RF are found in it) and by the person required to issue the invoice (OEF) user of the SIF .

As for readability, it refers to the fact that the RF generated have the required structure, content and format, so that, through automatic electronic processes, they can be read and understood.

Regulations/Doctrine:

• Articles 8.2.c) of the regulation that establishes the requirements that must be adopted by the computer or electronic systems and programs that support the billing processes of entrepreneurs and professionals, and the standardization of billing record formats ( RRSIF ), approved by Royal Decree 1007/2023, of December 5.

• Article 8 of the Ministerial Order developing the technical, functional and content specifications referred to in the regulation establishing the requirements to be adopted by the computer or electronic systems and programs that support the billing processes of entrepreneurs and professionals, and the standardization of formats of billing records, approved by Royal Decree 1007/2023, of December 5, and in article 6.5 of the regulation governing billing obligations, approved by Royal Decree 1619/2012, of November 30.