What does the new regulation of the electronic invoice law consist of?

On September 29, 2022, the publication of the new electronic invoice law took place. Known as Law 18/2022 on the Creation and Growth of Companies or Law "Create and Grow", this regulation consists of the obligation of all companies and entrepreneurs to implement the electronic invoicing system as of this year 2023.

It must be taken into account that, since 2015, there was already an obligation to issue invoices in electronic format for transactions between companies and the Public Administration. This new billing law will also force this type of invoice to be made in all commercial relationships between freelancers and companies, that is, throughout the private sector (B2B).

In order to carry out this billing process change, the current Executive team has determined to approve two application deadlines:

• For companies with an annual turnover of more than 8 million euros, the term is 1 year from the entry into force of the law (20 days from the publication of September 29, 2022). October 2023.
• While for companies with a turnover of less than 8 million euros, they will have a two-year margin period, that is, 36 months - 3 years - from the entry into force of the law (20 days from the publication of September 29, 2022 ). October 2025.

Benefits New Regulation

The implementation of this new regulation will bring several benefits, among which are:

• A considerable saving of time in administrative tasks that can be dedicated to continue growing at the business level and for the Treasury the electronic invoice is much more agile both when making presentations and in the case of having to raise an inspection.
• Greater agility and control of payments, which will contribute to compliance with general and sectoral delinquency regulations.
• One more boost in the digitization of SMEs and the self-employed.

What is the objective of the “Create and Grow” Law?

As specified in article 1 of Law 18/2022 on the Creation and Growth of Companies or the Create and Grow Law, the main objective of this law "is not to increase the size of the company per se , since this depends on the interaction between the entrepreneur and the response of the market but, on the one hand, to facilitate the creation of new companies and, on the other, to reduce the obstacles that they face in their growth, whether of a regulatory or financial origin, in order to achieve a increased competition for the benefit of consumers, the productivity of our productive fabric, the resilience of our companies and the ability to create quality jobs" .

In addition, it details in this same article that " in Spain SMEs and self-employed workers make up more than 99% of the productive fabric in terms of number, they represent just over 61% of the Gross Value Added (VAB) and 64% of employment . Its relevance implies that any policy aimed at improving the economic, social or environmental position of our country takes into consideration SMEs as a priority" .

The Puigverd Assessors team explains that "it will be important to analyze the regulatory changes in detail to be able to explain to our clients all the new aspects to take into account when carrying out electronic invoices " , concludes Puigverd Assessors. Also, it warns that it is important to be attentive to the Regulation of the law that is scheduled for the months of June and July 2023.