In which cases is it mandatory to issue corrective invoices for VAT?

According to VAT regulations, a corrective invoice must be issued in cases where the original invoice does not meet some of the requirements established as mandatory in the regulation governing invoicing obligations. It is also mandatory in cases where the charged VAT rates have been incorrectly determined or when circumstances occur that lead to the modification of the taxable base (return of containers or packaging, discounts, cancellation of operations, alteration in prices or provisional prices, non-payments).

Have you ever had to correct an already issued invoice? This can result in an increase or decrease in the VAT that must be declared to the Tax Agency. How should you proceed in these cases?

Usually, the correction of invoices derives from the usual business activity, and almost always implies a reduction in the invoiced amount and the corresponding VAT. For example, returned goods, discounts or bonuses granted after the sale (rebates), returns of containers or packaging, etc.

In which cases is it mandatory to issue them?

1. When the invoice does not meet some of the requirements established as mandatory in articles 6 and 7 of the Regulation governing invoicing obligations.
2. When circumstances occur that lead to the modification of the taxable base of VAT established in article 80 of Law 37/1992 on VAT (return of containers or packaging, discounts, cancellation of operations, alteration in prices or provisional prices, non-payments).

3. When the charged VAT rates have been incorrectly determined.

However, the correction of the charged tax rates is not appropriate:

1. When the correction is not motivated by the causes foreseen in article 80 of the VAT Law, implies an increase in the charged rates and the recipients of the operations do not act as entrepreneurs or professionals of the tax, except in cases of legal elevation of the tax rates, in which case the correction can be made in the month in which the new tax rates come into effect and in the following one.
2. When it is the Tax Administration that reveals, through the corresponding settlements, reported tax rates not charged higher than those declared by the entrepreneur and the entrepreneur has participated in a fraud or knew or should have known that he was carrying out an operation that was part of a fraud.

Documents issued in replacement of previously issued simplified invoices do not count as corrective invoices, provided they meet the regulatory requirements.

When should they be issued?

The correction must be made as soon as the person obliged to issue the invoice is aware of the circumstances that require its issuance, provided that four years have not elapsed from the moment the tax was reported or, if applicable, from the date on which the circumstances regulated in article 80 of the VAT Law occurred, leading to the modification of the taxable base of VAT.

Corrective invoices must be sent before the 16th day of the month following the month in which the invoice was issued.

What requirements must corrective invoices meet?

The correction will be made by issuing a new invoice in which the identification data of the corrected invoice will be stated.

The correction of several invoices in a single rectification document is possible, provided that all the rectified invoices are identified.

This corrective invoice must meet the requirements established as mandatory in general.

When issuing a corrective invoice, the taxable base and the rate can be indicated directly by the amount of the correction, whether the result is positive or negative, or as they remain after the correction made, being mandatory in this last case to indicate the amount of the correction.

All corrective invoices must state their condition as a rectifying document and the identification of the corrected invoices.

However, there are two exceptions to these requirements:

1. When the modification of the taxable base is the consequence of the return of goods or containers and packaging and an invoice or simplified invoice was issued for the operation in which they were delivered, it will not be necessary to issue a corrective invoice or simplified invoice, but the correction can be made in the invoice issued for a subsequent operation with the same recipient, provided that the applicable tax rate for all operations is the same, regardless of whether the result is positive or negative.

2. When the modification of the taxable base originates from the granting of discounts or bonuses for the volume of operations, as well as in other cases authorized by the Tax Management Department of the State Tax Administration Agency, it will not be necessary to specify the corrected invoices, and it will be enough with the simple determination of the period to which they refer.

The Tax Management Department of the AEAT may authorize other procedures for correcting invoices, upon request of the interested parties, when justified by the commercial or administrative practices of the sector.

REGISTRATION BOOKS

Registration book of issued invoices. The obligation to separately record corrective invoices is established, in view of their specificity to avoid duplicities.

Registration book of received invoices. Register the received corrective invoices on a separate page of the record book of received invoices.