Portugal: E-Invoicing Rules Changes
Like other countries in the European Union, Portugal is further developing the mandate of its electronic invoicing system. The aim is to close the tax gap and combat tax fraud.
The new rules will apply to companies issuing invoices under Portuguese Law. Changes are related to Business-to-Government (B2G) invoices and the use of a unique identification number (ATCUD) and a QR code to all invoices.
Since the 1st of January 2021, for large companies (>250 employees), electronic invoicing for B2G transactions has become mandatory. As of the 1st of July 2021, small and medium-sized companies (<250 employees) will also need to invoice the B2G transactions electronically. And after the 1st of January 2022, the rules will apply for micro-sized companies (<10 employees).
The Entidade de Serviços Partilhados da Administração Pública (eSAP) is the entity providing the platform for the E-Invoicing model in Portugal. The invoices are transferred between the companies and the public sectors using the platform.
In addition to the rules for B2G invoicing, new rules will apply for invoices as of the 1st of January 2022. All invoices (electronic and printed invoices) will need to have a unique identification validation code and a QR Code.
Before applying them, companies will have to communicate the series used in invoices to the Portuguese tax authority. The tax authority will issue a validation code for each reported number series. This validation code will later be used as part of the 'ATCUD: Validation Code - Sequential Number' to be included in the invoice.
Companies will need to apply for their ATCUD code in 2021 in order to obtain it before 2022.
The goal of adding an ATCUD and QR code is to optimize the communication with the tax authority and prevent tax fraud.
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