Chile was the first country to introduce voluntary electronic invoicing in 2001. It began implementing mandatory VAT e-invoice reporting in 2014. They are termed Electronic Tax Documents (DTE) locally.
Companies must first register with the Chilean tax authorities, Servicio de Impuestos (SII), to issue DTE invoices. If successful, they will be a given a CAF (Folio Authorization Code) digital signature for stamping DTE invoices with.
SII obliges tax payers to submit electronic invoices, in XML format, prior to dispatch to customers for pre-approval. This must be done via an official e-invoicing provider. This is similar to Brazil and Mexico. SII controls the invoicing numbering through a 'folios'.
Once validate by SII, it then returns the e-invoice to the service provider for forwarding to the customer. Goods may not be delivered prior to the SII confirmation. The customer is obliged to book this invoice into their accounting system. The supplier then confirms with the customer receipt of the SII approved invoice via a digitally-signed notification. This is in two parts: acknowledgement; and then acceptance.
