Portugal invoice and VAT compliance update

With effect from October 2012, new VAT invoicing rules come into force in Portugal:

It will be mandatory for any supplier of goods and services to issue an invoice. This regulation is irrespective of the Portuguese VAT status of the recipient; it is also irrespective of any wish by the recipient not to be provided with an invoice.

An invoice must be an Invoice, entitled as such, as the only permitted legal document, representative of a particular underlying transaction. No other documents, untitled and considered equivalent, will now be acceptable under the new rules.

Simplified invoicing will be allowed for the sale of goods up to a value of €1,000 when supplied to non-taxable persons. For other supplies of goods or services, this form of invoicing will be satisfactory up to €100.

Specific non-standard invoicing types must clearly be detailed on the Invoice e.g. if it is a self-billing Invoice, this should be clearly shown as “Self-billing”. Similarly, if the recipient under the VAT rules is designated as the taxable entity, then “Reverse Charge” should be detailed.

Details on delivery notes and return documents must unambiguously cross-refer to the specific Invoice representing the transaction.

In line with the 2010 EU Invoicing Directive also, e-invoicing alternatives to EDI and electronic signature will be fully acceptable.

With effect from January 2013, as part of invoice control, there will be new reporting requirements:

All monthly VAT invoice data to be communicated electronically to the Portuguese Tax Authority (PTA) by the 8th of the month following, viz. VAT numbers of supplier and recipient, invoice date, invoice number, the net, the VAT rate, the VAT (and if zero, the stated reason).

Specifically for goods:

• Transport documents must be raised and be in format acceptable to PTA requirements
• Transport document data must be submitted to the PTA electronically in advance of delivery or at latest up until the 5th business day following the date of the transaction