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VAT practical manual 2021.

Duty to preserve the invoices

Entrepreneurs and professionals must keep, during the period provided for in the General Tax Law, the following documents:

  • Invoices received.

  • The copies or matrices of the invoices issued in accordance with article 2.1 and 2 of the Regulation that regulates billing obligations, approved by Royal Decree 1619/2012, of November 30.

  • The accounting documents referred to in number 4 of section one of article 97 of the Tax Law.

  • The receipts justifying the reimbursement of compensation from the special regime for agriculture, livestock and fishing, both the original of the former, by its issuer, and the copy, by the owner of the holding.

  • The documents accrediting the payment of the Import Tax.

This obligation also applies to businessmen or professionals covered by the special regimes of VAT , as well as to those who, without having the status of businessmen or professionals, are liable for the tax, although in this case It will only cover the accounting documents cited in the third indent and the invoices received.

These documents must be kept in a way that guarantees access to them by the Tax Administration without delay, unless duly justified cause. In particular, this obligation can be fulfilled through the use of electronic means.

Preservation by electronic means must be carried out in a way that ensures its legibility in the original format in which it was received or sent, as well as, where appropriate, that of the associated data and signature verification mechanisms or other authorized elements. that guarantee the authenticity of its origin and the integrity of its content.

The place of conservation of the billing documents is immaterial, unless it is carried out outside of Spain, in which case the obligation will be considered to have been fulfilled, only if it is done through electronic means that guarantee online access, as well as its remote loading and use by the Tax Administration of the documentation thus preserved. In these cases, this circumstance must be communicated in advance to the State Tax Administration Agency.