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VAT practical manual 2021.

Delivery times and invoicing

The following table shows the different times for issuing and sending invoices, depending on the condition of the recipient or the nature of the operations:

Recipient condition /
Nature of operation
Delivery timeDelivery time
Recipient not a businessman or professional When performing the operation At the time of issue
Business or professional recipient Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued
Recapitulative invoices intended for non-businessmen or professionals The last day of the calendar month in which the operations that are documented were carried out At the time of issue
Recapitulative invoices intended for businessmen or professionals Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued Before the 16th of the month following the month in which the tax corresponding to the aforementioned operation was accrued
Invoices for intra-community deliveries of exempt goods Before the 16th of the month following that in which the dispatch or transportation of the goods to the purchaser begins Before the 16th of the month following that in which the dispatch or transportation of the goods to the purchaser begins
Rectification invoices As soon as the person obliged to issue it is aware of the circumstances that require its issuance Before the 16th of the month following that in which the invoice was issued

For these purposes, the operations are understood to be carried out when the accrual of VAT occurs.

In the case of operations under the special regime of the cash criterion, these will be understood to have been carried out for these purposes, at the moment in which the accrual of VAT would have occurred if it had not been applicable to them. application of said special regime. Therefore, the deadline for issuing invoices corresponding to these operations is governed by the general deadlines.