• The Government has approved in the Council of Ministers a one-year extension for the deadline of the entry into force of the ‘Verifactu’ system

• Amendment of the Regulation on Invoicing System Requirements for Companies and Professionals

The Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree-Law by which urgent measures are adopted to favor the investment activity of local entities and autonomous communities, and by which Royal Decree 1007/2023, of December 5, is amended, which approves the Regulation establishing the requirements that must be adopted by computer or electronic systems and programs that support the invoicing processes of entrepreneurs and professionals, and the standardization of formats of invoicing records.

With this Royal Decree-Law, Autonomous Communities and Local Entities will be allowed to use the surplus obtained in their accounts during 2024 to allocate it to Financially Sustainable Investments (IFS) in 2025, 2026, and 2027.

In this way, the resources generated in 2024, both in the case of the Autonomous Communities and Local Entities, can be allocated to the so-called IFS. All this without it counting towards the spending rule for 2025, 2026, and 2027.

Likewise, in the event that an IFS project cannot be fully executed before December 31, 2026, the remaining part of the authorized expenditure may be committed and recognized in the following financial year, financed against the treasury surplus of the immediately preceding year, up to the limit of the 2024 surplus amount. In any case, investment projects must have started before December 31, 2026.

FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS (IFS)

IFS are those investments that in the long term have a positive impact on the sustainability of the public finances of Local Entities and Autonomous Communities, which allow, during their execution, maintenance, and liquidation, compliance with the objectives of budgetary stability and public debt.

These investments must be economically sustainable throughout the useful life of the investment and do not count towards the expenditure of the financial year in which they are executed for the purposes of applying the spending rule, although they do for the purposes of compliance with the budgetary stability objective.

Furthermore, in order to benefit from this special rule regarding the destination of the budgetary surplus, territorial administrations must comply with the average payment period to suppliers provided for in the regulations on late payments.

These Financially Sustainable Investments can be allocated, by Local Entities, to the provision of essential services, such as sewerage, water supply, waste collection or public lighting, improvement of productive systems and various sectors, transport infrastructures, educational centers, primary social assistance, housing, water resources, or the information society, among other fields.

For their part, Autonomous Communities may make investments with positive effects on climate change, contributions to improving energy efficiency, or investments that prevent recurring expenses or imply savings in future financial years, all within the scope of the competencies they have assumed.

POSTPONEMENT OF THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF VERIFACTU

On the other hand, this Royal Decree-Law contemplates the amendment of Royal Decree 1007/2023 of December 5, which established a series of requirements to be met by the computer invoicing systems of SMEs and self-employed workers, the so-called ‘Verifactu Regulation’. This amendment consists of postponing the start of the application of these requirements by one year, until 2027.

The entry into force of Verifactu was initially scheduled for January 1, 2026, in the case of taxpayers subject to Corporate Income Tax, while for other companies and self-employed workers using computer invoicing systems, the deadline was July 1, 2026.

With the Royal Decree-Law, it has been decided to carry out a new extension of the enforcement period.

In this way, for companies whose deployment and adaptation period for their computer systems was to begin on January 1, 2026, it is moved to January 1, 2027, while for companies and self-employed workers who had to start applying Verifactu on July 1, 2026, that deadline is moved to July 1, 2027.

This new system aims to fight tax fraud and the shadow economy derived from the use of so-called ‘dual-use software’. This measure develops what is contemplated in the Law on the prevention of and fight against tax fraud, providing greater security and traceability of invoicing, as well as granting greater agility and ease in compliance with tax obligations for businesses and the self-employed.

NATIONALLY AUTHORIZED OFFICIALS (HABILITADOS)

The Royal Decree-Law also incorporates an amendment to the Law Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, aimed at returning to the Generalitat of Catalonia the management of public employment offers and selection processes for nationally authorized officials.

This is a competency that was already given to Euskadi (the Basque Country) in 2022 and which all Autonomous Communities had between 2007 and 2013. Nationally authorized officials are local government civil servants who act as municipal controllers, treasurers, and secretaries.

With this measure, the Generalitat of Catalonia will be able to announce job competitions for vacant positions in a coordinated manner with the State, resolving the assignment of the first destination and the relevant administrative situations.

Source: Lefebvre