Electronic invoicing is an international tool to combat tax evasion and facilitate transactions. Simply put, e-invoicing is the exchange of digital documents (invoices, etc.) between two or more entities involved in a business transaction. Digital documents are files of structured data, specific technical specifications based on the European e-invoicing standard, so that they can be “read” by business software as well as by the tax mechanism and exchange information in both directions. Our tax laws (Section 71F of the Income Tax Code) provide significant incentives to encourage businesses to implement electronic invoicing. In particular, if a company decides to use the services of an electronic document issuing service provider to issue, transmit and archive all of its sales documents, for the years during which this choice was made, the following is provided:

a) The period within which the tax administration may issue an act of administrative, settlement or corrective assessment of tax is limited to two years (i.e. from five years, which is the general limitation period, to three years), and then on its basis any extension limitation period.

b) The cost of the initial supply of technical equipment and software required for the implementation of electronic invoicing is depreciated for tax purposes in full in the year of its implementation, increased by 100%.

c) The cost of preparing, transmitting and electronically filing e-invoices for the first year of e-invoicing sales documents recognized as a deduction from gross business income is increased by 100%.

d) The deadline for refunding tax to a taxpayer for the tax year(s) for which the taxpayer uses electronic invoicing is set to 45 days instead of 90, which is the general deadline. This period also applies to the accrual of interest to a taxpayer who has paid tax in excess.

Tax incentives are initially valid for tax periods starting from 01/01/2020 until the 2022 tax year. However, based on a recent draft law consisting of several laws, they are expected to be extended until 2023. In particular, for the tax year 2023, the relevant options of section 71F can be declared, and the inclusion was completed before 06/30/2023.

The possibility of electronic invoicing is declared electronically to the tax administration and is the only way of issuing, transmitting and archiving the trade documents of an enterprise for all its activities. This option can be canceled, but it excludes paper invoicing as long as it is valid. In addition, the choice of e-invoicing necessarily implies the use of e-invoicing through the supplier and for the receipt of sales documents in which a person is indicated as the recipient by its issuer/supplier who has also chosen e-invoicing through the supplier.

Benefits are provided for each tax year, as well as for subsequent tax years (with the exception of benefits under paragraphs b) and c) above, if the relevant options are declared at the end of the previous tax year from one or another tax year included in the report. Specifically, for first-time start-up entities, if filing at the same time as filing a start-up return, benefits are available from the first tax year of their operation, provided that the entity does not revoke the pricing selection return during the following tax year.

Ms. Jenny Panu is the head of the tax department of Accounting Solutions SA (www.asnetwork.gr).