Costa Rica begins transition to mandatory e-invoicing

The first 10 companies began compliance in March 2017 as a pilot, and the DGT, Costa Rica’s tax authority, will continue to roll the program out to additional enterprises over the next two years via email notifications.

Like other Latin American mandate roll outs, Costa Rica e-invoicing will start with the largest taxpayers, and they will have six months to implement the processes and systems needed to maintain compliance. Multinational companies need to be proactive and start looking for a solution now to avoid any surprises when they are mandated.
With mandatory participation imminent, here are the top Costa Rica e-invoicing requirements to know:

1. Documents required:
A. Invoices
B. Credit Notes
C. Debit Notes
D. Final Consumer Ticket

2. Sequencing: The DGT requires 20-digit consecutive numbering, which must be assigned automatically by the taxpayer and correspond to the type of document. Errors in sequencing may trigger rejections by the DGT.

3. Unique identifier: The taxpayer must also create a 50-digit unique identifying code for each transaction.

4. Fields required (in Spanish): Document version, Taxpayer ID, Type of document, Numeric code, Time sent, Date sent, Method of payment, Conditions of sale or service, Current legislation, Description of goods, Discounts, Subtotal in national currency, Consumption tax, Value of services and goods, Net price (without sales tax), Amount of the tax equivalent to the rate applied on the net sales price, Total value of the invoice.

5. Validation process: Upon reception of electronic document, the DGT will validate the document and send an approval or rejection within three hours. All electronic documents must have an acceptance acknowledgment; otherwise, they may not be used as a support for tax credits or to deduct expenses.

6. Contingency processes: In the event of an Internet issue, documents must be sent to the DGT within two days of generation and the taxpayer must provide a reason for the transmission delay. If the DGT’s system is down, taxpayers must store and send documents in contingency mode as soon as services are back up.

7. Archives: All electronic receipts generated, sent and received, as well as associated documents, must be stored for five years.

Electronic documents cannot be canceled directly, and instead must be cancelled or modified by the use of electronic credit or debit notes.