Regulatory updates - Spain

On March 24, 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree activating the B2B electronic invoicing obligation established under Law 18/2022, commonly referred to as Crea y Crece (Create and Grow). This marks the most significant concrete step forward for the initiative since the law was passed in 2022.

The Royal Decree establishes mandatory B2B electronic invoicing between companies, as well as between companies and professionals, including sole traders acting in a professional capacity. It defines electronic invoices as structured, machine-readable files, effectively ending the use of PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and paper invoices. The decree also introduces a mandatory reporting requirement for invoice status, covering issuance, acceptance or rejection, and the actual payment date. The measure is explicitly linked to reducing commercial late payments.

What has not yet entered into force

Although the Royal Decree has been approved, the obligation does not take effect immediately. Enforcement depends on the publication of a Ministerial Order.

The Ministerial Order will:

• Regulate the public B2B e-invoicing platform;
• Define final technical rules and interoperability requirements; and
• Start the legal countdown for enforcement.

What is expected next

The Government has confirmed that the Ministerial Order on the public e-invoicing platform is expected before July 1, 2026. It will be issued by the Ministry of Finance, although the Ministry of Economy holds the policy lead. Once published, the Order will represent the true legal starting point for Crea y Crece enforcement, and implementation deadlines will begin to count.

Planned rollout

The rollout will be phased based on company size:

• Companies with annual turnover above 8 million EUR: obligation begins one year after the Ministerial Order is published;
• All other companies and professionals: obligation begins two years after the Ministerial Order is published.

As an example: if the Order is published in the first half of 2026, this implies large companies would need to comply from 2027, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and sole traders from 2028.

Additional provisions

The Royal Decree also confirms the following:

• A free, public B2B e-invoicing platform will be operated by the Spanish Tax Administration Agency (AEAT: Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria);
• Use of the public platform is optional;
• Private platforms remain permitted but must be interoperable with the public system; and
• Copies of invoices and invoice status data must be shared with the public system.

Crea y Crece and Veri*factu are separate measures

The Government has clarified that, while the B2B electronic invoicing decree and Veri*factu are being processed in parallel, they are different and independent measures. Businesses should ensure they understand the distinct obligations and timelines associated with each.

In December 2025, the Spanish government formally delayed the mandatory application of Veri*factu through Royal Decree-Law 15/2025, pushing compliance deadlines to January 1, 2027 for corporate taxpayers, and July 1, 2027 for other businesses and professionals using invoicing software.

Veri*factu introduces invoicing software integrity and traceability requirements, including the generation of standardized, tamper-proof invoice records and potential transmission to the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT). It is not a transaction-by-transaction clearance system, but it represents a key step in Spain's broader CTC and e-invoicing roadmap.

Under Spain's regulatory framework, taxpayers participating in SII real-time VAT reporting are exempt from certain Veri*factu obligations. This caused many businesses to choose to join SII in 2025, even when it was not required by law, as a way to get ready for the new invoicing rules.

However, when the Veri*factu mandate was postponed, these voluntary SII participants found themselves locked into a more burdensome VAT reporting regime, because the standard SII renunciation deadline (November of the preceding year) had already passed.

To correct this regulatory mismatch, Royal Decree-Law 16/2025 introduced an exceptional and time-limited SII exit period. The window runs from December 25, 2025 to January 31, 2026, and qualifies taxpayers who joined SII voluntarily. Those mandatorily subject to SII are excluded. The effective date is retroactive to January 1, 2026, and businesses can exit by filing Form 036 or 037 with the AEAT. Businesses that entered SII via REDEME may also deregister during this period.

Authorities have emphasized that this is a one-off transitional measure, not a structural change to the SII regime.

The deferred mandatory implementation deadlines were outlined in Royal Decree-Law 15/2025 of December 2, extending them by one year.

• For companies with annual revenue below EUR 6 000 000: from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027
• For all other taxpayers with annual revenue below EUR 6 000 000  (Sole traders/ self-employed workers): from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027

As highlighted in our previous update, this delay aims to provide businesses with more time to adapt to the new system.

Veri*factu, which was driven by the Anti-Fraud Law, regulates computerized billing systems and is designed to provide greater security and traceability in billing, while offering increased agility and ease of compliance with tax obligations for small businesses and self-employed workers.

Despite the extension, it is highly recommend implementing Veri*factu early and systematically to minimize transition risks. Thomson Reuters Europe is certified and prepared to assist organizations with their implementation.