Every three months, more than 3 million SMEs and freelancers are obliged to submit their VAT returns. It is a process that, in many cases, is a real headache, because we have to complete it properly and respect the deadlines.
However, sometimes, we have to pay VAT invoices issued to creditors where there is reasonable doubt that they will not pay and even they end up being unpaid, which can endanger the liquidity of our company, especially in circumstances where we have to issue invoices using the accrual basis.
To solve this problem, you must perform a series of steps, among which is the issue of a document known as corrective invoice with a different numbering ordinary bills, which serves, among other things, to recover VAT from the unpaid invoices and thus prevent autonomous or SME have to pay the tax for the provision of a service that has not been paid.
Requirements to recover VAT
The corrective invoices not work in all cases. There are a number of requirements that must be met for this document to be valid:
- Your customer must be an SME or an autonomous.
- You must be registered in your accounting operation and have paid VAT.
- The bill should not be taken within six months after issuance.
- You must have officially claimed the payment of your debt.
What details must comply?
Once these initial requirements, the document issued to recover VAT must be identical to the bill that was originally issued, and must include the amount in negative (excluding VAT) and the title “amendment bill”.
In addition, it will include the cause of issue and details of the rectification made. This bill nullifies the original bill, which is no longer valid.
Once you have completed, you must send it to the Treasury and included in the quarterly model where the corrected invoice is issued.
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What is the deadline for submission there?
Like any other process and pending submission of corrective invoices also has its limits. In case of customer default, deadlines vary depending on the subject of default, as they can present two possible casuistry:
- The customer is unwilling or unable to pay, in which case we should go to the courts or notary request, respecting the following periods: from the date of the invoice must let go from 6 months to a year to issue them, depending on the volume operations of the debtor, and a month is given for transmission to the tax agency.
- The customer is in bankruptcy. In this case, the deadline for issuing them shall be one month from the publication of Auto declaration. In this case, moreover, another granted one month to notify the Tax Agency, accompanied by her original invoices and accreditation of the corresponding claim.
We must remember, however, that compensation of VAT but not paid as a result of non-payment is not made through a return, but with respect to the resulting pay in the next quarter.
