Services from the EU
Supplemented with the dedicated document type and VAT paid; under the flat-rate scheme the tax is a cost.
Individuals and companies · Day-to-day management
Electronic invoicing
Electronic invoicing applies to everyone, including people under the flat-rate scheme. Once it is set up it becomes routine, but the first few months are when the mistakes happen that later take time to sort out: the wrong recipient, forgotten stamp duty, rejected invoices that nobody has picked up again.
01 · The mechanism
How electronic invoicing works: the Sistema di Interscambio
The invoice no longer travels directly from supplier to customer. It is produced in a structured format, sent to the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI, the national e-invoicing exchange system) of the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency), checked automatically, and only then delivered to the recipient.
This step has two practical consequences. The first is that an invoice not delivered to the customer may still have been issued correctly, because what counts is the date it was sent to the SdI. The second is that an invoice can be rejected: in that case, as far as the tax authorities are concerned, it never existed.
- IssuePreparationThe invoice is filled in using the required format, with the customer's details and the delivery channel
- SendingSent to the SdIThe Sistema di Interscambio receives the file and starts the formal checks
- Within 5 daysOutcomeA delivery receipt, a failed delivery receipt or a rejection notice
- If rejectedCorrectionIt must be corrected and sent again within five days of the notice, keeping the original date and number
- ThenStorageThe document must be stored in a legally compliant way for the required period: a PDF copy is not enough
02 · Delivery
Recipient code, PEC and the special cases
The delivery address can be given in one of two ways: a seven-character recipient code, or the customer's PEC address (certified email). Asking for it before you issue the invoice avoids the problem at the source.
- Customer with a partita IVA (Italian VAT number): you use their recipient code or their PEC, which you need to ask for explicitly.
- Private customer without a partita IVA: you enter the conventional code of seven zeros and give the customer a courtesy copy, telling them that the original is in their personal area.
- Public administration: you need the office's unique code, and the invoice follows the split payment regime with its own rules.
- Foreign customer: you enter the conventional code of seven Xs and the transaction goes into the cross-border transaction data.
If the customer gives you nothing, the invoice is not irregular: it is still made available in their personal area on the Agency's website. But a customer who cannot find it will phone you, and it is your time that gets lost.
03 · When to issue
Immediate or deferred: the deadlines that matter
An immediate invoice must be sent to the SdI within twelve days of the transaction. The date on the document stays the date of the transaction: the window is for sending it, not for moving the period it belongs to.
A deferred invoice covers sales of goods accompanied by a transport document and some documented services: it is issued by the fifteenth day of the following month, summarising the transactions of the month.
For services, the time of the transaction as a rule coincides with payment of the fee. This is the difference that confuses people who come from selling goods: a service that has been completed but not paid for has not, as a rule, yet triggered the obligation.
The number and the date
Two routine fields that cause more disputes than you might think.
- Numbering must be sequential, with no gaps within the year
- A rejected invoice that is sent again keeps its original number and date
- Issuing with a date earlier than the sending date is normal, provided it is within the twelve days
- The register of issued invoices follows the document date, not the sending date
04 · Stamp duty
Stamp duty on invoices without VAT
Invoices that do not charge VAT (typically those under the flat-rate scheme, but also exempt or out-of-scope transactions) are subject to stamp duty when the amount exceeds the set threshold.
With electronic invoices, stamp duty is paid virtually: you fill in the dedicated field and pay periodically. In your personal area the Agency provides a statement of the amounts due, calculated on the invoices sent, which must be checked and topped up if any documents are missing.
- Stamp duty must be shown on the invoice, not just paid: the field must be filled in when the invoice is issued.
- Payment is quarterly, with fixed deadlines; for small amounts there are simplifications for the first quarters.
- Stamp duty can be charged to the customer as a reimbursement of expenses, if you show it on the invoice: in that case it does not count as revenue.
- The Agency's statement must be checked: if an invoice was not flagged correctly, the amount proposed is incomplete.
Forgetting stamp duty is the most common mistake among people who start out under the flat-rate scheme. It is not serious if you notice early: you top up the payment with the reduced penalties of ravvedimento (voluntary correction).
05 · To avoid
The e-invoicing mistakes that come back to you
Rejected invoice left unattended
The rejection arrives as a notice and must be dealt with within five days. If you miss it, you find yourself with no invoice issued and revenue that is not documented.
Customer's VAT number wrong
The SdI checks that the codice fiscale (Italian tax code) and the partita IVA exist: one wrong character and the file is refused.
Tax regime not stated
The flat-rate scheme has its own regime code and a nature of transaction code that must be shown. Leaving them out exposes you to VAT disputes.
Storage not set up
Saving PDFs on your computer is not compliant storage. You need a process that ensures integrity and legibility over time.
Compliant storage can be delegated to the free service of the Agenzia delle Entrate, once you have signed up, or to an accredited storage provider. In both cases it has to be activated: it does not switch itself on.
06 · Special cases
Reverse charge, foreign purchases and self-billing
If you buy services from foreign suppliers, or receive reverse charge invoices, you must supplement the document and send it to the SdI with the correct document type. It is an obligation that also affects many people under the flat-rate scheme, often without them knowing.
The typical case is buying advertising or digital services from a company based in another country: the transaction must be supplemented and the VAT paid, even though the flat-rate scheme does not allow you to recover it.
Services from outside the EU
A self-billed invoice with its own document type, with the same obligation to pay.
Domestic reverse charge
Typical of construction and some other sectors: the customer supplements the invoice received.
Gifts and own use
Goods leaving the business without payment must also be documented, with the required document type.
Frequently asked
The questions that keep coming up
I am under the flat-rate scheme: do I really have to issue electronic invoices?
Yes. The obligation applies to everyone with a partita IVA, with no exceptions based on the tax regime.
The simplifications of the scheme still apply: no VAT charged, but in exchange stamp duty on invoices above the threshold.
The customer says they have not received the invoice. What do I do?
Check the receipt issued by the SdI: if it is a delivery receipt, the invoice reached the channel given and the problem is on the recipient's side. If it is a failed delivery receipt, the document is still valid and is available in the customer's personal area.
In both cases you can send a courtesy copy as a PDF, which is for information only and does not replace the original.
Can I still issue paper invoices?
Only in the few cases where the law allows it, for example to non-residents when you do not opt for electronic sending. In ordinary practice, no.
The paper or PDF copy you give the customer is a courtesy, not the invoice: the original is the file sent to the SdI.
I got an amount wrong. How do I correct it?
If the invoice was rejected, you correct it and send it again within five days, keeping the number and date. If it was accepted, you need a credit note that reverses its effects in full or in part.
The credit note has its own rules on the time limits for issuing it: the sooner you spot the mistake, the easier it is to fix.
How long do I have to keep invoices?
The storage period follows the time limits for tax assessments and, if there is a dispute or a check under way, it is extended until that is settled.
Storage must be compliant, meaning it ensures integrity, authenticity and legibility over time: you activate the Agency's service or that of a storage provider, you do not improvise with a folder on your computer.
Let's talk
If the Sistema di Interscambio is rejecting your invoices, it can be fixed
Bring us a rejected invoice and the error message: it is almost always one field, and it can be sorted out once and for all.