The sunken economy is set to see a surge of new electronic invoicing as a public consultation on the Create and Grow Law advances this week. The Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation reported the progress, noting that the royal decree lays the groundwork for a project to implement electronic invoicing in business transactions between companies and professionals. The aim is to standardize billing practices, reduce commercial fraud, and speed up payment flows, while also increasing the transparency of transactions that today escape tax scrutiny.
The ministry, headed by Nadia Calviño, stated that the measure will cut transaction costs, push the digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed professionals, and ensure the availability of reliable, systematic data on effective payment terms. To support these goals, the Administration has provided a basic public infrastructure to access electronic invoicing, designed to simplify adoption for SMEs and self-employed individuals.
The government argues that the new regulatory framework will lower transaction costs by enabling automatic integration across invoicing, collections, payments, and accounting. It also reinforces the digitization drive within the Recovery Plan and offers additional support for SMEs and freelancers navigating the transformation.
Access to the electronic invoicing system will be broad, with the option to use a basic public platform or specialized platforms available on the market. Industry representatives estimate that the framework will first apply to larger companies invoicing over eight million euros, with a staged rollout to smaller firms over two years to broaden coverage and impact.
Interoperability is a key objective, ensuring that the system can translate and adopt the most common formats for seamless integration and adaptation at the European level. The architecture is designed so that a single platform can connect users to manage their invoices, reducing fragmentation and enhancing cross-border compatibility.
SMEs and self-employed workers will receive extensive support during the transition, including extended grace periods, clear referral paths, and assistance through the Digital Kit program. This approach aims to minimize disruption and accelerate the move to digital invoicing across the economy.
Businesses that miss payment deadlines under the late payment provisions will face restrictions on public subsidies and collaborative management programs. The plan also includes oversight by a Private Criminal State Observatory, which will collect and analyze payment data to promote responsible practices. It will publish an annual list of overdue companies, identifying legal entities that fail to pay more than five percent of their invoices on time and whose total outstanding invoices exceed €600,000. This transparency is intended to encourage timely settlements and deter delayed payments.
In line with corporate governance requirements, annual reports from large companies will continue to disclose their average payment period to suppliers, alongside the total volume and number of invoices paid within the maximum allowed time under the default regulations. The overall strategy emphasizes accountability, digital modernization, and a smoother, more predictable cash flow across the business landscape.