Argentina is one of the Latin countries which have electronic invoicing. Also based on Government (AFIP) rules and regulations, it differs from Brazil’s Nf-e in many aspects.
For every company which issues invoices with VAT, the law obliges them to generate the documents below in the electronic method:
- Invoices or equivalent documents class A
- Credit nodes and debit notes class A
Companies can OPTIONALLY create the electronic version of the following documents:
- Invoices or equivalent documents class B
- Credit nodes and debit notes class B
Although this Fiscal program has started in 2006, making it mandatory took the Government great effort. Besides, the different commercial channels and communication methods were other aspects that made the implementation take so long. Thus, the level of validation over the XML file sent to AFIP is not high. This is a slow growing trend.
In order to issue an electronic invoice (eFactura), the companies must request a digital certication called Fiscal Key. With this fiscal key in hands, the company can be an electronic issuer. Later, the company will request authorization to issue each invoice. This authorization is requested to AFIP (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos), the Government Tax Entity. Such authorization comes as an electronic certification number, called CAE. No invoice can be released to customers without the CAE number applied to it.
This CAE number can be gathered in two ways:
- Normal: which means, doesn’t matter the communication method, every invoice should have one
- Anticipated: which means, the company can ask for a certain number of CAE numbers according to its need, for 15 days. Then, after this period, the company has to inform how many of those numbers were really used through a report, and optionally, request for more.
Another determining aspect when configuring a company’s scenario in eFactura is the regime. A regime determines the tax contribution model that applies to the company. Two major ones are:
- R.E.C.E. à Regime de Emissión de Comprobantes Electrónicos - http://www.afip.gob.ar/fe/#rece
This is the most adequate model for large contributors. It is based on web services, with no limits. - R.E.C.L. à Regime de Emissión de Comprobantes en Línea - http://www.afip.gob.ar/fe/#recl
This is the most adequate model for companies with no more than 100 tickets/month.
Sorry if this info is still too high level. My intention is to blog more on this subject. But, please, feel free to ask for more detailed information.
Thanks a lot!
