New Regulatory Development of Mandatory Electronic Invoicing: Key Aspects of Royal Decree 238/2026

TheThe Royal Decree 238/2026, of 25 March, establishes the regulatory development of the mandatory electronic invoicing system between entrepreneurs and professionals, in implementation of the provisions set out in Law 18/2022 on the creation and growth of companies.

The regulation defines the technical, operational and information requirements of the system, as well as the obligations of the parties involved and the operational framework of the infrastructures that support it.

The Royal Decree develops Article 2 bis of Law 56/2007, as amended by Law 18/2022, which extends the obligation to issue and transmit electronic invoices to commercial relationships between entrepreneurs and professionals.

In this context, the regulation specifies the elements necessary for the effective implementation of the system, including the technical requirements of invoices, interoperability conditions and the obligations to provide information relating to invoice statuses.

It also incorporates the regulatory development of the public electronic invoicing solution, whose management is entrusted to the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria).

Electronic invoices must be generated in a structured format in accordance with the European semantic model EN16931 and may adopt various accepted syntaxes, including UBL, CII, EDIFACT or Facturae.

The system imposes specific interoperability obligations on private platforms, which must be capable of transforming messages between the different accepted formats and ensuring interconnection with other platforms when requested by their clients.

In addition, technical requirements are established for operating as a private platform, including conditions relating to information security, service availability, interoperability and the ability to operate with advanced electronic signatures.

The Royal Decree introduces a structured system of information concerning the lifecycle of invoices. Recipients must communicate, at a minimum, the acceptance or rejection of the invoice and the full effective payment, together with the corresponding dates.

Additionally, there is an obligation to report the effective payment to the public electronic invoicing solution, regardless of the method used to issue the invoice.

The information must be submitted within specified timeframes from the moment the relevant status occurs, allowing the Administration to obtain structured data on payment periods in commercial transactions.

The public electronic invoicing solution, managed by the Spanish Tax Agency, acts as an infrastructure for the issuance and receipt of invoices, as well as a repository of information regarding invoices and their payments.

The system will allow access to the information necessary for monitoring payment periods by the competent authorities, including its transmission to the State Observatory on Private Late Payments for the preparation of reports on non-compliance.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the implementation of the system aims to improve the traceability of the invoicing cycle, provide reliable information on actual payment periods and contribute to reducing commercial late payments.

Furthermore, the regulation is intended to promote the digitalisation of companies and facilitate the administrative management of invoices, in line with other regulatory initiatives aimed at combating fraud and modernising the tax system.

The Royal Decree will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado). However, its effective application is subject to the approval of the ministerial order that will develop the public electronic invoicing solution.

From that moment, the obligation will be implemented progressively: after twelve months for entrepreneurs and professionals with an annual turnover exceeding eight million euros, and after twenty-four months for all others.

In this context, the new regulation requires appropriate adaptation of invoicing systems and related reporting obligations. At ILIA ETL GLOBAL, we advise companies and professionals in this area through our tax advisory services, combining the capabilities of an international group with the proximity of an independent firm.