Regulations on the Implementation of Legal Obligations for Special Billing Cases

Regulation on the implementation of legal obligations for special billing cases under Law No. 87/2019 “On the invoice and the turnover monitoring system"”, unchanged.

1. Elements required for fiscalization

Referring to section 18 of Law No. 87/2019 “On the Invoice and Turnover Monitoring System”, unchanged (hereinafter “the Law”), the standard elements necessary to carry out the issuance and fiscalization of invoices, are:

• Electronic devices (computer, laptop, phone, tablet, etc.);
• Printer;
• Certified software solution and maintenance for the software solution;
• Uninterrupted internet connection;
• Electronic certificate.

The above elements are required in any case when the taxpayer issues and fiscally processes invoices through a certified software solution. The manufacturers and maintainers certified for the software solutions are listed in official website of the General Directorate of Taxes. The electronic certificate is obtained online from AKSHI through an application on the e-Albania portal. The invoice issued to document cash transactions is a sufficient tax document for the purpose of recognizing fiscal expenses. Therefore, it does not need to be accompanied by any other document. The data and elements that the invoice must contain are described in articles 9 and 11 of The law on invoicing and the turnover monitoring system. Incoming and outgoing invoices are automatically recorded in the purchase and sales register. In the book, corrective entries may be made to record invoices without altering the invoice's constituent elements. The same procedure applies to filing the VAT return if the taxpayer is required to do so. Before starting the fiscalization procedures, the taxpayer must provide the required information through the Portal SelfCare. Information must be provided on the unit where the activity is performed, the electronic device(s) used, the software solution and its maintainer, as well as information about the person authorized to issue invoices.

2. Fiscalization of invoices from currency exchange offices

Referring to article 4, of law no. 87/2019 “For the invoice and traffic monitoring system”, as well as Article 24 “Fiscalization of foreign exchange transactions,” of Instruction No. No. 16, dated April 3, 2020 “On the invoice and the monitoring system of turnover” (hereinafter “the Directive"), currency exchange offices must issue and fiscalize invoices in accordance with the fiscalization requirements for every transaction they carry out. Depending on the type of transaction, the deadline for complying with this obligation is determined by the applicable legal framework for invoices and the monitoring system of turnover. Every business day, before issuing the first invoice, the cash opening must be recorded, i.e., the declaration of the opening balance. The cash opening procedure is performed only in lek. The monetary value of foreign currency at the start of the day is converted into lek according to the daily exchange rate, and its lek equivalent is recorded as the cash on hand at the start of the day. This conversion is performed for each foreign currency, and the cash position at the beginning of the day is reported as the total amount in Lek and in foreign currencies (converted to Lek). To document foreign exchange transactions, a simple invoice is used, which contains the elements specified in Article 11 of the Law. Depending on the mode of operation, the issued invoice may include the commission that the currency exchange office earns from the transaction. Invoices for currency exchange transactions will not be automatically recorded in the purchase book when the buyer is a taxpayer. The invoice must also separately show the commission amount if applicable, and the final amount in lek should be stated excluding the percentage commission earned by the currency exchange office. Therefore, in essence, the total amount in lek should be the exact amount received from or given to the client for the foreign currency exchange.

3. “Order” and “Summary” Invoices in the Hotel/Tourism Sector

In implementation of point 3 of article 8 of Direction, Taxpayers operating in the services sector (bars, restaurants, hotels, agritourism, etc.) can use Order invoices and Summary invoices. Invoices issued with the “Order” payment method are fiscally registered as individual invoices. When the customer leaves and wishes to make payment, a summary invoice is issued. The summary invoice must include the NSLF reference of all order invoices previously issued to the customer. Each invoice, whether a pro forma or a summary, must be issued and fiscally registered. The fiscalized summary invoice will be recorded in the taxpayer's sales book and will be taken into consideration for the purpose of calculating VAT on sales. Only at this point are the pro-forma invoices linked to the summary invoice no longer taken into consideration for the calculation of turnover. A completed order does not refer to an order placed by any individual, but to an order placed for each table. Meanwhile, if customers at the same table place a second order, then upon delivery of that order a second invoice is also issued, which may not be printed. In hotel services, a charge slip can be used when a guest stays for several days and pays at check-out. Each bill of services issued to the guest during their stay must be included in the summary invoice, which is issued at the time of payment. Proforma invoices do not affect the cash register, as no money is collected with this document. The moment of collection is determined by the summary invoice. Example: A client books a room at the hotel on May 25th and checks out on June 5th. During this time, they receive services from the restaurant, sauna, SPA, etc., services which they charge to be settled on the hotel bill. For the individual invoices issued for each service from May 25th to June 5th, a consolidated invoice will be issued on June 5th, which will be recorded in the sales book for the month of June, and will be taken into account for the calculation of VAT on sales for the month of June (the moment in which the service was performed and the consolidated invoice was issued). The summary hotel bill includes the total amount calculated for all individual bills issued for each service provided by the hotel up to the time of the client's departure. It is important for the summary bill to reference all individual bills issued to the client. If for special services rendered to the client during their hotel stay, the client has settled the invoice at the time the service was provided and has not charged it to the hotel stay bill, for example, they received restaurant service on May 30th and settled the fiscalized invoice, then this invoice will be recorded in the sales book for the month of May, the month in which the invoice was issued. These services are not included in the summary invoice issued to the client upon check-out on June 5th when they leave the hotel.

4. Self-billing for supplies from farmers

Refer to Instruction Nr. 19, dated 03.11.2014 “On the implementation of the special regime of the compensation scheme for agricultural producers for value added tax purposes,”, As amended, the buyer of the farmer's products, for each supply of agricultural products received from the farmer, issues a tax invoice as defined in the applicable tax legislation. The invoice in these cases is called an “Autofature,” meaning when the buyer issues the invoice instead of the seller. The collector of agricultural products, for each supply purchased from the farmer, must issue and fiscalize an “Autofaturë” in which the farmer is listed as the seller and the collector as the buyer. Depending on the case, this “self-invoice” can be issued with a cash or non-cash payment method. The collector, a registered taxable person, issues and fiscalizes the self-invoice through the software solution he uses for his own purposes. The self-invoicing process is applied by the aggregator both for purchases from registered farmers and for purchases from unregistered farmers. In accordance with the provisions of the Directive, for purchases from registered farmers (who have an NIPT), VAT is calculated on the self-invoice at the applicable tax rate for these transactions. For purchases from unregistered farmers (who do not have an NIPT), VAT is not calculated on the self-invoice. The self-invoice is issued in all cases at the time of the supply and is automatically recorded in the corresponding section of the collector's purchase book.

 5. Fiscalization for Public Bodies

Referring to Article 4 of the law No. 87/2019 “On the invoice and the turnover monitoring system”, central and local public bodies, which in accordance with the applicable legislation on value-added tax issue an invoice to document the transactions they carry out, must implement the invoicing fiscalization procedures starting January 1, 2021, by accepting only electronic invoices for supplies of goods and/or services received from other taxable entities. For the proper implementation of the e-invoicing procedures and acceptance of invoices, central and local public authorities must, before January 1, 2021, meet the following requirements:

Kërkesat për organet publike

• Apply to ASKHI and obtain an electronic certificate for fiscalization;
• To ensure uninterrupted internet connectivity;
• To provide the necessary electronic equipment (computer, laptop, tablet, etc.)

Any public entity may use the SelfCare Portal provided by the Tax Administration for the fiscalization of invoices. Before beginning the fiscalization procedures, the public entity must submit the required information through the SelfCare Portal. The information must be provided regarding the unit in which the activity is carried out, the electronic device(s) used, and the person authorized to issue invoices. The acceptance of electronic purchase invoices is also done on the portal. After accessing the portal, the list of electronic purchase invoices allows you to review and accept invoices issued to the public entity. Once accepted, the electronic invoice is recorded in the purchase register. In addition to acceptance, the public entity taxpayer can provide information about the invoice payment on the portal. After selecting the invoice for which information is to be provided, details are entered for the payment amount, the payment date, and reference data on the payment method. The process of paying electronic invoices by the public entity is carried out through the treasury, and in any case the invoice is printed on paper to proceed with the necessary payment steps.

6. Fiskalizimi of periodic invoices for billing periods

In application of point 6 of article 8, of to the law, A periodic invoice is an exception to the general rules and is provided for certain supplies of goods or services that are supplied regularly or continuously, for example in the construction industry, for the supply of electricity, telecommunications services, water supply, accounting services, monthly rent, etc. The period can be one month or less than a month (for example, if the supply of services or goods begins or ends in the middle of the month). In this case, the taxpayer issuing the invoice must mandatory write on the invoice the date of the period to which this invoice relates (in which the service was rendered), and the invoice's issue date will be the date on which the invoice was created and issued. Regardless of the issue date, the invoice will be recorded in the sales and purchase books on the same date/period as the date/period indicated on the invoice, and not in the month of the invoice's issue date. Based on the provisions of the Law, the periodic invoice must be issued no later than the day of the month following the month in which the supply was made.

7. Fiscalization of invoices in urban and interurban transport activities

Based on Article 4 of to the law, Taxpayers engaged in urban and interurban transport are subject to fiscalization. Therefore, they are required to issue and fiscalize invoices for transport services. This requirement applies to any type of urban and interurban transport, including taxis. Any taxpayer providing urban/interurban transport services must have the necessary elements to issue and fiscalize the invoices they issue. Except for urban public transport, in all other cases the invoice for the transportation service must be issued in real time. That is, for interurban transport of any kind and for taxi services. In implementation of points 1 and 3 of Article 5 of the Directive, taxpayers who sell tickets or passes for passenger transport in the urban public transport sector within the city (buses), in accordance with the decision of the local self-government units, Tickets sold during the day must be consolidated into a single invoice. The invoice must also include information on the serial numbers of the tickets sold during the day. This fiscalized summary must be issued no later than the end of the next day.

8. Invoice fiscalization with “Tollon” and “Company Cards” as payment methods”

Toll Payments

Taxpayers who supply or resell vouchers for a specific use (e.g., fuel supply vouchers) must issue invoices and tax-stamp them when the voucher is issued. The description of the goods supplied in these cases must be “voucher for a specific purpose for ‘name and quantity of goods or services’ with serial number xxx.” The serial number of the voucher will be the issuer's NIPT number, the year of issuance, and the sequential number of vouchers issued during that year. It is very important that this invoice documenting the sale of the voucher be issued and fiscalized first. Next, when the voucher holder uses it as a means of payment for purchases from the issuing taxpayer, the invoice reflecting the product/service sold is issued. The issued invoice shows “Tollon” as the payment method. This invoice, which contains the serial number of the tollon used, will not be recorded in the sales book as long as the first invoice with which the tollons were initially traded has been issued and fiscalized. In the case where the value of the goods supplied is greater than the value of the voucher, then any additional payment from the end customer over the value of the voucher will be declared on the same invoice issued for the supply, Therefore, the seller will not need to issue another invoice, but simply specify on the same invoice the exact amount paid with the voucher and by other payment methods. The additional amount paid by the consumer will be taken into account for tax calculation.

Company map

When the supply of goods is paid for with the taxpayer's company card issued by the taxpayer supplying the goods, the seller issues and registers the invoice in the cash register, and the buyer's identifying information must be included on the invoice (NIPT, first name and last name). The summary invoice must be issued to the buyer by the end of the month, based on the individual supply invoices (which must reference the NSLF of the individual invoices) during the month. Under these conditions, only the summary invoice will be taken into account for calculating turnover and tax liabilities. All invoices (for each supply and the summary invoice) must be fiscally registered at the time of issuance. Source: General Directorate of Taxes.

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