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 necessary in all cases when the taxpayer issues and formalizes invoices through a certified software solution.
Producers and certified maintainers for software solutions are listed in official website to the General Directorate of Taxes. The electronic certificate is obtained online at AKSHI by applying to the e-Albania portal.
An invoice issued to document cash transactions is a sufficient tax document for the purpose of recognizing fiscal expenses. Therefore, it is not necessary for it to be accompanied by another document.
The data and elements that an invoice must contain are described in Articles 9 and 11 of The law on invoicing and the turnover monitoring system. Invoices received as well as issued are automatically recorded in the purchase and sales ledger. Corrective actions can be taken in the ledger for invoice registration without changing the invoice's constituent elements. This is how the VAT declaration is processed if the taxpayer is obligated to submit it.
Before the start of the fiscalization procedures, the taxpayer must provide the requested 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”, and article 24 “Fiscalization of foreign exchange transactions” of Instruction No. 16, dated 03.04.2020 “On invoices and the circulation monitoring system” (hereinafter “the Instruction"), foreign exchange offices must issue and fiscalize invoices in compliance with fiscalization requirements for every transaction they carry out. Depending on the type of transaction, the deadline for implementing this obligation is determined within the legal framework in force for invoices and the circulation monitoring system.
Every business day, before the first invoice is issued, the cash register must be opened, meaning the initial balance must be declared. The action of opening the cash register is performed only in Lek. Monetary values at the beginning of the day in foreign currency are converted into Lek at the daily exchange rate, and their equivalent in Lek is recorded as the opening cash balance for the day. This conversion is done for each foreign currency, and the opening cash balance is reported as the total amount in Lek and foreign currencies (converted to Lek).
For the documentation of currency exchange transactions, a simplified invoice is used which contains the elements defined in Article 11 of the Law. Depending on how it operates, the issued invoice may contain the commission that the currency exchange office profits from the transaction. Invoices for currency exchanges will not be automatically recorded in the purchase book when the buyer is a taxpayer.
The invoice must also show the commission amount separately if applicable, and the final amount in lek should be stated without the percentage that the foreign exchange office profits from. So, 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 service sector (bars, restaurants, hotels, agritourism, etc.) can use Order Invoices and Summary Invoices.
Invoices issued with the payment method “Order” are fiscalized as individual invoices. When the customer leaves and requests to make the payment, a Summary Invoice is issued. The summary invoice must contain a reference to the NSLF of all previously issued order invoices to the customer.
Each invoice, order, or summary must be issued and fiscalized. The fiscalized summary invoice will be recorded in the taxpayer's sales ledger and will be taken into consideration for the purpose of calculating VAT on sales. Only at this point will the order invoices linked to the summary invoice no longer be considered for turnover calculation.
A fulfilled order does not mean an order from every person, but an order fulfilled for every table. Meanwhile, if customers from the same table place a second order, then upon delivery of the order, a second invoice will be issued, which may or may not be printed.
In hospitality services, a pro forma invoice can be used when a client is staying for several days and pays upon departure. Every pro forma invoice for different services, issued to the client during their stay at the hotel, must be included in the final invoice which is issued at the time of payment.
Proforma invoices do not affect the cash position as long 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,”, The buyer of the farmer's products, for each supply of agricultural products purchased from the farmer, shall issue a tax invoice as determined by the current tax legislation.
In these cases, the invoice is called an “Self-invoice,” meaning when the buyer issues the invoice instead of the seller. The agricultural product aggregator, for every supply purchased from the farmer, must issue and fiscalize an “Self-invoice” where the farmer must be presented as the seller and the aggregator as the buyer. Depending on the case, this “self-invoice” can be with or without cash payment. The aggregator, as a registered taxable person, issues and fiscalizes the self-invoice through the software solution they use for themselves.
Self-billing is applied by the collector for both purchases from registered farmers and purchases from unregistered farmers. In accordance with the provisions of the Directive, for purchases from registered farmers (with a TIN), VAT is calculated on the self-invoice at the tax rate in force for these transactions. For purchases from unregistered farmers (without a TIN), VAT is not calculated on the self-invoice.
Self-invoices are issued for every case at the time of supply and are automatically recorded in the respective 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 authorities, which in accordance with the current Value Added Tax legislation issue invoices to document the transactions they carry out, must implement the fiscalization procedures for invoicing starting from January 1, 2021, accepting only electronic invoices for the supplies of goods and/or services they receive from other taxable entities.
To accurately carry out the procedures for fiscalization and acceptance of invoices, central and local public authorities must, before January 1, 2021, fulfill the following requirements:
- 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 body can use the SelfCare Portal provided by the Tax Administration for invoice fiscalization. Before starting the fiscalization procedures, the public body must provide the requested information through the SelfCare Portal. The information must be provided regarding the unit where the activity is carried out, the electronic device(s) used, as well as the person authorized to issue invoices.
The acceptance of electronic invoices in purchases is also done on the portal. After accessing the portal, on the list of electronic invoices in purchases, invoices issued for the public body can be checked and accepted. Once accepted, the electronic invoice is registered in the purchase ledger.
In addition to acceptance, in the taxpayer portal, the public entity can provide information regarding bill payment. After selecting the bill for which information will be provided, details are given about the payment amount, the date the payment was made, and reference information regarding the payment method. The process of public entities paying electronic bills is carried out through the treasury, and in all cases, the bill is printed on paper to proceed with the necessary actions for payment.
6. Fiskalizimi of periodic invoices for billing periods
In application of point 6 of article 8, of to the law, the periodic invoice is an exception to the general rules and is provided for certain supplies of goods or services, which are supplied regularly or continuously, for example in the construction industry, for electricity supply, telecommunication service, water supply, accounting services, monthly rent, etc.
The period can be one month or less than one 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 obligatorily write on the invoice the date of the period to which this invoice relates (in which the service was performed), and the invoice issuance date will be the date on which the invoice was created and issued.
Regardless of the release date, the invoice will be recorded in the sales book and purchase book on the same date/period as the date/period indicated on the invoice, and not in the month of the invoice's release date. Based on the legal definitions, periodic invoices 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, Taxi operators engaged in urban and interurban transportation are subject to fiscalization. Therefore, they have the obligation to issue and fiscalize invoices for the transportation service. This obligation applies to urban and interurban transportation of any kind, including taxis.
Every taxpayer offering urban/interurban transport services must have the necessary elements to issue and fiscalize the invoices issued. In addition to urban public transport, in all other cases, the invoice for transport services must be issued in real-time. Thus, in any type of interurban transport and taxi transport.
In implementation of points 1 and 3 of Article 5 of the Guideline, taxpayers selling tickets or passes for passenger transport in the urban public transport sector (buses) in accordance with the decision of local self-government units, must consolidate tickets sold during the day into a single invoice. The invoice must also include information on the serial numbers of tickets sold during the day. This legalized summary must be issued no later than the end of the following day.
8. Invoice fiscalization with “Tollon” and “Company Cards” as payment methods”
Toll Payments
Taxpayers who supply or resell single-use coupons (e.g., fuel coupons) must issue and validate invoices when the coupon is issued. The description of the goods supplied in these cases must be “single-use coupon for ‘name and quantity of goods or services’ with serial number xxx”. The serial number of the coupon will be the NIPT of the issuer, the year of issue, and the sequential number of coupons issued during that year.
It is very important that this invoice documenting the sale of tokens is issued and fiscalized first. Furthermore, when the token holder uses it as a means of payment for purchases from the issuing taxpayer, an invoice is issued reflecting the product/service sold. The issued invoice contains “Token” as the method of payment. This invoice, which contains the serial number of the token used, will not be recorded in the sales book as long as the first invoice with which the tokens were initially traded has been issued and fiscalized.
In cases where the value of the goods supplied is greater than the value of the coupon, any additional payment from the final customer above the coupon's value will be declared on the same invoice issued for the supply. Thus, the seller will not need to issue another invoice but simply specify on the same invoice the exact amount paid with the coupon and by other payment methods. The additional amount paid by the consumer will be taken into consideration 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 fiscalizes the invoice, and the buyer's identification information must be included on the invoice (VAT number, name/company name).
The summary invoice must be issued to the buyer by the last day of the month, based on the individual supply invoices (for which the NSLF of the individual invoices must be referred to) during the month. Under these conditions, only the summary invoice will be considered for the calculation of turnover and tax obligations. All invoices (for each supply and the summary invoice) must be fiscalized at the time of issuance.
Source: General Directorate of Taxes.
We are here to help and will always make time to answer any of your questions. Please feel free to call or write to us at any time regarding matters where we can be of assistance. Contact me