Spain’s Senate Calls for a Unified VAT Reporting Model
Spain’s Senate has adopted a non-binding motion asking the Government to merge three parallel digital compliance regimes – VERI*FACTU, the SII real-time reporting system, and mandatory B2B e-invoicing – into a single transaction-based reporting model. The initiative is intended to align Spain’s domestic framework with the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age package before the Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) become mandatory on July 1, 2030.
The Senate approved the motion, file number 662/000209, on June 10, 2026, and the resolution was published in the Senate’s Official Bulletin on June 15, 2026. Junts per Catalunya originally submitted the proposal on June 2, and it was passed after incorporating two amendments from the Partido Popular group.
From Three Systems to a Single Reporting Model
Spain’s digital VAT landscape is fragmented because its three main frameworks were built for different purposes:
- SII is an electronic VAT-ledger system through which businesses – generally those filing VAT returns monthly, large companies, VAT groups, and taxpayers in the monthly refund regime – submit detailed records of issued and received invoices to the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria.
- VERI*FACTU, part of Spain’s computerized invoicing system requirements, is intended to guarantee the integrity, traceability, accessibility, and inalterability of invoice records. Under this option, invoice data is sent to the tax authority as it is generated, but the system currently focuses on issued invoices and does not fully replace SII.
- Mandatory B2B e-invoicing, introduced through the Crea y Crece law, is a separate reform governing how electronic invoices are created, exchanged, and received between businesses, with the details still subject to secondary legislation.
Because these obligations operate through separate legal and technical channels, businesses can face overlapping investments in invoice integrity, e-invoice exchange, and VAT ledger reporting. The Senate’s motion seeks to gradually replace this layered structure with one invoice-driven reporting model.
Aligning with ViDA Ahead of 2030
The motion is explicitly tied to Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, adopted on March 11, 2025, as part of the ViDA package. Under that framework, digital reporting for intra-EU B2B transactions will become invoice-based and rely on structured electronic invoice data, with the relevant DRR applying from July 1, 2030. The Senate wants Spain’s national system designed from the outset to converge with the EU’s architecture, rather than requiring a second wave of system changes once ViDA takes effect.
The resolution asks the Government to set out a clear, public, and coordinated roadmap linking Spain’s main e-invoicing and VAT reporting obligations to a single model, compatible with the EU’s DRR and built to avoid duplicated or incompatible systems from 2030 onward.
VERI*FACTU Proposed as the Foundation
The motion identifies an adapted version of VERI*FACTU as the preferred basis for Spain’s convergence with ViDA, meaning future VAT reporting would stem directly from the invoicing process rather than a separate downstream exercise. To take on that role, the Senate says VERIFACTU would need to be expanded to:
- Cover received invoices, not only those issued;
- Progress toward a universal, mandatory system once full interoperability is confirmed;
- Align with the European structured e-invoicing standard EN 16931;
- Integrate with mandatory B2B e-invoicing;
- Allow an orderly, sufficiently long migration away from SII;
- Provide financial support for the cost of technological adaptation; and
- Offer dedicated technical support for SMEs and self-employed taxpayers.
Coordination with Regional and Foral Systems
The resolution also takes into account Spain’s territorial tax structure, asking the Government to design the future model through the relevant national and regional cooperation bodies while respecting the powers of both the common regime and the foral communities. It calls for compatibility with existing regional systems such as TicketBAI and stresses that businesses should not face unequal treatment depending on where they operate, to preserve the unity of the Spanish market.
Reducing Compliance Burdens
Administrative simplification is a core aim of the motion, which seeks to avoid multiple technology projects becoming obsolete before ViDA applies. It calls for legal certainty, adequate transition periods, and an independent assessment covering:
- The economic impact on affected businesses;
- Administrative and technological costs;
- Data-protection implications;
- The specific burden on SMEs and self-employed persons; and
- The readiness of relevant systems before obligations expand.
This assessment should involve economic and social stakeholders, and the resolution leaves room for further postponements if the Government cannot present a consolidated, workable implementation plan.
No Immediate Change to Current Obligations
As a non-binding parliamentary motion, the resolution does not itself amend Spanish tax law, replace SII, expand VERIFACTU, or introduce new reporting deadlines. Businesses should therefore continue their current SII, VERIFACTU, and B2B e-invoicing preparations based on legislation already in force, rather than pausing ongoing projects in anticipation of future convergence. Whether the motion will translate into a formal roadmap, legislative changes, and common technical specifications depends on further action from the Government.
There’s more you should know about e-invoicing in Spain – learn more about the new and upcoming regulations.
