The Ministry of Treasury (Hacienda) in Costa Rica continues to insist in the implementation of the electronic invoice system that will be obligatory for all sectors by end of this year, this includes corporations and individuals.

By September all corporations and individuals whose ID ends in 1,2,3 will have to be implementing the e-invoicing, in October all those with ID ending in 4,5 or 6 and by November individuals and corporations whose ID ends in 7,8,9.

The Ministry of Treasury sends a reminder to all taxpayers six months in advance so they can take the necessary measures when it comes to software and training processes to generate the electronic invoices.

The digital system kicked off in January with all members of the health service sector, then in February it became an obligation for accounting and administrative service providers, March was the turn for lawyers and public notaries; April engineers, architects and IT personnel; in May it included all consulting services as well as anyone in the industrial maintenance sector, meteorologists, industrial and mechanic maintenance, construction, civil engineers, geologists, geographers, biologists, publicists, journalists, teachers, food technologists and occupational health specialists.

In two weeks, Treasury will publish the calendar including all taxpayers.

Electronic invoices will replace paper invoices, it offers Treasury a more efficient way to control tax evasion; while it also gives them real information of the amount of sales to properly calculate income taxes.

The electronic invoice is generated when a sale of goods or services is completed; the invoice is delivered to the consumer electronically.

Treasury has stated that the system also presents advantages for the contributors by saving in paper, storage space, making the administrative processes more efficient and also providing records and complete financial information.

Companies and individuals can choose their provider for the electronic invoice as long as they fulfil certain requirements that Treasury has already established, or if they prefer it they can use the system created by Treasury.