Costa Rica - Electronic Invoicing of Airline Tickets

April 1, 2022, was the date set by the Costa Rican DGT (General Directorate of Taxation) to implement the new mandatory measures to be complied with by travel agencies and passenger transportation companies for the sale of airline tickets.

The resolution clarifies that electronic vouchers must be issued and delivered by travel agencies and airlines depending on whether they have an IATA code, use the BSP (Bank Settlement Plan) system, or whether they are independent agencies not accredited by IATA.

Agencies and airlines adhering to the IATA can remit tax payments for tickets sold weekly through the BSP or Bank Settlement Plan system.

The Bank Settlement Plan allows travel agencies to issue and submit a unique report, while airlines receive only one detail from IATA with all the details of the sales made by the agencies.

Operative for Travel Agencies and Airlines accredited by IATA

Considering the procedures already in force by IATA and BSP members, the General Directorate of Taxation establishes new conditions in the process of the sale of air tickets by companies and agencies, according to the following scheme:

In the case of direct sales made by airlines to final consumers, electronic tickets must be issued within a maximum period of 48 hours, making them available to passengers on their websites or electronic platforms. The purpose of this measure is to facilitate the obtaining of electronic invoices for the purchase of these tickets at the request of the users.

For sales made by travel agencies on behalf of airlines, a single weekly electronic invoice must be issued by the airline to each travel agency. This invoice will detail the number of airline tickets sold by the agency and will be accompanied by the BSP's supporting billing report, which must be included as an attachment to the electronic invoice.

Agencies shall issue an electronic invoice to the final consumer at the time of sale of the airline tickets. This invoice shall explicitly indicate the number of each ticket sold and all the information required in accordance with the Electronic Voucher Regulations and the General Resolution on the Technical Provisions of Electronic Vouchers.

Operative for Travel Agencies not accredited by IATA

Independent travel agencies who are not accredited by IATA, will act according to the scheme defined for the direct sale of tickets by the companies to the final consumer. They must release the electronic tickets associated with the tickets within a maximum period of 48 hours so that the final customers can "self-issue" an electronic invoice when required.

EDICOM portals for issuing invoices to end customers

The EDICOM Customer Portal or Ticketing Portal implements all the necessary functionalities so that end customers who purchase a product or service in a store can automatically obtain the electronic invoice associated with their purchase from the data reflected in their ticket or airline ticket.

The solution integrates with the management system of the airline or travel agency affiliated to IATA, enabling a web environment to which customers will connect.

After entering their fiscal data and the ticket data identifying the transaction, the portal will process the issuance of the corresponding electronic invoice in accordance with the guidelines defined by the DGT.

Electronic Invoicing Solution for Airline companies

EDICOM’s integrated solutions simplify the process of issuing weekly electronic invoices from airlines to travel agencies.

To do so, EDICOM platforms integrate with the company's invoice issuing system, identifying the tickets sold weekly by each of the travel agencies. EDICOM will automate the issuance of the corresponding electronic invoice in accordance with the detailed specifications detailed by the DGT.

The solution may, if so, required by the airline company, attach the BSP backup report associated with the sales made during the week with each agency, implementing the integration processes required to create the attachments requested by the Directorate General of Taxation.