Tax Authority
DGT - Dirección General de Tributación
e-Invoicing in Costa Rica
Characteristics of the electronic invoice in Costa Rica
The Costa Rican government began its electronic invoicing project in 2017, through a scaled mass adoption program which finished in 2018. Since then, the issuance and reception of the electronic invoice has been mandatory for all taxpayers.
Obligation
Mandatory reception and issuance for all taxpayers since 2018.
Required Administrative Transactions
It is mandatory to register with the Virtual tax authority (ATV) based on the type of taxpayer and how you will use the invoicing system (issuer-recipient, recipient-non-issuer, manual recipient, electronic recipient-final consumer).
Format
There are different electronic documents all defined in an XML format: Electronic invoice, purchase electronic invoice, export electronic invoice, electronic credit and debit note, electronic ticket.
Fiscal Control
The electronic documents must be accompanied by two key messages: Mensaje hacienda and mensaje receptor.
Digital Signature
The invoice must be digitally signed through a certificate issued by an international certification authority.
Archiving
Archiving is mandatory for issuers and recipients for a period of 5 years according to Article 109 of the tax norms and procedures code.
Print format
Invoices must be printed if required by clients.
Links of Interest
Do you need to know more about e-Invoicing in Costa Rica?
Contact one of our e-invoicing specialists.
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Common questions
What is the Mensaje Hacienda?
Mensaje Hacienda: is the message the tax authority uses as an acceptance or rejection response to the issuer of the electronic invoice.
What is the Mensaje Receptor?
A message sent by the recipient of the electronic invoice to the tax authority accepting or rejecting the invoice.
What is CAByS?
It is the "Catalog of Goods and Services." It is a classification system used to identify and categorize products and services in the country. The CABYS has a hierarchical structure in which products and services are organized into groups, subgroups, and categories.
This system is used by various institutions in Costa Rica, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Commerce, and the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, among others. The objective of CABYS is to facilitate the identification and analysis of goods and services in the Costa Rican market, which allows companies and government agencies to make informed and precise decisions regarding production, trade, and investment in the country.
Related resources
Implementation of e-Invoicing around the world
The technical and legal requirements for e-Invoicing are different in each country. If you want to know the details and tax obligations of any particular country, just click on the map or choose a country from the dropdown list.
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