The Albanian Government approved on 1 July 2021, the non-application of penalties until 1 January 2022 for incompliance with the e-invoicing law requirements. The decision taken by the Council of Ministers was approved through a normative act with immediate effect, published in the official gazette. The decision stipulates that no penalties shall apply until next year for taxpayers’ offences in relation to the timelines for entry into force and effective application of the Law 87/2019 “On the invoice and the system for monitoring the turnover”.
This act follows the public announcements made earlier in June by the Minister of Finance and Economy, Mrs. Denaj, on a transitory period of six months for the enrollment of the e-invoicing reform, during which no penalties would apply. This transitory period should serve to identify and resolve technical issues with the implementation of the reform by more taxpayers. The Minister has also stressed that the process will not be postponed and that businesses should take the necessary measures to comply with the e-invoicing requirements and observe the deadlines for the issuance of e-invoices, as follows:
For cashless transactions between taxable persons (B2B) from 1 July 2021
For all cash transactions from 1 September 2021.
The non-application of penalties for incompliance with the e-invoicing law requirements provides some comfort to taxpayers on the technical difficulties anticipated with the go live phase. It also gives more time to taxpayers that are not yet ready with the issuance of e-invoices.
On the other hand, it creates ambiguity of the validity of invoices issued not in accordance with the e-invoicing law requirements. There is a high risk that tax authorities will not recognize as fiscal documents invoices issued using the old paper-based format or approved computerized templates. Also, these invoices would most likely not be recognized as executive titles giving right to payment by the relevant authorities.
“We would be happy to assist you for any query or support needed in relation to complying with the e-invoicing requirements”, – EY Albania Tax Team