Dear @lubos,
first of all thanks for your availability. I try first of all to make a small introduction to “Fattura Elettronica” which is the Italian implementation of the European e-invoice. As always in Europe what we have is a Directive, ie a guideline, which sets the minimum requirements and every country is free to implement the directive in its own way respecting those requirements.
As said it was introduced in Italy as the first country of Europe on 1/1/2019, ie we have been the tester for the whole european community for two years before its complete implementation in the rest of the countries due to the high VAT evasion that we had here.
How does it work in Italy?
- The sales invoices (and credit notes) are generated in a standard XML, which evolves during the time. We are currently at version 1.3.
- The XML should be digitaly signed by yourself or by a Delegate (I will explain the role of the delegate later).
- The signed XML should be sent by the issuing company or by the Delegate to the Tax Authority Repository via a encrypted channel with acknowledgment of receipt. When you send the file you identify your client via VAT Code and its Delegate via a SDI Code.
- You or you Delegate must grant the so called “Conservazione Sostitutiva”, ie a digitaly repository which should grant the conservation and inalterability of the documents for a duration of 8 years (which can be less in some particular case)
- The Tax Authority Repository send you the invoice to your email (to a PEC which is certified email) addess if there is no SDI Code, ie you don’t have a Delegate, or to your Delegate repository.
- You can view the XML of the invoice or through a reader or directly in the Delegate Website connected to its repository (you can also look inside your tax authority folder and download the XML but it is something very rought, more or less like, looking directly inside database tables).
Let’s talk a little bit of the Delegate
There are several one in Italy. 99,9% of those that uses e-invoice in Italy have a Delegate since it:
- grants that the XML file template is update and compliant to law
- grants that the encrypted channel is working, updated and compliant to law
- takes care of the digital repository for the whole period 8 years with redundant server etc etc.
All this for a small fee each year. As you can understand it solves you a lot of headache, give also that point 3 is almost impossible to manage by yourself…
As I already said no Delegate will accept an XML generated directly by a third party but you can:
- visually generate the invoice on its website
- import, if possible, a group of in invoices you have externally generated via a file (which can be an XLS file or an XML file which is not the one I was talking before but one on its standard), ie something very similar to Batch Create under Manager
- connect, if possible, your software to the Delegate website through APIs, ie something very similar to Manager’s API
What I send you it is the XML of one the biggest Delegate in Italy, ie Danea which operates through Fatture in Cloud (“fatture” means invoices) which accepts all three way of invoice generation.
Sadly there is not a document in english. I created a link with google translate and I can help you if you don’t understand some passage.
First of all an introduction to the XML format:
with the automatic translation:
Secondly the structure of the XML:
with the automatic translation:
The structure is quite easy: Company > Document > Raw > Raw Data