The importance of issuing invoices for legal services on time, and including the legal requirements. Legal period for charging the VAT quota
During the month of October 2024, the General Tax Directorate has issued 3 binding rulings on this matter (V2280-24, V2281-24 and V2282-24) relating to the services of lawyers and solicitors.
These rulings treat the obligation, on the part of lawyers and solicitors, to issue correctly and within the legal period, the invoices that document the "fees" for their services.
The provider of the legal and solicitor services has the status of company or entrepreneur, so the supplies of goods and services that, in the exercise of his business or professional activity, he carries out in the Spanish VAT territory will be subject to VAT , specifically, the services from which the claim for the fees subject to consultation derives.
These services will have been accrued when they have been provided , which, in the case of the referenced rulings, happened more than one year ago.
In principle, taxpayers must charge the VAT quota to the client for whom the taxed transaction is carried out, who will be obliged to pay it.
In addition, the VAT quota must be charged through an invoice which includes the requirements determined by the Invoicing Regulation at the time of issuing and delivering the invoice. The right to charge the VAT quota is lost when one year has passed since the date of accrual.
Consequently, since the entity providing the legal services has not correctly issued the invoice, which complies with the legal requirements included into the Invoicing Regulation and which includes the VAT quota, within a maximum period of one year from its accrual, the company providing the service would have lost the right to charge this VAT quota to the client, even though it is obliged to declare and pay said VAT quota before the Spanish Tax Authorities.
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