Those not providing them may be fined, as will consumers, who must insist on them.
As part of measures taken to reduce tax evasion, the government has recently amended a law of March 8, 2010, through which businesses are obligated to issue receipts and deliver them to buyers.
In turn, purchasers must take possession of them in order to avoid being punished by fines ranging from $1 up to 7% of the invoiced amount.
Equipment manufacturers and software developers will meet in the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama.
A statement from the CCIAP reads:
• The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) encourages all businesses, unionized or not, to comply with state obligations, and believe that this regulation requiring the implementation of fiscal equipment is a positive one.
As a measure to control tax evasion, the Revenue Executive Department will implement the use of electronic billing.
Officials of the Department of Revenue will report on the implementation and which companies will be required to sell under this system.
"We will 'outsource' the automation of the invoicing process. Currently the Executive Department of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance, are working to develop the regulatory framework, using the successful experiences of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala" reports Latribuna.hn.
The new law will help raise funds primarily for small and medium enterprises.
"The text of the law refers to the currency bill as “a negotiable security, which will serve as legal support when transactions are issued between employers and a financial institution, if the purpose is to raise funds", published Laprensa.com.ni.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce and the Nicaraguan Council of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Conimypime), an organization which demanded this law, said the new law favors the industry and once in place, it will facilitate the mobilization of about $ 50 million a year.
The proposal has already been favorably reviewed by the Economic Committee of the National Assembly and its approval is expected next week.
The law would make exchangeable invoices a legal proof of transactions, where they are issued between financial institutions and businesses seeking to acquire funds, particularly micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs).
In four months, all special taxpayers will be obliged to issue electronic invoices.
The “special taxpayers” group includes some 2.000 medium and large companies which account for 75% of the country's tax revenue.
“This allows companies to save costs related to paper and storage space. The tax authority (SAT), must authorize them to conduct electronic billing”, reported Prensa Libre.
In Costa Rica, three companies are using the electronic invoices system: Automercado, Cefa and Softland.
This regulation was proposed by GS1, together with the Treasury Ministry.
"Softland (formerly Exactus), included an electric invoices module in their ERP system one year ago, and started using it with their customers", reports Elfinancierocr.com. "According to them, they managed to increase collection and reduced credit notes in 50%".
The logistics administrative services multinational acquired the subsidiary of the IT services transnational, AEG Costa Rica.
With the purchase of AEG Costa Rica—a subsidiary of the Application Engineering Group Inc. (AEG), the company will become a part of the worldwide network of nVision Global centers of operations, client services, and transportation technology development.
Cellular phone companies had revenues of $3.68 billion in Central America during 2008, an increase of 23% over 2007.
In the revenue breakdown, the growth of billing for content services is highlighted, and within these services SMS (short text messages) are included. These are the most important segments with $376 million billed in 2008. The set of content services grew from $276 million in 2007 to $480 million in 2008.
After its publication on Thursday in the official Government Gazette, it is now possible to issue Electronic Invoices.
Leticia Vindas writes in an article on Elfinancierocr.com: "According to studies by the Management and Business Institute of the United States, the use of Electronic Invoices will increase productivity by 8.2%, informed the company GS1."
The Costa Rica Institute of Electricity received proposals for $30.4 and $30.7 million from GBM and Soin respectively.
The renovation of the billing system is a part of a set of modernization projects to prepare the company, up to now a monopoly, for the opening of the telecommunications market.
Carlos Cordero Perez wrote in an article on Elfinancierocr.com that "The entity had already tried to modernize its billing system with a migration project from the Corporate Customer Service System (SIMO) and the Integral Telephone Management system (Gitel) which only cost $6 million.
The issuing of electronic receipts is now possible with the authorization of the agencies that will be in charge of its implementation.
Julio Villeda, superintendent of the Tax Bureau, commented that only one company, Guatefacturas, has completed the authorization process. However there are more that are in process and five of them could possibly be certified within a month and a half.