Corrective invoice: an invoice once issued is not deleted
It is not rewritten, not cancelled and not replaced by another with the same number. It is corrected, with a new invoice in its own series pointing back at the original.
The invoice that corrects one already issued, in its own series and referring expressly to the invoice being corrected.
Article 15 of the invoicing regulations governs it. It applies in three situations:
- The original invoice fails to meet a requirement of article 6 or article 7 of the regulations.
- There is an error in working out the VAT charged.
- The circumstances in article 80 of the VAT Act that change the taxable base arise: returns, containers sent back, later discounts, cancellation of the transaction, the debtor's insolvency or bad debts.
The corrective invoice goes in its own compulsory series, identifies the invoice being corrected and explains the correction. It can be done in two ways: by differences — showing only what changes — or by showing the final amount. It has to be issued as soon as you become aware of the reason, and in any case within four years of the chargeable event.
An example with numbers
Invoice F-2026/0184 with a base of €2,000 and €420 of VAT, with €200 invoiced in excess. Corrective invoice R-2026/0007 by differences shows −€200 of base and −€42 of VAT, and cites the invoice being corrected. In the quarter, output VAT drops by €42.
The unpaid invoice case
Recovering the VAT on an invoice you have not been paid is also done with a corrective invoice, and it has rules of its own in article 80.Four of the VAT Act: you have to wait a year from the chargeable event — or six months, if your turnover for the previous year did not exceed €6,010,121.04 — have formally demanded payment in a way you can prove, and issue the corrective invoice within the following six months, then notify the Tax Agency.
The mistake that comes up most
Issuing a “negative invoice” inside the normal series, or simply deleting the original from the software. The first breaks the series' audit trail; the second also leaves a gap in the numbering that has to be explained. With VeriFactu, deleting stops being possible: the records are chained.
Where this carries on in Cairos: What changes with VeriFactu when you correct an invoice.
Terms that go with this one
Almost no tax concept makes sense on its own. These three are the ones that most often turn up beside it.
Invoice series
A group of invoices with its own sequential numbering, usually identified by a prefix.
InvoicingSequential numbering
The obligation to number invoices consecutively within each series, with no gaps and no repeats.
InvoicingTaxable base
The total consideration for a transaction before VAT is applied to it: what you really charge for your work or your goods.
This, handled without thinking about it
Cairos keeps the invoices, the record books and Hacienda's forms from the same data, so the theory on this page turns into boxes that are already filled in.
No card and no minimum term.