Electronic invoicing is growing more and more in Colombia. One of its added values is the new resolution that validates it as a security. We tell you what this new opportunity is about.
The National Government regulated the electronic invoice as a security title through decree 1154 of 2020. This resolution intends to electronically register the sales invoice as a security title for its circulation in the national territory, allowing consultation and traceability to the registry users.
Although the tax regulations for electronic invoicing had already been established, there was still a regulatory challenge regarding the electronic negotiation of the invoice when it was converted into a security.
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What is a security title?
It is a negotiable document (the person who owns it can sell it), necessary to certify, legitimize or guarantee the rights or benefits of its legal holder (the one that the law recognizes as the owner of the title) and the obligations of the person who issued it (the person who decided to create the title).
Its negotiability allows it to circulate freely like any other good or service, contributing to the development of the country’s economy. To date, only the traditional paper invoice was the only one that could be registered as a security; With the new standard, your electronic sales invoices can now be validated in this way.
What events must be implemented in the receipt of electronic invoices as security?
The last Tax Reform of 2021 in Colombia included the obligation to send in strict order:
- Acknowledgment of receipt of the electronic invoice.
- Reception of the merchandise and/or goods previously validated by the DIAN to the suppliers.
After being sent, 72 business hours must pass for the electronic invoice to become a security. In addition, it must be registered in Radian by entering the DIAN electronic billing module here .
El Radian is a platform of this entity that allows you to validate your electronic sales invoices as a value, to manage their registration, consultation and traceability and the events that are associated with them. To do this, you must have a technology provider and follow the registration process as indicated by the DIAN .
If the buyer did nothing in that period, tacit acceptance is activated, which will allow the seller to hold in his hands no longer an electronic invoice that is difficult to collect before a judge, but a security that gives him the power to endorse a financial entity, Fintech or investor, because you are not willing to wait 30, 60 or 90 days to get paid.
The seller is now called the issuer of a security and has the possibility of sending the event to the DIAN to receive the money he needs.
In this period of 72 business hours, the buyer can also approve the electronic invoice through express acceptance, anticipating a few hours to the confirmation of said security.
You can also reject the operation totally or partially, either because you were not satisfied with the good or service provided or because you had a documentary error.
In the event that the buyer does not send the two events mentioned to his supplier with the prior approval of the DIAN, the electronic invoice cannot be included as tax support in his sales or income tax returns or in a request for refund of positive balance.
What benefits will this project bring to companies and the country?
- Companies will be able to access immediate liquidity, that is, it allows short-term financing.
- The buyers of the invoices will be able to negotiate them freely, which makes it possible to speak of a new actor regulated in the decree: electronic negotiation systems.
- Entrepreneurs will be able to negotiate invoices from the comfort of their offices, without delivering physical documents.
- Companies, especially SMEs, will have full guarantees of legal validity and security in transactions.
- There will be a reduction in printing and document distribution costs.
- Hours of work will be reduced each year, since the time spent in the issuance and delivery of invoices is minimized.
- It will contribute to caring for the environment, by reducing paper consumption.
- It will reduce the costs of spaces for the physical invoice file and of people in charge of caring for and managing these documents.
- It will generate a positive impact on the national economy, because its use will help reduce tax evasion, due to the traceability that the Radian will carry.
What are the challenges in terms of electronic invoicing for Colombia?
As indicated by Mario José Márquez Olier , Associate Partner Ernst & Young and Former Director of National Taxes and Customs at the DIAN, in an economy of more than 4 million daily electronic invoices, of which approximately 60% are on credit, the Companies that buy goods and/or services have a new challenge since the new resolution was announced.
The application of these events will allow electronic factoring to be triggered, especially for SMEs. In Chile, for example, e-factoring corresponds to 12% of GDP, this has been achieved due to mass electronic invoicing during the last six years.
If Colombia were to reach these levels (currently e-factoring is equivalent to 2.4% of GDP), according to Márquez Olier, in the coming years we would have the potential to inject more than $100 billion of fresh resources annually into the business economy, mainly benefiting the SMEs.
For this reason, it is necessary to start implementing this regulation as soon as possible and leave this legacy in the country. At Cadena, for example, we have technological solutions to take electronic invoicing to another level. Learn more on our website .
