How to meet the requirements of the Anti-Fraud Law

The Anti-Fraud Law is the regulation through which the Tax Agency aims to block tax fraud, and its most practical part requires you to invoice with software that does not allow deleting or altering records. If you are self-employed or have an SMB, it directly affects you.

The regulation is part of the same movement that is transforming the electronic invoice in Spain. Its regulatory development defines what your billing software must guarantee and from when you are required to use it.

In this article, we analyze what the Anti-Fraud Law is, who it affects, the technical requirements it imposes on software, the penalties for non-compliance, and the definitive adaptation timeline so you don't miss anything.

What is the Anti-Fraud Law?

The Law 11/2021, of July 9, on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud, better known as the Anti-Fraud Law, was published in the BOE on July 10, 2021, with the aim of strengthening tax control and reducing the underground economy.

The law transposes the European anti-avoidance directive (Directive EU 2016/1164) and simultaneously modifies several tax regulations. For most businesses, the most significant aspect is its subsequent development: the Regulation of Billing Information Systems (RD 1007/2023, of December 5), which sets how your billing software should behave, and the Order HAC/1177/2024, which specifies the technical requirements.

The law establishes several fundamental measures:

• Limitation of cash payments, which decreases to 1,000 euros between businesses and professionals and to 10,000 euros for individuals with a tax residence outside Spain.
• Regulation of billing software, to prevent sales from being hidden or records altered.
• Prohibition of dual-use software and tax amnesties.
• Strengthening control over cryptocurrencies (new model 721) and the real estate market through the reference value.

In your daily life as a self-employed person or SMB, the most important change relates to billing: not just any tool will do, you will be required to use a program that meets the regulation's requirements.

Features of the law

The Anti-Fraud Law is structured around three major blocks of measures that are important to understand:

• Changes in billing: requires using software that ensures the integrity, preservation, accessibility, and traceability of each invoice, with billing records, event logs, sending records to the AEAT, and identification via QR code.
• Enhanced tax control: limits on cash payments, expansion of the definition of tax havens, new information obligations on cryptocurrencies, and greater inspection powers for the Tax Agency.
• Stricter penalty regime: fines of up to 150,000 € for software manufacturers and up to 50,000 € per year for companies that fail to comply.

How does the Anti-Fraud Law differ from the Crea y Crece Law?

The Anti-Fraud Law 11/2021 and the Crea y Crece Law 18/2022 overlap in time and affect billing, but they pursue different objectives. The first combats tax fraud; the second aims to reduce late payments through mandatory electronic invoicing between companies.

Both regulations are complementary and part of the same effort to modernize business management and gain fiscal transparency.

Who does the Anti-Fraud Law 11/2021 affect?

The Anti-Fraud Law has a broad scope and is not limited to large companies. Regarding billing software, it affects these profiles:

• Freelancers and SMBs that issue invoices, which will have to use systems that ensure integrity and traceability.
• Manufacturers and marketers of billing, accounting, or management software.
• ERP or CRM solution providers that include billing modules.
• Individuals, especially due to the limits on cash payments.

However, there are also exceptions to the obligation to use software adapted to the Anti-Fraud Law:

• Taxpayers already required to use the Immediate Supply of Information (SII).
• Regional territories, which have their own systems like TicketBAI.
• The Canary Islands Autonomous Community, which has its own specific regulations.
• Certain cases in the agriculture, livestock, and fishing regime.
• Activities excluded from the obligation to invoice.

What is dual-use software and why is it prohibited?

Dual-use software is the billing or accounting program that allows for double accounting: an "official" version for the Tax Agency and a real one that hides part of the sales. Through a parallel system, this type of program makes it possible to delete payments or alter records to lower the business's tax bill, known as off-the-books accounting.

The Anti-Fraud Law expressly prohibits manufacturing, selling, or using such solutions. The goal is for all accounting to be in one place and completely traceable: any operation that lacks the required visibility becomes subject to penalty in case of inspection.

Using dual-use software not only exposes you to fines from the penalty regime but can also have broader consequences:

• Legal consequences, with financial penalties and possible actions by the Tax Agency.
• Financial consequences, because unreliable data complicates accounting management and leads to poor decision-making.
• Reputational consequences, by generating distrust among clients, suppliers, and financial entities.

For this reason, the regulation requires your program to ensure the integrity, preservation, readability, traceability, accessibility, and unalterability of records: these are precisely the principles that make double accounting impossible.

What are the technical requirements of the Anti-Fraud Law?

Your billing software must guarantee six principles defined in RD 1007/2023. Each record you issue must comply with them for the Tax Agency to validate your billing:

Integrity

The program stores the complete information of each invoice and prevents gaps in numbering. It cannot allow deleting already issued documents or generating alternative records.

Preservation

The data is permanently maintained in the system, with no possibility of deletion or overwriting, even if you no longer need the document.

Accessibility

The information must be easily retrievable in case of an inspection, and the system keeps records of who consults or modifies each data.

Readability

The data must be clear and exportable to standard formats like PDF or TXT, so the Tax Agency can read and verify them without obstacles.

Traceability

The system automatically notes who created or modified a document, with exact date and time. Any correction is documented.

Unalterability

An invoice cannot be modified without leaving a trace. Changes are made through official channels (corrective invoices), keeping the original record intact.

In addition to these six principles, each invoice must include a QR code and a footprint or hash that links it to the previous one to verify its authenticity. Manufacturers, in turn, must issue a responsible declaration certifying that their program complies with the regulation.

Records must be kept for at least the statute of limitations period for tax obligations, and the system must maintain an event log with relevant operations that occur during its use.

Can you still invoice with Excel, Word, or by hand?

Filling out an Excel sheet, a Word document, or making a handwritten invoice does not guarantee the principles of integrity, preservation, readability, traceability, accessibility, and unalterability required by the law. Therefore, when the regulation becomes mandatory, those methods will no longer be valid on their own.

In practice, you will have to issue your invoices with a program adapted to the regulation's specifications. A manual template cannot prevent a record from being deleted or modified, which is exactly what the Anti-Fraud Law aims to prevent.

The Anti-Fraud Law and Verifactu: the two paths

With the implementation of the Anti-Fraud Law comes Verifactu, the system for issuing verifiable invoices that will come into effect in 2027. The regulation requires using a billing program adapted to Verifactu, but you can choose between two management options.

If you choose the Verifactu option, your software automatically sends each billing record to the Tax Agency at the moment you issue the invoice. In return, you do not have to electronically sign each record, and you gain simplicity.

If you prefer not to send records in real-time, you can choose the No Verifactu option. In that case, your program must meet additional technical requirements, sign each record, and keep it for when the Tax Agency requests it, which can access your system at any time. You can find more information on this in this post.

Other fiscal measures of the Anti-Fraud Law

The Anti-Fraud Law is not limited to billing. As a broad fiscal reform, it introduces other changes that are worth knowing if your activity is affected by them.

Transposition of the anti-avoidance directive

The law transposes the European anti-avoidance directive (ATAD) and incorporates measures such as International Fiscal Transparency and the exit tax (Exit Tax), which strengthens the taxation in Spain of income located in low-tax territories. It also expressly prohibits tax amnesties.

Changes for Socimi and Sicav

Listed Real Estate Investment Companies (Socimi) will tax at 15% on their undistributed profits. Variable Capital Investment Companies (Sicav) must meet new requirements to apply the 1% tax rate, such as a minimum investment of 2,500 euros per partner and a minimum of 100 partners.

Reference value of the Cadastre

The reference value of the Cadastre becomes the taxable base for the Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty and the Inheritance and Gift Tax. It is set with objective criteria (age, condition, quality) and must not exceed the market value. It is not the same as the cadastral value, so it does not affect the IBI or the IRPF.

When does the Anti-Fraud Law come into effect?

The effective application of the Anti-Fraud Law has followed a staggered schedule. These are the dates that mark your obligation to adapt:

• July 11, 2021: the law comes into effect after being published in the BOE.
• December 6, 2023: RD 1007/2023 is published, defining the requirements for billing software.
• July 29, 2025: manufacturers and marketers can only sell certified software.
• January 1, 2027: corporations and limited companies (corporate tax payers) must start using certified software.
• July 1, 2027: the obligation extends to freelancers and civil societies.

The schedule gives you time, but adapting in advance avoids rushing and the risk of penalties when controls intensify.

What penalties does the Anti-Fraud Law establish?

The penalty regime is one of the toughest points of the regulation. These are the main fines for non-compliance with the Anti-Fraud Law:

Additionally, penalties are foreseen for not ensuring the integrity, preservation, and accessibility of data.

Fines can increase in case of recurrence or resistance to inspection. Beyond the amount, a serious non-compliance can lead to the revocation of the NIF.

How to adapt to the Anti-Fraud Law?

It may seem complicated, but adapting to the new regulation is much simpler than you think, especially if you take advantage of the deadlines to anticipate calmly. These are the key steps:

1. Review your current billing system and ensure it meets the law's requirements.
2. If your current software does not comply, choose and implement a certified program that guarantees the integrity, preservation, and unalterability of each record.
3. Decide whether to join Verifactu or prefer the system without automatic sending. Until the regulation's effective date, you can switch between them as many times as you want, as we explain here.
4. Train the people who invoice in your business to understand the new requirements.
5. Rely on your tax advisor or technology provider to confirm that everything complies with the regulations.

What software do you need to comply with the Anti-Fraud Law?

To comply with the Anti-Fraud Law, you need a certified billing program adapted to Verifactu. Not just any tool will do: the software must have a series of functions that ensure no record can be hidden or altered.

Before choosing or changing programs, check that it meets these key points:

• Ensures the six principles of the regulation: integrity, preservation, readability, traceability, accessibility, and unalterability of each record.
• Generates each invoice with a QR code and a footprint or hash that links it to the previous one.
• Allows automatic sending of records to the AEAT (Verifactu option) or their signed preservation for when the Tax Agency requests them (No Verifactu option).
• Maintains an event log with the system's relevant operations.
• Has the manufacturer's responsible declaration and updates with each regulatory change.

With software that meets these requirements, complying with the law is no longer a concern and becomes part of your daily operations. Holded is 100% prepared for Verifactu and the Anti-Fraud Law: it generates invoices with unalterable records, automatically sends them to the AEAT, and updates with each regulatory change.