Three acronyms, three systems and considerable confusion. It is common to find businesses convinced that they must comply with all three, or conversely, companies that assume that one exempts them from all others. Neither of these is correct.
This article explains what each one is, who it applies to, and how they relate to each other. It is a distinction that is worth clarifying before contracting any tool, because not all billing programs compatible with Verifactu also cover the regional systems.
The quick answer
What determines which system applies to you is your tax residence, not where your clients are located.
If you are in common territory, Verifactu applies to you, unless you are already in SII. If you are in the Basque Country, TicketBAI applies to you. If you are in Navarra, you have your own regional regime with its own development. And SII is a separate obligation that affects a specific group of taxpayers, regardless of the above.
Verifactu
It is the system of the Tax Agency for common territory. It originates from Law 11/2021 and is developed in Royal Decree 1007/2023 and Order HAC/1177/2024.
It does not require sending all invoices to the Tax Agency: it requires that the billing system guarantees integrity, traceability, and immutability, through record chaining, event logging, and a QR code on each invoice. It includes two modalities, with automatic submission to the Tax Agency or without it.
Its dates, following the postponement of Royal Decree-Law 15/2025, are 1 January 2027 for Corporate Tax taxpayers and 1 July 2027 for the rest.
TicketBAI
It is the equivalent system of the Basque regional tax authorities, applicable in Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa. The most important difference from Verifactu is not technical but rather chronological: TicketBAI has been in operation for years, with staggered implementation since 2022 and deadlines already completed in the three territories.
Technically, it is more demanding. It requires electronic signatures for each invoice, chaining, and a specific QR code, with the file sent to the corresponding regional tax authority. Bizkaia also adds the Batuz model, which incorporates the Economic Operations Register and goes beyond invoicing.
If your tax residence is in the Basque Country, Verifactu does not apply to you: TicketBAI applies to you, and it is already in force.
Navarra
Navarra has not implemented TicketBAI. Its Regional Tax Authority is working on its own system, NaTicket, included in the Anti-Fraud Plan 2025-2027, with a similar philosophy: compliant software, verifiable identifier per invoice, and guaranteed traceability.
At the closing of this article, NaTicket was still under development without an official published mandatory calendar, so the recommendation for Navarrese companies is to confirm the status directly with the Regional Tax Authority and ask their software provider if they will develop the corresponding module.
SII
The Immediate Supply of Information is a distinct and prior obligation. It consists of sending the VAT registration books to the Tax Agency electronically, within four working days from the issuance or receipt of the invoice.
It does not apply to everyone. It is mandatory primarily for large companies based on invoicing volume, for those registered for monthly refunds, and for VAT groups, and it is voluntary for others.
The relevant point here is that those in SII are excluded from the scope of Verifactu, because their reporting regime already fulfills the control purpose. This is the exception that most people are unaware of.
A simple mental framework
Verifactu regulates how the invoice is generated, in common territory, from 2027.
TicketBAI regulates the same in the Basque Country, and it is already in force.
SII regulates how VAT books are reported, for a specific group of taxpayers, since 2017.
The electronic invoice of the Crea y Crece Law regulates how the invoice circulates between companies, in structured format, starting from 2027 and 2028 depending on size.
These are four distinct obligations that may coincide in the same business.
Cases that generate doubts
Common territory company invoicing Basque clients. Verifactu applies to them. The tax residence of the issuer prevails.
Basque company also based in common territory. They will have to comply in each territory as appropriate, which in practice requires software that supports both systems.
Large company in SII. They are excluded from Verifactu, but still subject to the electronic invoicing obligation of the Crea y Crece Law, which is independent.
Self-employed person invoicing on paper. They are excluded from Verifactu, with the usual caveat: issuing from a computer and printing does not count as invoicing on paper.
What to ask your software provider
Two questions resolve almost any situation. What systems does your product cover, Verifactu, TicketBAI, both? And what plans do you have for the structured electronic invoice of the Crea y Crece Law?
A provider with clear answers to both is a provider that has the work done or in progress. An ambiguous answer at this point says a lot.
Trending on the web
You may also like
