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Contact SupportGuidelines for managing copies of e-invoices
When e-invoices are stored in a central archive, implement clear practices for distinguishing copies from the original signed invoice to support tax audits.
When storage is outsourced to a central archive such as Sovos archive, questions can arise about how to identify copies of e-invoices and make it clear to a tax inspector that the original signed e-invoice is held in the central archive. The following approaches address this:
Providing an unsigned copy for download
Make an unsigned copy of the invoice available for download, so that parties can process the invoice data locally without handling the original signed document. There are two ways to get an unsigned copy:
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Use the ValidateArchive operation to parse the unsigned invoice data from the signed e-invoice.
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Archive the unsigned invoice data alongside the signed e-invoice when it is first stored.
Take these guidelines into account when implementing a custom archive viewer. The Sovos interface provides the ability to download unsigned invoice data.
Making the original signed invoice available for audit
If it's not possible to provide an unsigned copy, or if the supplier or buyer needs to retrieve the original signed e-invoice for tax inspection purposes, the signed invoice can be made available for download. When providing the original signed invoice, ensure that you notify the supplier or the buyer understand that they're downloading a copy of the original invoice and that it must be treated as a copy. You can provide this notification as an online agreement or confirmation message in the archive viewer before the download proceeds.