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V1352-18 23 May 2018 · SG de Impuestos sobre el Consumo Criterion in force
IVA · novación contractual

Issuing a credit note to a third-party payer is not permitted without contractual novation or a consumption act

A company inquired whether it could issue a credit note to a third party (the property owner) who intends to settle the debt of a subcontractor in insolvency proceedings. The DGT ruled that, in the absence of contractual novation, the third party is not the recipient of the transaction and is therefore not subject to VAT; consequently, issuing a credit note to them is not appropriate.

The question raised

Whether it is possible to issue a corrective invoice to the new recipient.

The DGT's ruling

If the third party pays without a contractual novation changing the recipient, there is no act of consumption on their part and the transaction is not subject to VAT with respect to them. In the event of insolvency proceedings of the original recipient, the taxable base may only be reduced if the terms of the Insolvency Law are met. If the two-month period following the call to creditors has expired, it is not possible to modify the taxable base.

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