The “Monthly Foreign Trade Report” published by the Ministry of Economy, Commerce, and Business reveals that in 2025, Spain exported goods to Portugal worth almost €34 billion, representing 8.8% of total exports. Furthermore, Portuguese demand for meat products, medicines, essential oils, and fragrance oils made Portugal the country with the second-largest contribution to year-on-year growth in Spanish exports, accounting for 0.4 percentage points.

Although the report classifies shipments to Portugal as “exports,” from a fiscal perspective, that term refers exclusively to deliveries to countries outside the European Union. In this case, the correct term is “intracommunity transactions,” that is, sales of goods or provision of services between companies from two EU member states. Therefore, when invoicing Portugal from Spain, apply the specific EU value-added tax (VAT) rules.

In this guide, we explain how these invoice types are issued, outline required details, and show how to manage VAT.

What’s in this article?

• Prerequisites for invoicing Portugal from Spain without VAT
  
• Mandatory fields on invoices to Portugal from Spain
  
• Managing VAT when invoicing Portugal from Spain
  
• Common errors when issuing invoices to Portugal from Spain
  

Prerequisites for invoicing Portugal from Spain without VAT

The EU tax regime offers numerous advantages to cross-border companies conducting EU transactions, including VAT exemptions. However, to take advantage of this relief, the regulations are very strict and require fulfillment of the following prerequisites:

• Registration in the ROI
  The first requirement for supplying goods or services from Spain to Portugal is to register for VAT in Europe. To do so, enroll and file in the Register of Intracommunity Operators (often referred to by its Spanish acronym “ROI”) by submitting Form 036. When registering, pay particular attention to the “Reasons for filing” section, where you must indicate that you wish to register in the ROI.
  
• Obtaining the VAT number
  Once your application is approved—no later than three months after filing Form 036—the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) will issue you an EU VAT number. To qualify for this relief, the buyer and the seller each need valid EU VAT numbers, and the invoice listing each number.
  
• Inclusion in the VIES system
  After obtaining the EU VAT number, the business or professional automatically registers in the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES). This way, both parties can verify the validity of those numbers on the AEAT or European Commission websites.
  

Once you meet these requirements, you can start invoicing and collecting payments from your Portuguese buyers with the applicable VAT exemptions. Stripe Payments lets businesses accept more than 100 ways to pay, including cards, e-wallets, installment options, and local methods such as Bizum or MB WAY, already used in over 45% of online transactions in Portugal. Stripe Payments also complies with all current regulations to accept payments from customers in more than 195 countries and the industry’s strictest security certifications.

Mandatory fields on invoices to Portugal from Spain

In Spain, invoicing obligations, along with the information required for EU invoices, are governed by several regulations, including Royal Decree 1619/2012 and the Create and Grow Law. Below are the details to list on invoices addressed to recipients in Portugal:

• Date: The invoice date marks when it is prepared and sent. If it differs from the transaction date, list each date. Spanish companies that make multiple orders to Portugal often combine them into a summary invoice.
  
• Number or series: This is the invoice identifier, which can be a number or a series that identifies each in sequential and chronological order.
  
• Issuer details: This field must include the identification details of the issuer (full name, if self-employed, or full company name, if an entity, such as a limited liability or public company), EU VAT number, and tax address.
  
• Customer details: List the buyer’s full name or company name, VAT number, and tax address in Portugal.
  
• Description and amount: It is mandatory to itemize on separate lines the description of each product or service, the number of units sold, the unit price excluding VAT, the discount (if applicable), and the final price.
  
• Tax base: The total gross amount of the sale, or the portion used to calculate VAT when the transaction does not qualify for zero-VAT treatment.
  
• Tax rate and tax due: State the VAT percentage used and show the total VAT charged on the invoice. If the transaction with Portugal does not include VAT, clearly indicate that it qualifies as a nontaxable or zero-VAT transaction and add the relevant legal notice.
  
• Legal notices: If the invoice to Portugal does not include VAT, specify the reason for the exemption. For example, if it is a sale of products, include the text “Intracommunity supply exempt from VAT pursuant to Art. 25 of Law 37/1992 on VAT,” while if it is a provision of services, you can add “Reverse charge VAT pursuant to Article 84(One)(2) of Law 37/1992.”
  
• Total: This is the total amount that the Portuguese customer must pay.
  

Managing VAT when invoicing Portugal from Spain

VAT inclusion on invoices from Spain to Portugal hinges on the type of sale (goods or services), the place of supply, and the recipient’s status as an entity or an individual. We have prepared a summary of each situation.

VAT on invoices to companies in Portugal

In EU business-to-business (B2B) transactions with Portugal, VAT applies depending on the goods sold. Let us look at each case individually:

Products

On invoices for goods, VAT treatment varies based on whether the seller ships the items to Portugal:

• Shipped to Portugal
  In this case, the transaction is an intracommunity supply of goods, so it is exempt from VAT. Still, it is necessary to provide the AEAT with a supporting document, such as a shipping company delivery note, to prove that the products have left Spanish territory.
  
• Purchased and used in Spain
  If the products do not leave Spain, the rules treat the transaction as a domestic sale and apply Spanish VAT rates. The same scenario arises when Portuguese companies buy physical goods in Spain for use there. For example, if a business with its tax address in Portugal buys construction material in Spain to renovate premises it owns in Galicia.
  

Services

If the invoice covers services, VAT treatment depends on where it takes place, meaning the location where the client uses it:

• Provided in Portugal
  Under the general rule—with a few exceptions where work delivered to EU companies takes place in Spain—the provisions place the activity at the client’s headquarters. As a result, although the work occurs in Spain, the regulations treat the transaction as taking place in Portugal for fiscal purposes. In these cases, the invoice does not include VAT. Instead, the reverse charge mechanism applies, and the business customer declares the relevant indirect tax in Portugal (the invoice must state that the reverse charge mechanism applies to VAT).
  
• Provided in Spain
  Several exceptions apply to this rule. If the invoice covers one of the activities listed below, B2B work is treated as taking place in Spain, while the customer’s company operates from Portugal:
  
  • Real estate, such as the leasing of commercial premises and any work that affects these properties, such as plumbing, renovation, or painting services
    
  • Access to professional events, such as exhibitions, trade fairs, and conferences
    
  • Catering, such as a company dinner in a Spanish restaurant
    
  • Short-term vehicle rental (maximum of 30 days, extended to 90 in the case of boats)
    

VAT on invoices to individual customers in Portugal

When dealing with individual customers (business-to-consumer, or B2C), the reverse charge VAT cannot be applied, so invoices issued to end customers in Portugal must always include Spanish or Portuguese VAT, depending on the type of transaction and the sales volume.

Electronic products and services

Transactions involving the supply of products to end customers in other EU countries are known as “distance selling.” This category also covers services provided electronically—i.e., those supplied entirely online, such as web hosting—as well as telecommunications, broadcasting, and television services.

In these cases, the regulations provide two possible scenarios for the application of VAT:

• Spanish VAT
  If total sales to Portuguese and all other EU individuals (excluding sales to Spanish customers) do not exceed €10,000 during the previous or current calendar year, the VAT rates in Spain must be applied. Many goods that Spanish companies sell to Portugal are subject to reduced rates. Medicines for human use, fruits, and vegetables are subject to a super-reduced 4% VAT rate.
  
• Portuguese VAT
  If total sales to individuals in Portugal and across the EU (excluding sales within Spain) exceed €10,000 in the preceding calendar year or the current year, apply Portuguese VAT on the invoice. Portugal sets a standard percentage of 23%, along with reduced rates of 13% and 6%. Still, it is advisable to regularly check the current percentages, as they can change at any time. To automate this task and avoid charging an outdated VAT rate, you can use Stripe Tax. This tool is systematically updated to reflect any legislative changes in the EU and the more than 100 countries where it is available (check unsupported territories as well). Therefore, when using Stripe Tax, the correct rates will be automatically applied to calculate and collect taxes on Stripe transactions.
  

Across the EU, all rates fall under a single system: the VAT One-Stop Shop (OSS). This way, companies can declare and pay VAT on all EU B2C sales through a single portal.

Please note that when total sales do not exceed €10,000, you can voluntarily apply Portuguese VAT, provided you continue to apply it for at least two calendar years. This practice is standard among Spanish companies that sell electronic products and services to EU countries with lower tax levels than Spain. But, it is not common in transactions with Portugal, since both the general VAT rate and the reduced and super-reduced rates are higher than those in Spain.

General services

On invoices for general services, Spanish VAT typically applies because the regulations treat the work as performed at the company’s base in Spain.

However, some exceptions require applying the Portuguese VAT, such as those related to real estate. For instance, if a self-employed bricklayer from Vigo renovates the home of an individual in Braga, they would be required to include Portuguese VAT on their invoice. To fulfill this obligation, you can register for VAT in Portugal or declare it directly from Spain using the VAT OSS.

To summarize, we have prepared two tables indicating whether invoices to Portuguese customers must include VAT and the supplemental details required for each transaction type:

B2B invoices to Portuguese customers

B2C invoices to Portuguese individuals

Common errors when issuing invoices to Portugal from Spain

Spanish companies handle a large volume of transactions with Portuguese businesses: in December 2025 alone, Spain sold goods to Portugal worth more than €2.7 billion, according to the “Monthly Foreign Trade Report.” When preparing invoices for these activities, some errors are particularly common. Let us take a look at the most frequent types of mistakes:

Forgetting the legal notice

Sometimes, companies that sell products or services to Portugal do not include the legal notice on their invoices, which is mandatory when these transactions are exempt from VAT or require the reverse charge VAT. To avoid these kinds of errors and make sales to Portugal as straightforward as possible, you can take advantage of the applications in the Stripe App Marketplace.

Billit, for instance, is a pioneering electronic billing platform in Europe that focuses on ensuring fulfillment of the various electronic invoicing requirements across the EU.

Invopop, developed in Spain, fully integrates with the VERI*FACTU system, sending unmodified invoice records from Spain to Portugal to the AEAT in real time.

Not verifying the VAT number in advance

It is important to validate the EU VAT number of Portuguese buyers before issuing an invoice without VAT. If the number is invalid, the rules do not treat the transaction as an EU supply. As a result, VAT applies, and the AEAT requires payment of the applicable amount.

Thinking that an invoice is enough

Some sales to Portugal require more than an invoice. Intracommunity supplies of physical goods also need proof of transport.

The most widely used document is the “CMR waybill” (usually referred to as CMR, the French acronym for the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road). It lists the goods transported, quantities, date, country of origin, destination country, and details of the seller, buyer, and carrier.

Not including the invoice in Form 349

Most companies fulfill their fiscal obligations by including invoices issued to Portugal from Spain in their quarterly VAT returns. Yet, some fail to submit a key tax document: Form 349.

This error is common among businesses that sell sporadically to Portuguese customers. If you do not include a VAT-exempt invoice in this informational tax form, the AEAT might require you to pay the applicable VAT amount.

Invoicing Portugal after one year without EU sales

If you do not carry out any EU transactions for a prolonged period—generally, one year—the AEAT might automatically cancel your registration in the ROI. In this case, you will receive a notification before the cancellation takes effect and once it occurs, you will not be able to apply the VAT exemption to your invoices to Portugal from Spain. To once again enjoy this fiscal advantage for EU transactions, you must process Form 036 to request re-registration in the ROI. The AEAT typically responds quickly in these cases.

FAQs on issuing an invoice to Portugal from Spain