Electronic invoicing: a cross sectional study of its implementation in micro and small businesses in Lima, Peru

Introduction

In the globalised world in which we live, changes are increasingly frequent, and companies are no strangers to this, year after year they adopt new ways of doing business. In previous years, it was thought that the use of computer systems at all levels and modalities would be difficult, however, the growth of technology and social distancing, originated as the main measure against COVID-19, has caused technology and computer systems to be of support to continue with the different activities that must be carried out and to help with the development of automation within the business world.

According to Velazco (2016) the new “Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)” have enabled and managed to change the processes that were traditionally carried out in companies, which is evidenced by seeing how they have incorporated activities from the implementation of websites to the integrated interaction of business operations with suppliers and customers. As part of these implementations are also those originated by the “Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria (SUNAT)”.

SUNAT oversees providing taxpayers with services that facilitate compliance with their tax obligations, as well as providing services to citizens in general within the scope of its competence. One of its functions is to document operations related to purchases or sales of goods and services, for which it has implemented new forms of digitalisation to provide a better service to the population, as well as to simplify operations applied by different organizations (Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria, 2016).

According to Nina (2019), one of the important factors of the implementation of electronic taxation is to be able to control and verify the correct operations since tax evasion is a recurrent issue (Santillán & Barbaran, 2021), another advantage also includes the simplification of operations, time, cost reduction (Becerra & Ojeda, 2022); so, the implementation of these new forms of digitalization undoubtedly helps to improve tax collection.

Globally, Latin America hosts a number of leading countries in the implementation of electronic payment vouchers, specifically in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Chile according to Koch (2022). In Peru, starting in 2015 with the upgrade of computerized accounting software, processes became much faster and data entry became quicker, more reports completed, and the software consumed fewer resources. However, the most significant factor contributing to this was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular making electronic invoicing in most cases a necessity because it avoided the displacement of workers and taxpayers from one place to another (Gómez, 2021), as well as enhancing payment options and the delivery of documents (bills, invoices) to avoid contact (Sierra et al, 2022). In view of the above, as of June 2022, the Peruvian tax administration implemented controls and obligations to reinforce collection and fiscalization by means of Resolution No. 000128-2021-SUNAT of 27 August 2021, requiring all companies to issue electronic invoices and receipts (Resolución de Superintendencia N° 000128-2021/SUNAT, 2021)

For this reason, the purpose of this research work is to find out, from the accountants' perspective, what attitudes, practices and measures of compliance with tax obligations are being carried out due to the implementation of electronic invoicing, as well as the benefits it has brought to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) during the COVID-19 process in Peru.

Methods

The study's research methodology was non-experimental (Baena, 2017), applied and quantitative (Ñaupas, et al., 2018).

Results

None of the 384 respondents declined to participate in the study. There were also no blank questionnaires, so it is recorded that all 384 accountants participated and filled in each questionnaire to the best of their knowledge and belief. There was also no loss of data in the processing.

Table 1 shows that all the accountants indicate that the company where they work in is an electronic issuer of payment vouchers by designation of SUNAT (26.05%), as well as by their own will (73.95%). At the same time, they indicate that the MSEs took between 1 and 2 months (33.6%) and between 4 and 6 months (16.9%) to implement the electronic issuance system, and finally, the sample's opinion on the use of an electronic issuance system and what it helps to counteract in the tax and social spheres: tax evasion (9.6%), cumbersome audits (38.8%), informality (9.4%), falsification of payment vouchers (8.9%), loss and deterioration of payment vouchers (9.1%), informality (8.3%) and none of the above (15.9%).

Table 2 shows the difficulties encountered by the MSEs in implementing an e-issuance system, being the lack of economic resources (47.7%), the main difficulty encountered by the companies, followed by the lack of electronic service providers (PSE) in the city (49.9%) and finally the lack of access to technology (45.1%) that some MSEs had, together with the lack of information (44%) about this type of system.

It also shows which are the electronic payment vouchers and electronic issuance documents, being the bills (100%) and electronic invoice (89.8%) the most used in the companies, followed by electronic receipts (44.5%), followed by electronic purchase invoices (45.3%) and lastly, electronic waybills (60.9%).

Lastly, we analyzed the benefits most noted by respondents from the implementation of electronic receipts within companies, the most important being that it facilitates tax declarations and payment (54.2%), followed by having real-time information (46.4%), saving time (43.5%), that this type of system reduces the costs of issuing and storing documents (42.4%) and, lastly, that it helps to conserve the environment (38.1%).

Table 3 shows that 81% indicated that it was convenient for the company to have adopted an electronic invoicing system, while 80.5% indicated that their respective companies had the necessary equipment to carry out this type of management; 32% indicated that they do not attend the training sessions held by the supervisory body that views this type of document; this last result means that 23.7% of those surveyed still have difficulties in issuing electronic payment receipts. It is also evident that 96.6% consider that the use of this type of system has facilitated processes, as well as reducing costs (96.4%), reducing paper (96.9%) and that administrative and accounting operations have become much more agile (97.4%). Finally, it is evident that respondents indicate that they have physical receipts (97.9%), as a contingency plan, and that they also comply with reporting to SUNAT on the physical receipts issued (94%).

Table 4 shows that companies make their tax payments within the established deadlines (97.7%), that the use of electronic payment vouchers greatly facilitates the payment of tax debts (97.9%), that since they have been electronic issuers of payment vouchers, companies have faithfully complied with the issuance and delivery of such vouchers to the requesting agents (97.1%), but it is evident that 3.1% at some point in the management of this type of process committed at least one infraction related to compliance with issuing and/or delivering electronic payment vouchers. Finally, it is shown that most of them comply with submitting their electronic books and records within the established deadline (97.7%), as well as their sworn statements and within the deadlines established by law (95.8%).

Discussion and conclusion

According to the results shown, the accountants interviewed indicate that the companies where they work are electronic issuers of payment receipts by designation of SUNAT in a lower proportion (26,05%) than those that do so of their own free will (73.95%). A trend that has continued over the years, since according to the Inter-American Development Bank in its 2018 publication, only 11% of the total number of taxpayers that issued electronic invoices up to that time did so by SUNAT designation, which means that 89% were voluntary electronic issuers (Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo y Centro Interamericano de Administraciones Tributarias, 2018).

The implementation of electronic invoicing has been incorporated for some time, as the tax administration of the different Latin American countries has advanced with modernization. This has enabled taxpayers to use different virtual services in order to make the functioning of the economy viable and to comply with the various tax and fiscal obligations, which is why many taxpayers have seen digitalization as an option for change.

The virtualisation of tax services implies a change of paradigm and although this change was possible thanks to the laws and rules that have been in place over the years, as well as the improvement of platforms to produce documents in electronic format, the health crisis that began in 2020 prompted a 360-degree change.

It should be stressed that the road to incorporating electronic invoicing has not been an easy one, according to what was stated by the MSEs, with problems of access to technology being one of the main problems faced by the companies. It was also found that one of the problems was the scarcity of electronic service providers (PES) in the city (49.9%), poor access to technology (45.1%) and lack of information (44%) about this type of system. As can be seen, despite the progress that has been made in digital infrastructure in recent decades, access to technology is a major problem that we face every day. According to Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL, 2020), telecommunications infrastructure and digital connectivity is still a problem facing the entire region, together with the challenge for operators to preserve adequate levels of quality in internet services. To this end, it is important that the country should provide improvements in the quality of these services (internet) as they are important and necessary to maintain active supply chains and distribution of goods.

The results of the survey showed that among the main milestones regarding the importance and benefits of e-invoicing, it is highlighted that it facilitates tax declarations and payments, followed by having information in real time, time savings, that this type of system reduces the costs of issuing and storing documents, and finally that it is an environmentally sustainable means. In addition, García et al. (2021) indicate that it has been confirmed that the electronic invoicing process is more beneficial for the company and has various benefits such as cost savings and a strong impact related to the protection and care of the environment, which allows the company to be more competitive and profitable.

Regarding the attitudes and practices carried out, we can see that the necessary precautions have been taken when implementing electronic invoicing systems, and that it has also brought benefits for the company, such as the reduction of paperwork, simplification and streamlining of processes and, lastly, facilitates the issuing and delivery of payment receipts.

Finally, compliance with tax obligations is also an important part of the implementation of electronic invoicing, since tax collection depends on generating greater conditions that benefit the country. Sierra et al. (2022) indicate that electronic invoicing can be used to make tax collection and tax liability (fines, penalties, coercive collections, etc.) more evident, because electronic invoicing facilitates the monitoring of transactions, regardless of their number, as it is systematised, facilitating monitoring by the organisation in charge of administering taxes.

Conclusions

As can be seen, during the development of this research, that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the incorporation of electronic invoicing in companies has been of great help in complying with tax obligations.

The implementation of electronic invoicing in the different tax regimes is a promising means that will help companies to voluntarily comply with their tax obligations. This is of particular importance, as it allows for an increase in tax collection and compliance levels, especially when compared to more developed countries.

The incorporation of electronic invoicing has an impact on all the country's companies, as it is a total change from traditional issuance, involving interaction with new technologies, terminology, and new processes, which means that investment, time and staff training must be taken into account.