Guide · El Salvador
Everything a Salvadoran business needs to understand about Electronic Tax Documents: what they are, who is required to issue them, the document types, and how to start invoicing without slowing your operation.
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Electronic invoicing in El Salvador is the system, run by the Ministerio de Hacienda, that replaces paper tax documents with Electronic Tax Documents (DTE): digital files that are electronically signed, transmitted to the tax authority in real time, and carry the same legal validity as a printed document. Every sale generates a DTE that is registered with the authority the moment it is issued.
The Ministerio de Hacienda rolled out electronic invoicing in phases: large taxpayers first, then successive waves covering the rest of the sectors and business sizes. The obligation has kept expanding until it reaches taxpayers in general.
Each business is assigned a specific date from which it must issue DTE. That date depends on your taxpayer classification, so the authoritative answer always lives in your own profile inside the Ministerio de Hacienda portal (factura.gob.sv). If it is not yet clear to you, that is the first thing to confirm before deciding how you will issue.
Each document has a code defined by the Ministerio de Hacienda. The one you issue depends on who your customer is and the type of operation.
| Cod. | Document | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Invoice (Factura) | Sale to a final consumer who does not need tax credit. |
| 03 | Tax Credit Receipt (CCF) | Sale to a registered taxpayer (NRC) who accrues VAT credit. |
| 04 | Delivery Note (Nota de Remisión) | Supports the movement of goods before invoicing them. |
| 05 | Credit Note (Nota de Crédito) | Reduces the value of a CCF already issued (discounts, returns). |
| 06 | Debit Note (Nota de Débito) | Increases the value of a CCF already issued (extra charges). |
| 07 | Withholding Receipt (Comprobante de Retención) | Documents the VAT withholdings applied by a withholding agent. |
| 08 | Settlement Receipt (Comprobante de Liquidación) | Settlement of operations carried out on behalf of third parties. |
| 09 | Accounting Settlement Document | Accounting settlement between principal and agent. |
| 11 | Export Invoice (Factura de Exportación) | Sales abroad. |
| 14 | Excluded Subject Invoice (Sujeto Excluido) | Purchases from people who are not VAT taxpayers (excluded subjects). |
| 15 | Donation Receipt (Comprobante de Donación) | Supports donations that must be documented for tax purposes. |
Free government tool (facturador gratuito): an online system the Ministerio de Hacienda offers at no cost to issue up to 500 DTE per month. It is the fastest path for small businesses with low volume and no existing systems to connect.
Your own transmission system: your software (or a provider’s) built to the Ministerio de Hacienda specifications, which signs and transmits the DTE by API from your own systems. It is the path for businesses that pass 500 DTE per month, that invoice from a point of sale or e-commerce, or that need the invoice to be created automatically inside their ERP, inventory and accounting without re-typing data.
The practical rule: if invoicing forces you to copy every sale by hand into the government tool, you are paying in time what the free tool does not charge you in money. Past a certain volume, integrating invoicing into your operation is cheaper.
Confirm your obligation and your start date in the Ministerio de Hacienda portal (factura.gob.sv).
Obtain your credentials and your electronic signature from the Ministerio de Hacienda; every document is signed (JWS) with them.
Choose your issuing path: the free government tool, or your own integrated system.
Test in the Ministerio de Hacienda test environment before issuing in production, to validate that your DTE are generated and transmitted correctly.
Move to production and define your contingency plan to keep invoicing if transmission fails.
If at some point you cannot transmit in real time (an internet outage, for example), the system lets you issue in contingency mode and transmit the documents later, within the window the Ministerio de Hacienda defines. A well-built invoicing system handles this automatically so you never stop selling.
At Global Code we build and integrate electronic invoicing into your real operation. If you have outgrown the free tool, or you want every sale in your point of sale, online store or ERP to generate its DTE automatically (with its signature, its transmission and its contingency), we connect your system to the Ministerio de Hacienda so you invoice without re-typing anything.
And if you are just starting, we help you choose the right path so you do not overpay: the free tool is often exactly right until your volume or your need for integration says otherwise.
Yes, for taxpayers reached by the Ministerio de Hacienda phases. The obligation has kept expanding until it covers taxpayers in general; your specific start date is in your profile in the government portal.
The government tool has no cost up to 500 DTE per month. An own or integrated system has a development or subscription cost, which pays off when volume or the need for integration justifies it.
Yes. A transmission system built to the Ministerio de Hacienda specifications integrates with your current systems so the invoice is generated and transmitted from where you already work.
There is a contingency mode: you issue the document and transmit it later, within the allowed window. A well-built system manages it automatically.
Yes. Every DTE is electronically signed (JWS) with the credentials the Ministerio de Hacienda grants you. Without a valid signature, the document has no validity.
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