Costa Rica has published the ‘Executive Decree No. 44739-H—Regulation of Electronic Receipts for Tax Purposes’ in the Official Gazette on 8 November 2024.

The key points of the decree are as follows:

  • New definitions, including electronic payment receipts, provisional receipts for contingencies, and valid electronic emails, were introduced;
  • New exceptions for electronic receipts have been added for taxpayers in objective estimation regimes and those authorised to receive deductible donations for income tax purposes;
  • Electronic receipts cannot be directly deleted; this must be done through a credit or debit note. If the Ministry of Finance rejects a receipt, it becomes invalid, and no notes will be issued. If XML files cannot be sent due to the Ministry of Finance’s system downtime, they should be stored and sent once the system is back online.

The deadline for implementing updates to the structures of various electronic receipts will commence once the Tax Administration releases a general resolution that updates the technical standards related to systems and structures of the electronic receipts.