How to store electronic invoices in Hungary

Is this relevant to your Hungarian business?

The new regulation is relevant to your business if it uses electricity and/or natural gas, contracted directly from a supplier.

The new regulation will not affect you:

• If you rent in a way that these utilities are included in your rent, so you do not have a contract directly with a supplier.
• If you are a freelancer and you have a retail contract with your supplier instead of a B2B contract.

Even if your business does not manage electronic invoices (yet), it might still make sense for you to review best practices for future reference.

What is an electronic invoice?

Currently, most invoices in Hungary are created electronically, on an online platform or through licensed software. (Creating paper-based invoices in an invoice booklet is still possible, but invoices should be reported to the Tax Authority electronically anyway, so creating invoices electronically reduces administrative burdens.) Invoices created electronically, however, are not automatically considered electronic invoices. You can read more about the types of invoices here.

An electronic invoice or e-invoice needs to contain a layer of authentication that includes the signature of the issuer and a timestamp. Most types of invoicing software have a separate feature that lets you create e-invoices, either included in your current plan or for a separate fee. Alternatively, you can create e-invoices if you transfer any invoice through an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system. The end result is often a PDF file that has some kind of electronic signature added to it.

An invoice will be considered an electronic invoice if it is sent, received, and stored electronically while it also has appropriate authentication.

Receiving and storing electronic invoices

When you receive an e-invoice, it is your duty to make sure the invoice has appropriate authentication. If you are not sure what to look for, ask your accountant about it.

Once you accept an electronic invoice, you must electronically store it for 8 years after the end of the given year. Printing and filing these invoices is not an option, because then the authentication becomes void. If the Tax Authority asks for these invoices during a tax inspection, you will need to present them in an electronic format within 3 days.

If electronic invoices are not stored at your registered seat or on your registered premises, make sure to notify the Tax Authority about the location.

Appropriate electronic storage

For appropriate electronic storage, make sure that e-invoices remain

• accessible,
• readable, and
• safe (so they cannot be lost or deleted).

Most importantly, e-invoices must be stored in a way that they cannot be altered. This usually does not require additional measures on your part: the electronic signature will provide the required authentication.

The next important aspect is safety. Safety is achieved easiest through redundancy. Instead of archiving your invoices in just one way, use a combination of the following:

• Filed within the electronic mailbox where it was received
• Filed in a separate mailbox
• On your own computer
• On the server of your business
• In the data center of your business
• In cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive)
• On CD or DVD
• On a flash drive
• On an external hard drive

When deciding where and how to save your electronic invoices, you should consider the following aspects:

• How many invoices do you have each month, or each year? Just a few, or hundreds, or thousands?
• How often will you need to access these invoices?
• Do you want to electronically archive only invoices or other document types (e.g. contracts) as well?

Learn to manage electronic invoices

Please note that appropriate invoice storage is your job. Your accountant can provide information about how to verify e-invoices and what options you have for storage, but you will be required to implement the measures discussed.

Let your accountant help you

Even if your Hungarian accountant cannot store your electronic invoices for you, you can always ask them for guidance. Helpers Finance provides a wide range of accounting services, and we always do our best to help our clients comply with Hungarian regulations. By outsourcing administrative burdens to us, you can focus on what you do best, leading your business to success.