What is Brazil's NF-e mandatory e-invoice?
Effective: 2010-01-01 · Authority: SEFAZ (Secretaria de Estado da Fazenda)
NF-e (Nota Fiscal Eletronica) is Brazil's mandatory e-invoice for goods transactions. It requires authorization from the state tax authority (SEFAZ) before goods can be shipped. The NF-e XML is transmitted to SEFAZ, which validates and authorizes the document with a digital signature. Brazil has operated the NF-e system since 2005-2010 with near-universal adoption.
How does NF-e authorization work?
The issuer generates the NF-e XML and digitally signs it with a digital certificate (A1 or A3). The signed XML is transmitted to the SEFAZ of the issuer's state via SOAP web service. SEFAZ validates and returns an authorization protocol (chave de acesso - 44-digit access key). The authorized NF-e with DANFE printout accompanies the goods.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the DANFE in Brazilian e-invoicing?
- DANFE (Documento Auxiliar da Nota Fiscal Eletronica) is a human-readable summary of the NF-e that accompanies goods in transit. It includes the 44-digit access key and QR code for NF-e verification. The DANFE is not the legal invoice itself; the NF-e XML file is the legal document.
- Does Brazil have e-invoicing for services (NFS-e)?
- Yes. NFS-e (Nota Fiscal de Servicos Eletronica) covers services and is administered by municipal governments, not state governments. Each municipality has its own NFS-e system and specifications. A national NFS-e standard has been developed by SPED (Sistema Publico de Escrituracao Digital) for standardization.
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