Countries › Chile › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Only electronic tax documents are valid

Only electronic tax documents are valid

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Abroad, paper or PDF invoices are often still accepted; in Chile invoices, purchase invoices, dispatch guides, sales receipts and debit and credit notes must be electronic documents. Sales paid electronically must produce an electronic receipt through integrated payment and invoicing systems, as the SII requires. The SII runs a free invoicing system, and paper is allowed only in areas without data coverage or power or in declared disaster zones.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UF amounts use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026 and UTM amounts the SII value of CLP 72,151 for October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Electronic invoices and receipts mandatory	Yes, save legal exceptions textDL Nº 825, art. 54, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Free government invoicing system	Yes (SII) textDL Nº 825, art. 54, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Invoices, purchase invoices, dispatch guides, sales and service receipts, invoice settlements and debit and credit notes must consist exclusively of electronic documents issued under the law, save legal exceptions. Dispatch guides in farming, forestry, artisanal fishing and small mining can be paper or electronic. Receipts from transactions paid by electronic means count as sales receipts on SII terms, and where receipts are electronic and payment is electronic both systems must be integrated so that each electronic payment generates the receipt.
Cost to do it: SII free system at no cost; market software at commercial rates.
Example: A foreign retailer opening stores in Chile must issue electronic receipts and connect its card terminals to its receipt system. / Not a fee rule; the cost is systems integration.DL Nº 825 of 1974, Ley sobre Impuesto a las Ventas y Servicios, as amended by Ley Nº 20.727 and Ley Nº 21.210, Art. 54, first paragraph, 2014-01-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 20.727 (DO 31 January 2014) made electronic documents mandatory, in force nine months after publication and phased over 30 to 48 months for smaller companies by size and urban or rural location; Ley Nº 21.210 (DO 24 February 2020) extended the regime to electronic receipts.

2. Taxpayers operating where there is no mobile or fixed data coverage, no electricity, or in an area declared a disaster zone under Ley 16.282 are not obliged to issue electronic documents and may issue them on paper, as identified by SII resolution.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A mining contractor at a remote site without coverage can be authorised by SII resolution to issue paper dispatch guides. / No US dollar effect.DL Nº 825, Art. 54, second paragraph, 2014-01-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The SII offers a free electronic invoicing system on its website, aimed mainly at micro and small companies, through which taxpayers can issue electronic invoices, credit and debit notes, dispatch guides and other documents after registering and being certified as electronic issuers; larger issuers can use market or in house systems certified by the SII.
Cost to do it: Free.
Example: A new SpA with a few monthly invoices registers its legal representative with a digital certificate and issues invoices from the SII website. / Free; a digital certificate is bought from private providers.SII, Sistema de facturación gratuito del SII, Under DL Nº 825 art. 54, 2014-01-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Document	Electronic	Exception
Invoice and purchase invoice	Mandatory	No coverage, no electricity, disaster zone
Dispatch guide	Mandatory	Paper allowed in farming, forestry, artisanal fishing, small mining
Sales and service receipt	Mandatory; integrated with electronic payment	Same coverage exceptions
Debit and credit notes	Mandatory	Same coverage exceptions

Electronic tax documents in Chile.

Worked example

A US software company sets up a Chilean SpA; before the first sale it obtains authorisation as an electronic issuer, then issues an electronic invoice with 19 percent VAT to a Chilean client, which the client must review within 8 days.

Step by step

Obtain the RUT and start of activities with the SII.
Buy a digital certificate for the legal representative.
Register in the SII free system or certify a market provider.
Integrate point of sale payment terminals with electronic receipts.
Store XML documents for tax audits.

Common traps

A PDF or paper invoice from a Chilean supplier does not support a VAT credit.
Electronic receipts must be generated automatically on card payments; separate systems that are not integrated breach art. 54.
The 8 day acceptance clock under Ley 19.983 also runs for electronic invoices.

Sources

← Accepted invoices become tradable, enforceable titlesProfit sharing with staff is mandatory →