The line has no VAT rate, or the 0 % tax cannot be saved without an exemption reason

Symptom

• When you click Confirm on an invoice, Invalid Operation opens saying a line has no VAT rate; or
• when you create or change a 0 % VAT tax, the tax does not save and the Exemption reason field turns red.

fiscaldoo does not let you issue an invoice with a line without a VAT rate, nor save an exempt tax without an exemption reason. The refusal happens on screen, before the invoice is issued: such an invoice is never numbered or communicated to the AT.

Message

On an invoice with a line whose tax was removed (Billing profile):

“Line "[KIT-CAN] Kit de canetas" of invoice FT D26/37 has no VAT tax. Choose a VAT tax (or a 0% VAT tax with an exemption reason, or a "not subject" tax).”

The message shows the number the invoice would have had (FT D26/37), but the invoice stays in Draft and that number was not used.

On a new VAT tax with PT tax code set to Exempt and no reason (Fiscal officer profile), when you click save “Some required fields are empty. Fill in the fields marked in red to be able to save.” appears and the Exemption reason turns red.

Both refusals were triggered in the demo database. The tax was not saved.

Verified causes

• The line has no tax. Someone removed the rate from the line's Taxes column, or the product has no sales tax. Every invoice line needs a VAT rate: standard, intermediate, reduced, 0 % with an exemption reason, or “not subject”.
• The exemption reason comes from the tax, not from the invoice. On the invoice you only choose the rate (for example 0%). The reason is in the tax's Portugal tab and is printed on the PDF: in the demo, FS D26/8 shows “IVA 0% (1)” on the line and, below, “(1) Isento artigo 9.º do CIVA”.
• A 0 % VAT tax cannot be saved without a reason. With PT tax code set to Exempt, the Exemption reason is required.

The 0 % taxes that come with the demo company all have the reason filled in, for example 0% with “M07 — Isento artigo 9.º do CIVA”, 0% EX with “M05 — Isento artigo 14.º do CIVA”, 0% EU with “M16 — Isento artigo 14.º do RITI” and 0% NS with “M99 — Não sujeito ou não tributado”.

What to check

1. On the invoice line, the Taxes column: is it empty, or does it have the right rate?
2. Whether the transaction really is exempt or not subject, and why (the article of law). The choice is the certified accountant's.
3. Whether the product has the right sales tax on its record: How to create a product with the right tax data.

How to fix it

The line has no tax (Billing or Accountant profile)

1. Click Close. The invoice stays in Draft.
2. On the line, click the Taxes column and choose the rate. If the sale has VAT, it is the standard, intermediate or reduced rate. If it is exempt or not subject, choose the 0 % rate the certified accountant gave for that case. The list only shows the rate's name (for example 0% or 0% EX); the reason can be seen on the tax and on the PDF.
3. Click Confirm.

If the missing rate comes from the product, ask for the product record to be corrected, otherwise the error repeats on the next invoice.

A 0 % tax with the right reason is missing (Fiscal officer profile)

The Fiscal officer creates or corrects the tax in Accounting › Configure › Taxes (the Billing and Accountant profiles do not have this menu). In the Portugal tab, with PT tax type set to VAT and PT tax code set to Exempt, choose the Exemption reason from the list. The list has the 33 reasons of the AT's table, from “M01 — Artigo 16.º n.º 6 do CIVA” to “M99 — Não sujeito ou não tributado”.

The tab's other required fields are the PT tax type and the PT tax region (Mainland, Azores, Madeira region). The PT tax code options are Normal rate, Intermediate rate, Reduced rate, Exempt, Other and Not subject.

The reason decides the return

The exemption reason is printed on the invoice and goes into the SAF-T, and it decides which field of the periodic VAT return the transaction goes into. A wrong reason cannot be corrected afterwards on the issued invoice: it is corrected with a credit note and a new invoice. Choose the reason with the certified accountant. Pending validation by a certified accountant: the reason for each type of transaction (VAT Code (CIVA), art. 36, no. 5, para. e)) and the return field each reason feeds.

Expected result

• The invoice is confirmed and, on the PDF, each 0 % line has a reference (1), (2)… with the exemption reason below the VAT table.
• The new tax is saved with the reason and appears in the lines' Taxes column.

When to contact support

• The AT rejected an invoice already issued because the exemption reason was missing (fiscaldoo should not let it be issued; this cannot be triggered in the demo).
• A 0 % tax already used on invoices has no reason, or has the wrong reason.
• The reason you need is not in the list.

Information to send

• The invoice number (or “draft”) and the company.
• The full text of the message, copied from the screen.
• The name of the line's tax and the reason you expected.
• The profile you logged in with.