Invoice Issuance Time and Amount Limits

There is no single answer to the question "What is the invoice limit?" because there are three distinct thresholds that are often confused with one another.

Then there is the time dimension: by when do you have to issue the invoice? In this article, we break down all four.

Timeline: The 7-day rule

An invoice must be issued within 7 days from the delivery of the goods or the performance of the service. This period runs based on the delivery date, not the payment date.

There is another important restriction: the 7-day period cannot cross into a new accounting period. For example, for a delivery made on December 28th, the invoice cannot be postponed to January 4th; it must be issued before the year ends.

Missing this deadline can trigger special irregularity penalties. Moreover, more severe consequences, such as the invoice being deemed never issued at all, may arise.

Practical tip: If the person making the delivery and the person issuing the invoice are different, make the information flow between them a daily routine. Most invoice delays stem from this communication gap.

First threshold: The obligation to issue an invoice

For every sale made to taxpayers, an invoice must be issued regardless of the amount. The threshold is not here.

The threshold comes into play for sales made to end consumers: for sales below a specified amount, a retail sales receipt is sufficient, while above it, an invoice is mandatory. If the customer requests an invoice, you must issue one regardless of the amount.

This amount is updated every year based on the revaluation rate. Get the current figure from your financial advisor at the beginning of the year and inform your checkout team.

Second threshold: E-archive obligation

This is the most confused threshold. Even if you are not an e-invoice taxpayer, sales made to non-taxpayers that exceed the specified amount must be issued as an e-archive invoice.

For sales made to taxpayers, however, this threshold is lower. This means that out of two sales with the exact same amount, one might be completed with a paper invoice while the other requires an e-archive invoice.

Issuing a paper invoice even though you have exceeded this threshold is one of the most common causes of non-compliance. We covered the differences between document types in our differences between e-invoice and e-archive invoice article.

Third threshold: Cash payment limit

Collections and payments exceeding the specified amount must be made and documented through banks, PTT (Post Office), or financial institutions.

The penalty here can be imposed on both the payer and the receiver, calculated as a certain percentage of the amount. Having issued the correct invoice does not protect you from this penalty — it is a separate obligation.

Splitting the same transaction into parts to pay in cash is also not accepted. To properly record which account the collection enters, check out our bank and cash management guide.

A note on the figures

In this article, we explained the logic behind the thresholds; we intentionally omitted the figures. All three are updated every year, and outdated amounts circulating on the internet frequently lead to wrong decisions.

Get these three figures from your financial advisor at the beginning of the year and note them down somewhere. It will make decision-making much easier for the rest of the year.

Frequently asked questions

Should I issue an invoice before receiving payment?

Yes. Invoicing depends on delivery, not collection. In sales on credit, if the goods are delivered, the invoice is issued, and the receivable is tracked in the current account.

Should I issue an invoice when I receive an advance payment?

An advance payment by itself does not automatically require an invoice. We covered this topic separately in our advance payment and pre-payment invoicing article.

Does a late-issued invoice become invalid?

The document retains its validity, but it creates a risk of irregularity penalties, and the counterparty's right to expenses/deductions may become questionable.

Can the invoice date be backdated?

In e-documents, the date is recorded by the system; retroactive editing is not possible. This is a habit left over from the paper era and no longer works.

Three thresholds and one timeline. Once you know these separately, everyday invoicing decisions stop being a matter of debate.

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