Mandatory invoice details in Algeria (Executive Decree 05-468)

Who must invoice, and when

An invoice is compulsory as soon as two economic operators do business: a company selling to another, a trader buying from a wholesaler, a service provider working for a business. The law places the obligation on both sides: the seller must issue the invoice, the buyer must ask for it. It must be produced at the first request of the inspectors in charge of controls.

The list of details, box by box

The Ministry of Commerce presents the decree's details in two blocks: those about the seller and the transaction, and those about the buyer. The table lists them with a fictitious example for each box.

Amounts and VAT

Under the real regime, you charge VAT. For each line, show the quantity and the unit price before tax, then the total before tax, the VAT rate and amount (19% at the standard rate) and the total including tax. Your customer under the real regime needs this invoice to recover the VAT they pay you, and you declare the VAT collected every month on form G n°50. Under the IFU flat-rate regime, you do not charge VAT: your prices are stated without VAT.

Numbering, corrections, stamp: good practice

• Number your invoices in a continuous, chronological sequence, with no gaps or duplicates. A number is never reused, even for a cancelled invoice.
• Do not alter an invoice once issued. To correct an error or refund, issue a credit note that refers to the original invoice number.
• On a paper invoice, apply the company stamp and the signature of an authorised person.
• Copy your identity exactly as on the trade register extract: same company name, same registered address, same number.
• After a change (registered office, name, capital, activity), update your invoice template as soon as the register is amended.
• Keep a copy of every invoice, filed by month: it supports your VAT returns and your accounts.

Delivery note, transfer note, summary invoice

Decree No. 05-468 also governs three other documents: the delivery note, which goes with goods delivered, the transfer note, which goes with goods moved between two establishments of the same business without being sold, and the summary invoice, which groups several deliveries to the same customer into one invoice. Each has its own conditions of use: if your business involves regular deliveries or several depots, read the decree before organising your documents.

What a sale without an invoice costs

In practice, a 500,000 DA delivery sold without an invoice exposes you to a 400,000 DA fine, before any tax reassessment. The same law also penalises a non-compliant invoice, meaning one that is incomplete or inaccurate. The invoice proves the sale for the seller and the purchase for the customer. Your returns rest on it.

Before issuing your first invoice

1. Have your trade register extract, NIF and NIS to hand: the invoice repeats these numbers.
2. Check your tax regime (IFU or real): it decides whether you charge VAT.
3. Prepare a template with every detail in the table above, and numbering that starts at 1.
4. Have your company stamp made if you invoice on paper.
5. Decide the default payment method and terms you will show.

The address on the invoice is your registered office, as shown in the trade register. A company domiciled with Neuron Cowork in Dely Brahim gives the address in its domiciliation contract: 6,000 DA a month, a notarised contract for 1 or 2 years, ready within 3 days at most.