Learn everything about transport documents in this Q guide.
What are Transport Documents and when to Issue Them?
Transport documents accompany goods in transit whenever they are sent or transported (goods that are outside production or exhibition sites, in vehicles at the time of unloading or transshipment, and goods for sale displayed at fairs).
What are the Types of Transport Documents?
Dispatch Guides
It should be issued whenever goods are sent or transported, or services are provided (logistics document).
Transport Guides
The transfer of goods between stores or warehouses must always be accompanied by this document.
Global Transport Documents
The global transport document is a document whose recipients of the goods are not known at the time of their departure and corresponds to a listing of all transported goods. The global transport document leads to the issuance of accessory documents such as invoices, documents of actual deliveries, or work sheets.
Note: Invoices (except simplified ones), return notes, and equivalent documents (for example, own asset movement guides or consignment guides) can also be used as transport documents. However, they must include transport data.
How to Issue Transport Documents?
Transport documents must be printed on paper and issued in triplicate: original for the recipient, duplicate for inspection purposes, and triplicate for filing.
It is possible to issue transport documents using one of the following methods:
- Electronically;
- Certified software by the AT, such as CEGID Primavera or Sage;
- Through software created internally by the company;
- On paper through authorized printing companies;
- Directly on the Finance Portal;
- You must communicate the transport documents to the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) before the goods are distributed. You should also carry the code assigned to each document, so you can present it in case of inspection.
Note: This obligation excludes the transport of goods from agricultural, beekeeping, forestry, or livestock producers resulting from their own production.
What are the Mandatory Elements in Transport Documents?
Transport documents must obligatorily include the following elements:
- Name, company, or corporate name of the sender of the goods;
- Address or headquarters of the sender of the goods;
- Tax identification number of the sender of the goods;
- Name, company, or corporate name of the buyer of the goods;
- Corporate name of the buyer of the goods;
- Address of the buyer of the goods;
- Tax identification number of the recipient (when they are subject to VAT);
- Commercial designation of the goods (indicating quantities);
- Loading and unloading locations;
- Date and time of the start of transport.
Note: As of today, mobility does not comply with this element.
Transport documents issued on paper must also contain identifying elements of the printing company (corporate name, headquarters, and tax identification number) and numbering.
How to Communicate Transport Guides to the AT?
If you issue transport documents through computer means (electronically, certified billing program, or company program), you must communicate them in real-time to the Tax Authority.
If you use the Finance Portal, the transport documents are automatically communicated.
Transport documents manually issued on typographic paper are communicated through the telephone service (time, date, last 4 digits of the transport document number, and buyer’s tax identification number) and insertion on the Finance Portal of the remaining elements until the 5th business day.
Other Questions about Transport Guides
What is the Difference between a Transport Guide and a Global Transport Guide?
The Global Transport Guide resembles a Transport/Dispatch Guide. The main difference is the recipient, which, in the case of the Global Guide, is not defined in advance. It should be created whenever you need to declare the transport of goods you intend to sell, but you do not yet know exactly to whom the invoices will be issued (mainly used in street vending).
What is the Fine for not Having a Transport Guide?
If you transport goods without a transport guide, you are subject to a fine ranging from €150 to €7,500. The fine applies to those who send the goods and those who transport them (or only to the transporter when there is no indication of the sender of the goods). A fine is payable when the transport guide:
- Was not communicated to the Tax Authority;
- Was not issued by electronic, computer, or paper means;
- Is not accompanied by the respective identification code (provided by the AT at the time of communication);
- Does not mention if the recipient or buyer is not a taxable person.
Thus, the lack of presentation of a transport guide is subject to the following fines:
- between €150 and €3,750 for individuals;
- between €300 and €7,500 for legal entities.
In addition to fines, the transporter of the goods is subject to the seizure of the vehicle and the goods transported. However, these can be reduced by half if the infraction is regularized within 15 days following the seizure or notification.
Omissions or inaccuracies in the transport guide are also subject to fines. For example: lack of indication of the buyer’s or recipient’s tax identification number, loading and unloading locations, or the date and time of the start of transport. In these situations, fines range from €93.75 to €5,625 for individuals and from €187.50 to €11,250 for legal entities.
When is it not Mandatory to Issue a Transport Guide?
There are exceptions provided by law, namely goods:
- for personal or domestic use; >>> Final Consumers
- from retailers intended for final consumers;
- from agricultural producers transported by themselves or on their behalf;
- related to intra-community transactions;
- related to transactions with third countries subject to a customs destination;
- that circulate due to a change of premises of the taxable person, provided that the date of its execution is communicated to the tax authorities at least eight business days in advance.
