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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Foundations

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Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

Panama — SFEP, Factura Electrónica, PAC

Panama runs a tax-clearance model built on accredited private providers: the Factura Electrónica flows through the Sistema de Facturación Electrónica de Panamá (SFEP), where an Authorized Qualified Provider (PAC) validates and authorizes each XML document before it reaches the customer. Every invoice carries a CUFE identifier, and its printable graphical representation, the CAFE, embeds a verification QR code. The DGI (Dirección General de Ingresos) runs the system, rolled out in phases since 2022 and tightened on 1 January 2026.

Regulatory timeline

  • 29 December 2020 — Executive Decree No. 766. Sets the rules for adopting electronic invoicing for companies exempt from fiscal equipment; founding act of the SFEP.
  • 26 November 2021 — Law No. 256. Amends Law 76 of 1976 and enshrines in statute the ability to meet tax obligations via electronic documents validated by a PAC.
  • 27 June 2022 — Decree No. 25. Establishes the calendar for adopting fiscal equipment and the SFEP.
  • 20 January 2023 — Executive Decree No. 3. Adjusts the implementation calendar.
  • 2023 — New taxpayers. Every new RUC registration must issue electronic invoices.
  • October 2023 — State suppliers (B2G). Obligation extended to public-sector suppliers; Resolution 201-9775 (20 October 2023) updates user duties.
  • 2024 — Self-employed professionals and services. Lawyers, accountants, architects and other independent providers enter the obligation.
  • 29 July 2025 — Resolution No. 201-6299. Tightens use of the free invoicer (Facturador Gratuito).
  • 1 January 2026 — Free-invoicer thresholds. Taxpayers above 100 documents/month or B/. 36,000 in annual income must contract a PAC.

Technical schema

The invoice is an XML document conforming to the Ficha Técnica (technical data sheet) published by the DGI for the SFEP. The tag set and document types are proprietary (it is neither UBL nor CII), but the logic mirrors neighbouring LATAM models.

  • CUFE — Código Único de Factura Electrónica: a unique fingerprint computed over the content that identifies the document and serves as the lookup key in the DGI portal.
  • RUC — Registro Único de Contribuyente: the tax identifier of issuer and receiver (with its check digit, the DV).
  • Signature — each document is signed with a Certificado Electrónico Calificado obtained from an accredited certification service provider (certificate withdrawn via the National Electronic Signature Directorate of the Public Registry).
  • CAFE — Comprobante Auxiliar de Factura Electrónica: a printable/PDF graphical representation handed to the customer, carrying the QR code, the SFEP authorization number and the CUFE.
  • Authorization protocol — returned by the PAC/DGI: without this authorization the document has no fiscal validity.

Covered types: electronic invoice, credit note and debit note, plus other fiscal documents defined in the Ficha Técnica.

Submission flow

Panama applies a clearance model intermediated by accredited private providers (PAC), with a free direct variant below thresholds:

  • 1. Generation — the issuer builds the XML per the Ficha Técnica, computes the CUFE and signs with its qualified certificate.
  • 2. PAC validation — the document is sent to an Authorized Qualified Provider which checks the format field by field, the VAT (ITBMS) calculation and the issuer's tax data, then grants authorization on behalf of the DGI.
  • 3. Authorization — without the electronic authorization protocol from the PAC (or DGI), the invoice has no fiscal validity and cannot be delivered.
  • 4. Delivery — the customer receives the authorized XML and/or the CAFE (graphical representation with QR + CUFE) on request at the point of sale.
  • 5. Verification — the recipient scans the QR or enters the CUFE in the DGI's official portal to authenticate the document.

Below the thresholds (≤ 100 documents/month and ≤ B/. 36,000/year) a taxpayer may still use the DGI's Facturador Gratuito; above them, using a PAC has been mandatory since 1 January 2026.

Validation

Common pitfalls

  1. Assuming the free invoicer stays universal. Since 1 January 2026, exceeding 100 documents/month or B/. 36,000 in annual income forces you to contract a PAC; confirm case by case under Resolution 201-6299.
  2. Confusing CUFE and CAFE. The CUFE is the unique identifier embedded in the XML; the CAFE is the printable graphical representation (QR + CUFE) handed to the customer.
  3. Skipping prior authorization. A signed but unauthorized XML has no fiscal validity — it is the authorization, not the signature, that makes the document valid.
  4. Underestimating the certificate chain. The Certificado Electrónico Calificado must be obtained from an accredited provider and withdrawn via the National Electronic Signature Directorate; an expired certificate halts issuance.
  5. Forcing a UBL/PEPPOL schema. The SFEP mandates a proprietary XML defined by the DGI's Ficha Técnica: neither UBL, nor CII, nor the PEPPOL network — integration goes through a Panamanian PAC.
  • PEPPOL — the reference 4-corner network, to contrast with Panama's centralized PAC model.
  • Factur-X / ZUGFeRD — hybrid XML+PDF format, to compare with the SFEP XML + CAFE pairing.
  • Mexico — CFDI via PAC, the clearance model Panama most closely resembles.
  • Colombia — DIAN Factura Electrónica with CUFE, direct relative of Panama's CUFE.
  • Dominican Republic — e-CF via the DGII, another Central America/Caribbean clearance system.
  • Chile — SII DTE, the Latin American pioneer of electronic invoicing.