E-invoicing in the Americas

Executive summary

The Americas share a distinctive approach to e-invoicing: every country in the region operates a clearance model, also known as continuous transaction control (CTC). Under this architecture, each invoice must be submitted to the national tax authority and formally authorized before it becomes legally valid. No invoice can reach a customer until the government has approved the transaction, giving tax authorities real-time visibility into all business activity. Unlike Europe or Asia-Pacific, there is no shared international standard across the Americas. Each country has developed its own XML format, tax authority infrastructure, and certification process. Brazil uses NF-e and NFS-e through SEFAZ, Mexico relies on CFDI through the SAT, Colombia issues FEV through DIAN, and Argentina uses Factura Electrónica through ARCA. Colombia is the only country in the region that has adopted an international format — OASIS UBL 2.1. The region’s e-invoicing systems are among the most mature in the world. Brazil and Mexico have had mandatory e-invoicing since 2008 and 2014 respectively, making Latin America the global pioneer of clearance-based models. Newer entrants like Chile and Peru are following the same pattern.

Common standards and formats

Each country in the Americas uses a country-specific XML schema rather than an international standard like UBL or Peppol.

Country	Format	Tax authority
Argentina	XML (ARCA schema)	ARCA
Brazil	Local XML (NF-e, NFS-e, NFC-e, NFCom, CT-e, MDF-e)	RFB / SEFAZ
Chile	DTE XML	SII
Colombia	OASIS UBL 2.1 (DIAN schema)	DIAN
Mexico	CFDI (XML)	SAT
Peru	UBL 2.1 (SUNAT schema)	SUNAT

Colombia stands out as the only country in the region to adopt the OASIS UBL standard, applying a DIAN-specific schema on top.

Compliance model

All six countries use the clearance model (CTC). This is the defining characteristic of e-invoicing in the Americas. Under CTC, the tax authority acts as an intermediary between supplier and buyer. The typical flow is:

The supplier generates an invoice in the required XML format.
The invoice is submitted electronically to the tax authority (or an authorized intermediary).
The tax authority validates the invoice and returns an authorization code.
Only after authorization does the invoice become legally valid and deliverable to the buyer.

Because every invoice passes through the tax authority in real time, e-reporting is fully integrated into the invoicing process. There are no separate periodic reporting submissions — each issued invoice automatically serves as a tax report. Mexico adds a unique layer to this model by using PACs (Proveedores Autorizados de Certificación), authorized private intermediaries that validate and certify invoices before forwarding them to SAT.