DGI electronic invoicing in Panama

• We get you issuing electronic invoices valid with the DGI, with their CUFE.
• Free invoicer or PAC: we choose with you by your income and volume.
• We integrate invoicing with your point of sale or accounting system.
• We're not the DGI or your accountant: we set up the technology that complies.

In Panama, electronic invoicing has stopped being an option and become an obligation the DGI enforces firmly, one that has widened year after year until it reaches almost every business. Complying properly isn't only a legal matter: it's what keeps your operations in order, your expenses deductible and your business safe from fines. The problem is that the path is full of acronyms and technical steps — SFEP, CUFE, PAC, electronic signature — that overwhelm anyone, and the official channels run in Spanish. That's where we come in. We handle the whole technical side that makes your invoices valid with the DGI: we register you, get your signature, choose the right mode with you and integrate issuing with your system. With one honest limit worth being clear on from the start: we're not the DGI, we're not a PAC, and we're not your accountant.

What we do for your invoicing

The whole technical side so you issue in order and without headaches:

• SFEP registration: we get you enabled as an issuer with the DGI.
• Electronic signature: we guide you to obtain your valid certificate.
• Free or PAC: we choose the mode by your limits and needs.
• Integration: we connect issuing with your point of sale or accounting.
• 2026 migration: we guide your move to a PAC if it applies to you.
• Fiscal equipment: we migrate from the old device and report the change.
• Contingency and retention: a protocol if it fails, and document keeping.

What is electronic invoicing and why is it mandatory?

An electronic invoice is a tax document in digital form with the same legal validity as the old paper invoice, but with a very different process inside. It's regulated by the DGI, the country's tax authority, within the official system called the SFEP, and its logic is this: when you issue a sale, the document is generated in a technical format, signed electronically, sent to the DGI's system to be validated, and only then, once authorised, does it have value and can be handed to the client. It's mandatory because the law established it — under Law 256 of 2021 and its decrees — widening the requirement in stages until it covers the vast majority of taxpayers with economic activity. In practice, if your business has a RUC and sells goods or services, you're already covered. Complying isn't optional, and doing it well protects both your operation and your clients' deductions.

Free invoicer or PAC — which one applies to me?

This is the first big decision, and the answer depends on your numbers. The DGI offers two paths. The free invoicer is a tool from the DGI itself, meant for low-volume taxpayers, which lets you issue with no platform cost from the official portal. The PAC, or Qualified Authorised Provider, is a private company certified by the DGI that offers a fuller solution: its technology integrates with your system, signs and validates each document, assigns the CUFE and transmits it to the DGI in seconds. The choice isn't entirely free: it depends on your income, your monthly invoice volume and whether you need to integrate issuing with your point of sale or accounting. If you bill little and simply, the free one may be enough; if you have volume or want integration, the PAC is the way. We help you place yourself in the right lane, honestly.

What changed in 2026, and who must migrate?

Here's the development many businesses must address urgently. From the first of January 2026, the DGI restricted use of the free invoicer through a new resolution (201-6299). From that date, only those who meet two conditions at the same time can keep using it: billing up to B/.36,000 a year and issuing at most 100 documents a month. Anyone exceeding either of those two limits — income or document count — is required to migrate to a PAC. This pushes thousands of businesses out of the free invoicer; reportedly around eighteen thousand taxpayers crossed the new thresholds, often without realising. The risk is real: staying in the wrong mode means issuing documents that can end up invalid. So we review your billing level, tell you clearly whether you must migrate, and if so, guide you through the transition to a PAC so the change is orderly and on time.

What you need to start invoicing

Before issuing your first electronic invoice, a few foundations are needed, and we sort them out with you. First, having your RUC and tax ID up to date with the DGI, with no debts or pending returns that block the process. Second, a qualified electronic signature: a certificate you obtain through an authorised provider, which is what gives your documents legal validity, the equivalent of your handwritten signature; without it, you can't issue anything valid. Third, registering in the SFEP as an issuer of electronic invoices, through the e-Tax 2.0 portal, and telling the DGI which mode you'll use, free or via PAC. And if you're coming from one of the old fiscal devices, its replacement has to be formally reported and the two systems not run in parallel. These are steps that, done in order, avoid rejections and delays. We guide you through each one so you start right from the very first document.

How we get you issuing electronically

tech@stp:~$ e-invoicing --set-up
ruc-nit .......... valid and up to date with the DGI
signature ........ qualified electronic signature certificate
sfep ............. registered as issuer (e-Tax 2.0 portal)
mode ............. free (limits) or PAC (volume / integration)
integration ...... POS · accounting · ERP -> issue without re-keying
validation ....... DGI authorises -> CUFE -> CAFE with QR
contingency ...... protocol if the system fails
retention ........ keep documents the years the rule requires (min 5)
> Valid invoice with the DGI. We're not the DGI, a PAC, or your accountant.

CUFE and CAFE: what makes an invoice valid

It's worth understanding two acronyms, because they're the heart of the whole system. The CUFE, or Unique Electronic Invoice Code, is a long code the DGI assigns to each document when it authorises it, and it's what legally certifies that invoice as valid. Put simply: without a CUFE, an electronic invoice doesn't exist as far as the DGI is concerned, however you generated it. It's the proof it passed official validation. The CAFE, or Auxiliary Electronic Invoice Voucher, is the readable, printable version of that invoice, the one you hand or show the client, with its QR code in a corner. Anyone can verify an invoice is authentic by scanning that QR or entering the CUFE on the DGI portal. Understanding this matters because it makes clear why the technical process isn't a whim: each step exists so your invoice ends up with that CUFE that makes it real and verifiable.

Can you integrate it with my system or point of sale?

Yes, and it's exactly where electronic invoicing stops being a burden and starts flowing on its own. The advantage of a PAC is that its technology connects with yours: your point of sale, accounting system or sales platform generates the transaction, and the PAC, behind the scenes, signs it, validates it, assigns the CUFE and sends it to the DGI in seconds, with no one re-keying the sale elsewhere. We set up that integration so you issue from where you already work, with no double entry or manual steps that breed errors. If you already use management software, we check it connects with a PAC and the DGI portal, and if not, we help you choose a compatible one. The goal is for complying with electronic invoicing to be almost transparent in your daily operation, rather than a separate chore that steals your team's time. It fits naturally with the rest of your business IT setup.

Migrating from old fiscal equipment, hassle-free

Many businesses still come from the printers or fiscal devices of the previous generation, and the move to electronic invoicing means making that change carefully. It isn't enough to install the new and forget the old: the rule asks that, when replacing a fiscal device, the DGI is formally notified, and that the two systems aren't kept running in parallel, because that creates inconsistencies in your records. We guide that whole transition: we set up the new electronic issuing, coordinate the orderly retirement of the previous device, and make sure the change is properly reported so your history stays clean with the DGI. It's a delicate moment where an administrative slip can cause problems later, so we do it step by step. The idea is for you to move from old to new without a single day of compliant operation lost and with no loose ends to complicate things down the line.

What if my system fails while invoicing?

It's a legitimate worry, above all in a country where the internet and power sometimes fail, and the rule already anticipated it. There's a contingency procedure for when the system can't issue or transmit at the moment. In those cases, you follow the protocols defined by the DGI, which allow you to issue documents provisionally and then transmit them to the system once the service is restored, so you're not left paralysed or in breach by a technical outage. We configure that contingency procedure as part of the set-up, so your business knows exactly what to do if one day there's no internet at the moment of charging. That way a one-off failure stops being a crisis and becomes a planned step. It's the kind of detail you don't notice until you need it, and that's then worth its weight in gold.

Honest: we're not the DGI or your accountant

It's worth being very clear about our role, because knowing it protects you. We're not the DGI or a tax authority: the rules, deadlines and penalties are set by the DGI, and we work within them. We're not a PAC: you choose that certified provider, and there are several authorised; our job is to connect you with the right mode and integrate it with your system. And we're not your accountant or tax adviser: what ITBMS rate to apply, how to file or how to treat a transaction are decisions for your accountant, who knows your tax situation far better than we do. Ours is the technology that makes compliance possible: the registration, the signature, the integration, the migration, the contingency and the support. That frankness about the limits is exactly what makes our help fit well with your accountant's and the PAC's, each in their lane, without stepping on each other.

The penalties for not complying on time

It's worth naming what's at stake, without alarmism but clearly. The DGI applies the obligation rigorously, and not complying has concrete consequences. On one hand, fines that start in the hundreds of balboas and can grow significantly with repeat offences, plus the possibility of temporary closure of the premises. On the other, a quieter cost: an invoice that didn't pass the DGI's validation simply has no fiscal value, which means neither you nor your client can use it to file or to deduct the ITBMS. In other words, not complying doesn't save you a formality, it creates a problem that drags into your returns and your clients'. That's why we insist on getting up to date in time and in an orderly way: complying properly works out much cheaper, in money and in peace of mind, than carrying the risk of a penalty or of invalid transactions. The DGI also runs periodic inspections, so it's not a risk worth leaving open.

Frequently asked questions