Anti-Fraud Law 2026: Compliance with Digital Certificates

From 2026 onwards, Law 11/2021 in Spain will require self-employed workers and companies to use invoicing software that guarantees the integrity, traceability and non-alteration of accounting records. With the imminent entry into force of the Anti-Fraud Law 2026, the urgency to adapt is palpable: Last year, the consulting firm Grupo Aitana – Opentix pointed out that more than 80% of workers were not prepared for the implementation of this regulation. In this context, digital certificates are not only a useful tool, but also a fundamental part of ensuring proper compliance with the regulations.

To help you address this challenge, in this article we have summarised the key points of the regulations (what they are, main aspects and penalties) and show you why the implementation of policies for the use of digital certificates is essential.

Read on to stay up to date!

What is the Anti-Fraud Law?

As we explored in our article “Anti-Fraud Law: what does it regulate and who does it affect?”, the Anti-Fraud Law or Law 11/2021 is a Spanish regulation whose objective is to combat tax fraud and ensure transparency in economic transactions by regulating invoicing systems. It is presented as a complement to the Create and Grow Law, seeking to ensure the traceability of transactions and that they are reliably recorded, without concealing or manipulating accounting information.

Key points of the Anti-Fraud Law

What exactly are the new points introduced by Law 11/2021? We summarise them in the following points:

• Greater monitoring of business transactions and operations. Previously, cash payments of up to €2,500 were allowed; however, the new regulations limit the amount to €1,000.
• Greater powers for the tax authorities to carry out investigations. Law 11/2021 extends the powers of tax inspectors to search for evidence of fraud.
• Reduced surcharges for paying taxes after the deadline. For each month of delay, the penalties are 1%, with a maximum of 12 months. In addition, the amount required to appear on the tax authority’s list of debtors is also reduced: €600,000.
• Verifactu system. Every time an invoice is issued, companies must register it. This prevents the manipulation of invoicing software.

Consequences of not complying with the Anti-Fraud Law 2026

Compliance with the Anti-Fraud Law will be mandatory for all companies and self-employed persons who issue invoices and are based in Spain, as well as for manufacturers, producers and marketers of invoicing, accounting or management software.

Although compliance is gradual, with staggered effective dates for different entities starting in January and July 2026, companies and self-employed individuals could face serious consequences if they fail to comply. Specifically, they could receive penalties of up to €50,000.

And that’s not all, as they will not be the only ones affected; software manufacturers who market software that is not approved by the administration could also face this type of penalty.

Role of digital certificates in Law 11/2021

In a context where it will soon be mandatory to submit transparent and secure electronic invoices, digital certificates are emerging as the ideal tool to make this obligation a viable technical practice. In fact, under the Anti-Fraud Law, the use of digital certificates is mandatory in order to comply with the regulations, although their use will be adapted to you depending on your circumstances:

• If you work in No Verifactu mode, billing records are not sent to the Tax Agency (AEAT) in real time, but are stored in the company’s system. In this case, the digital certificate will be used to electronically sign each billing record stored in the software.
• In Verifactu mode, invoice records are sent directly to the Tax Agency, so you will use it to authenticate yourself to the Tax Agency’s servers.

Therefore, the use of digital certificates is essential in this regulatory framework.

Digital certificate usage policies in the Anti-Fraud Law

Fortress, our digital certificate manager, provides the necessary layer of management and control so that companies not only comply with the law, but do so efficiently and with complete peace of mind. We establish policies that align with the Anti-Fraud Law, such as:

• Centralised certificate management: prevents expirations or misuse that could compromise the legal validity of invoices.
• Access control and auditing: ensures that only authorised users can use certificates, reinforcing the traceability required by regulations. It also allows you to establish usage policies, limiting the use of our own certificates or those of third parties, whether they are applications, websites or time slots.
• Digital signature automation: ensures that every document issued meets authenticity and integrity requirements.

However, we know that there is nothing better than a visual guide to help you understand the details we have mentioned at a glance. For this reason, we have created a video tutorial to help you determine the usage policies for your certificates with Fortress, which you can find on the Viafirma YouTube channel.

Compliance with the Anti-Fraud Law will be mandatory from 2026 onwards. For this reason, relying on agile tools is an efficient decision if you want to optimise the time you spend on your business invoices. Fortress allows you to maintain the integrity and security of every transaction in your business, without complications. Using tools such as Verifactu and Viafirma not only ensures compliance with the law, but also improves operational efficiency and reduces risks associated with errors or fraud.