Glossary

Pro forma invoice (proformas rēķins)

In Latvian: Proformas rēķins

Invoices Updated

A pro forma invoice (proformas rēķins) is a preliminary document with the prices and terms of a planned sale, issued before delivery so that the buyer can approve or pay it. It is not a tax invoice and does not show that a transaction has taken place.

The word "pro forma" does not appear in the VAT Law, the Accounting Law or Cabinet Regulation No. 877. The closest official concept is the advance or prepayment invoice, which paragraph 34.1 of that regulation calls an informative document for payment.

If money arrives after a pro forma invoice, it is an advance payment: a VAT payer must issue a tax invoice for it within 15 days and report the VAT in the return for the period in which the money was received.

Cabinet Regulation No. 877 allows documents to be numbered by type, so pro forma invoices can run in their own series that never mixes with tax invoice numbers.

Example

Before a seminar SIA "Ozols" sends a client a pro forma invoice for EUR 600 plus EUR 126 VAT so the client can approve it in its budget. The client pays EUR 726 on 5 May, and SIA "Ozols" issues a tax invoice for the advance by 20 May.

Legal basis

This explanation is for information and does not replace tax or legal advice. The law in its current consolidated text prevails.