SAF-T – Part 1 (Intro)

SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is an internationally recognized standard used for electronically exchanging reliable accounting data between organizations and national tax authorities or external auditors. It is applied for exporting various types of accounting transactional data in XML format.

This standard is established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the OECD, the main goal is to enable business and accounting software to generate a SAF-T file that contains accurate transaction data from systems, covering a specific time period, and presented in a standardized layout and format for easy readability. The implementation of SAF-T enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of both internal and external audits conducted by auditors and revenue bodies. The file requirements are defined in XML format (i.e., Syntax).

The standard was initially published in 2005 and has since been adopted by several European countries, including Portugal, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Norway, and Romania, up until 2022.

SAF-T is already mandatory in certain countries. For instance, in Norway, starting from January 1, 2020, companies are required to report their accounting data in SAF-T Financial format for the accounting period beginning on January 1, 2020. Companies utilizing cash registers have been obligated since 2019 to use systems that are pre-approved in compliance with SAF-T Cash Register standards.

Benefits of SAF-T

SAF-T plays a crucial role in standardizing the exchange of information between tax administrations and taxpayers, providing advantages to both entities. Ref to OECD, the use of SAF-T can provide the following benefits to stakeholders:

• It enhances the efficiency and speed of tax audits conducted by tax administrations.
• Decreased compliance costs for businesses, as it eliminates the need for additional resources or specialized personnel to generate data in a readable format.
• The ease of accessing the necessary information reduces administrative costs for tax administrations.
• The establishment of SAF-T as an international standard has the potential to reduce compliance costs.
• Utilizing SAF-T as an archival source enhances the quality and accessibility of archival data for businesses.
• Streamlined access to necessary information leads to reduced administrative costs for tax administrations.

Content of SAF-T

SAF-T xml file contains the following elements on Audit file version (1.10). The revised version (2.0) extended the standard to encompass information on Inventory and Fixed Assets.

• Header
  • AuditFileVersion
  • AuditFileCountry
  • AuditFileDateCreated
  • SoftwareCompanyName
  • SoftwareID
  • SoftwareVersion
  • Company
    • RegistrationNumber
    • Name
    • Address
      • StreetName
      • Number
      • AdditionalAddressDetail
      • City
      • PostalCode
      • Region
      • Country
      • AddressType
    • Contact
      • ContactPerson
        • FirstName
        • Initials
        • LastNamePrefix
        • LastName
        • BirthName
        • Salutation
        • OtherTitles
      • Telephone
      • Fax
      • Email
      • Website
      • MobilePhone
    • TaxRegistration
      • TaxRegistrationNumber
      • TaxAuthority
      • TaxVerificationDate
    • BankAccount
      • IBANNumber
      • BankAccountName
      • BankAccountNumber
      • SortCode
      • BIC
      • CurrencyCode
      • GeneralLedgerAccountID
  • DefaultCurrencyCode
  • SelectionCriteria
    • PeriodStart
    • PeriodStartYear
    • PeriodEnd
    • PeriodEndYear
  • TaxAccountingBasis

• MasterFiles
  • GeneralLedgerAccounts
    • Account
      • AccountID 
      • AccountDescription 
      • StandardAccountID 
      • GroupingCategory 
      • GroupingCode 
      • AccountType 
      • AccountCreationDate 
      • OpeningDebitBalance 
      • OpeningCreditBalance 
      • ClosingDebitBalance 
      • ClosingCreditBalance 
  • Customers
    • Customer
      • RegistrationNumber
      • Name
      • Address
        • StreetName
        • Number
        • AdditionalAddressDetail
        • City
        • PostalCode
        • Region
        • Country
        • AddressType
      • Contact
        • ContactPerson
          • FirstName
          • Initials
          • LastNamePrefix
          • LastName
          • BirthName
          • Salutation
          • OtherTitles
        • Telephone
        • Fax
        • Email
        • Website
        • MobilePhone
      • TaxRegistration
        • TaxRegistrationNumber
        • TaxAuthority
        • TaxVerificationDate
      • BankAccount
        • IBANNumber
        • BankAccountName
        • BankAccountNumber
        • SortCode
        • BIC
        • CurrencyCode
        • GeneralLedgerAccountID
      • CustomerID
      • AccountID
      • OpeningDebitBalance
      • ClosingDebitBalance

• Suppliers
  • Supplier
    • RegistrationNumber
    • Name
    • Address
      • StreetName
      • Number
      • AdditionalAddressDetail
      • City
      • PostalCode
      • Region
      • Country
      • AddressType
    • Contact
      • ContactPerson
        • FirstName
        • Initials
        • LastNamePrefix
        • LastName
        • BirthName
        • Salutation
        • OtherTitles
      • Telephone
      • Fax
      • Email
      • Website
      • MobilePhone
    • TaxRegistration
      • TaxRegistrationNumber
      • TaxAuthority
      • TaxVerificationDate
      •  
    • BankAccount
      • IBANNumber
      • BankAccountName
      • BankAccountNumber
      • SortCode
      • BIC
      • CurrencyCode
      • GeneralLedgerAccountID
    • SupplierID
    • AccountID
    • OpeningDebitBalance
    • ClosingDebitBalance

• TaxTable
  • AnalysisTypeTable

• GeneralLedgerEntries
  • NumberOfEntries
  • TotalDebit
  • TotalCredit
  • Journal
    • JournalID
    • Description
    • Type
    • Transaction
      • TransactionID
      • Period
      • PeriodYear
      • TransactionDate
      • SourceID
      • TransactionType
      • Description
      • BatchID
      • SystemEntrydate
      • GLPostingDate
      • SystemID
      • Line
        • RecordID
        • AccountID 
        • ValueDate
        • SourceDocumentID
        • CustomerID
        • SupplierID
        • Description
        • DebitAmount 
        • CurrencyCode 
        • CurrencyAmount 
        • ExchangeRate 
        • CreditAmount 
        • ReferenceNumber
        • CID 
        • DueDate
        • Quantity 
        • CrossReference
        • SystemEntryTime
        • OwnerID
        • Analysis
          • AnalysisType
          • AnalysisID 
          • Amount 
          • CurrencyCode 
          • CurrencyAmount 
          • ExchangeRate
          • Tax
            • TaxType
            • TaxCode
            • TaxPercentage 
            • TaxBase 
            • TaxBaseDescription
            • Amount 
            • CurrencyCode 
            • CurrencyAmount 
            • ExchangeRate 
            • TaxExemptionReason 
            • TaxDeclarationPeriod                       

In conclusion, SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is a globally recognized standard for the electronic exchange of reliable accounting data. It enables organizations to export various types of accounting transactional data in XML format, facilitating seamless communication with tax authorities and auditors. The implementation of SAF-T offers numerous benefits to stakeholders, including increased efficiency and speed of tax audits, reduced compliance costs for businesses, improved access to necessary information, and enhanced archival data quality. The standard has been adopted by several European countries, and its mandatory use is expanding to ensure accurate and standardized reporting. With its continued development and adoption, SAF-T contributes to streamlining financial processes and facilitating compliance with tax regulations across jurisdictions.

I hope this post has provided useful information on SAF-T. Please feel free to use the ‘Leave a Reply’ feature to share any related questions or feedback.