التعريف
SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is an OECD-defined XML schema for exchanging accounting data between taxpayers and tax authorities. Different countries implement it under different names and with national extensions.
Key national variants: — Portugal SAF-T (PT) — mandatory monthly reporting since 2013; covers invoices, accounting records, stock movements, and is filed online at Portal das Finanças. — Poland JPK (Jednolity Plik Kontrolny) — a SAF-T-inspired regime; JPK_V7 replaced separate VAT returns since 2020 and combines VAT return and VAT ledger in one file. — Luxembourg FAIA — mandatory on request during audits. — Norway, France, Lithuania, Romania — have adopted or are adopting SAF-T-like regimes. — Austria — SAF-T-AT available since 2009.
What it contains: general ledger accounts, customer and supplier masters, invoices with line items, stock movements, and tax codes — effectively the data needed to audit a company's books remotely. Authorities can cross-reference the SAF-T file with declared VAT returns to detect inconsistencies.
For businesses, compliance means their accounting or invoicing software must be able to export a clean, schema-valid SAF-T file — a common reason to switch to certified accounting software.