Operators get into luggage storage to run a luggage-storage business, not a tax-compliance business. But the moment a tourist drops their first bag and pays €5, three EU member states care quite a lot about how that transaction is invoiced. Here's the practical version, grouped by country.
Disclaimer. This is operator-friendly summary, not legal advice. Tax rules change; consult a local accountant before launching. The platform supports all the configurations described below; if your country has a wrinkle that isn't covered, let us know.
Spain (IVA)
The standard VAT rate is 21%. Luggage storage falls under that standard rate — there's no reduced rate for the activity itself, even when the customer is a foreign tourist. Some operators expect a reduced "tourism" rate; there isn't one for storage.
What an invoice has to contain to be valid for the AEAT (Spanish tax authority):
- Sequential numbering, no gaps. The numbering must be contiguous within the year.
- Issuer's full legal name, NIF/CIF, and registered address
- Customer's name (and NIF if they're a B2B buyer)
- Date of issue, date of service, and a line itemisation
- Net amount, IVA rate, IVA amount, and gross
- Mention of "factura simplificada" if under €400 and B2C — different content rules apply
Spain also runs SII (Suministro Inmediato de Información) — for VAT-registered companies above certain thresholds, every issued and received invoice must be reported to the AEAT within 4 calendar days via API. LockMe's Spanish operators use the integration with Holded or Sage for this; we don't push directly to SII ourselves.
B2C cash-only retention: the AEAT requires retaining VAT records for 6 years and invoice records for at least 4 years. The platform's invoice export covers both.
France (TVA)
Standard rate is 20%. As in Spain, no reduced rate for luggage storage.
What changes vs. Spain:
- France allows electronic invoicing for B2B under the e-invoicing reform that came into effect in 2024. Currently, mandatory e-invoicing applies to B2B exchanges between French entities; B2C remains paper or PDF email.
- The mandatory invoice fields are roughly the same, plus the customer's identifiant TVA intracommunautaire if they're an EU B2B buyer in another member state.
- "Facture simplifiée" (simplified invoice) is allowed below €150 for B2C transactions, with a reduced field set.
Reverse-charge doesn't normally apply to luggage storage between French entities — you charge French TVA. It does apply if the buyer is established in another EU member state and provides a valid VAT number.
Italy (IVA)
Standard rate is 22% — the highest of the three. No reduced rate for luggage storage.
Italy is the strictest of the three on real-time reporting:
- Fatturazione elettronica is mandatory for almost all transactions, B2B and B2C. Every invoice must pass through the SDI (Sistema di Interscambio) — the Italian tax authority's central exchange — in XML format.
- The customer either provides a SDI code (B2B) or their codice fiscale (B2C). If neither, the invoice is sent with a generic XXXXXXX code and emailed in PDF as a courtesy.
- B2C transactions under €77.47 may use a "ricevuta fiscale" instead — a simplified receipt — but most luggage-storage transactions are above this threshold.
LockMe's Italian operators run the e-invoicing through Aruba Fatturazione or Fatture in Cloud, both of which integrate cleanly via our partner stack.
What the platform handles automatically
For all three countries:
- Sequential, gap-free invoice numbering at the operator account level. We don't share numbering across operators.
- Correct VAT rate per country based on the operator's registered country and the customer's location at point of sale (which, for in-person locker storage, is always the operator's country).
- B2B vs. B2C detection — the customer can enter VAT details before checkout to receive a proper company invoice; otherwise a B2C simplified invoice is issued.
- Multi-language invoice templates so the customer reads their copy in their language, while the legal version (the one the tax authority sees) follows the operator's country's rules.
- CSV export for the accountant, on the cadence the operator chooses (daily, weekly, monthly).
What the platform doesn't do (yet, or by design)
- We don't push directly to SII (Spain) or SDI (Italy). That's the accountant's domain — usually via Holded, Sage, Aruba or Fatture in Cloud, all of which integrate with us.
- We don't handle tax registration in any country. Operators register their entity locally; we just produce the invoices.
- We don't replace your accountant. We replace the spreadsheet that you'd otherwise be filling in manually.
The five-minute checklist
If you're about to open a luggage-storage business, here's the order of operations on the tax side:
- Register your legal entity in the country where the store is located.
- Get your VAT number issued (a few weeks in Spain, faster in France, similar to Spain in Italy).
- Pick an accounting tool that integrates with LockMe — Holded, Sage, Aruba, Fatture in Cloud all work.
- Tell us your VAT number and country in the LockMe operator settings.
- Test one bookings end-to-end before opening — make a €5 self-purchase, check the invoice content matches the country's rules, then refund yourself.
The single biggest mistake we see operators make: launching with a placeholder VAT number "to fix later". The first 30 days of invoices are then issued under a wrong identifier and need to be re-issued with credit notes. Fix this before day one.
LockMe operators in Spain, France or Italy can configure all the above in the operator dashboard. If your country has a quirk that isn't on this page, tell us and we'll cover it.