Sweden (2020 eInvoicing Country Sheet)

Legislation

In Sweden, the following laws mandate the use of eInvoicing for public entities:

1. Ordinance for accounting (Förordning (2000:606) om myndigheters bokföring §21f);
2. Ordinance for electronic information exchange (Förordning (2003:770) om statliga myndigheters elektroniska informationsutbyte § 3). The law has been amended multiple times, with the latest amendment in 2018. It also includes the mandated use of eProcurement in the ordering processes.
3. The Act regarding eInvoicing in public procurement (SFS 2018:1277). The law implemented the EU eInvoicing Directive into national law. More information regarding the Act is provided below. 

The Act regarding eInvoicing in public procurement:

• Entered into force 1 April 2019; 
• It covers the entire public procurement process, above and below EU threshold and also includes direct procurement; 
• The law makes it mandatory for public sector suppliers to send eInvoices for any contracts signed after 1 April 2019; 
• Public sector must be able to receive and process eInvoices according to the European standard, EN 16931. However, there are some exceptions including national security, specific privacy situations, etc.;
• DIGG, the Agency for Digital Government, can impose fines to suppliers not complying with the law;
• The law permits the use of other/older formats, which might be set out in bilateral agreements;
• DIGG has issued accompanying regulation, which mandates all public entities to be registered in PEPPOL.

eInvoicing platform and eInvoicing management solutions

Sweden encourages the use of PEPPOL for electronic procurement, enabling connected public entities and economic operators to communicate with each other. Legacy eProcurement solutions based on EDIFACT (GS1 EANCOM) are still supported by the central, regional and local governments.

Approach for receiving and processing eInvoices

Solution providers, on behalf of public sector organisations, operate the access point to receive eInvoices from economic operators. For the central government, the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency manages framework agreements for the provision of a common infrastructure for central government organisations. Currently, Visma and CGI are the solution providers operating these framework agreements. These framework agreements can be used by all central government agencies and also approximately 120 local and regional authorities, which have expressed their consent to use them.

Several platforms are in use by local and regional governments. Sweden follows the four corner model whereby economic operators and central authorities connect to solution providers responsible for the transmission, reception and processing of eInvoices. In Sweden, the solutions used are based on the recommendations by Single Face To Industry (SFTI) regarding standards for both messages and other infrastructure. SFTI recommends PEPPOL for the Swedish public sector and its suppliers.

eInvoicing implementation in sub-central level contracting authorities 

The eInvoicing model used at sub-central level is also based on PEPPOL. More than 95% of public entities are registered in PEPPOL, which enables additionally the reception of eInvoices from non-domestic suppliers. 

From 1 April 2019, all central and sub-central public procurement contracting authorities and suppliers (above and below EU threshold and including direct procurement) have to comply with the EN 16931 using the (CIUS) PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0. Implementation of eInvoicing at sub-central level is close to be fully completed as there is old legacy formats (Svefaktura version 1 and SFTI Fulltextfaktura) still in use.

SFTI, a joint initiative in the Swedish public sector to promote and facilitate eProcurement, was responsible for the communication regarding the use of PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 both within central and sub-central entities.

The main identified benefits of implementing eInvoicing at sub-central level are cost and operational savings, the reduction of administrative burden, optimisation of time-to-payment and contribution to process automation. 

Status on the implementation of the European Standard on eInvoicing (EN)

In Sweden, the EN is implemented through the use of PEPPOL and efforts are being made to increase the use of its compliant CIUS, the PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0. Sweden plays an active role in OpenPEPPOL where support for the implementation of the EN is considered. The PEPPOL specification is used as-is without any national blends.

Monitoring eInvoicing implementation 

The Swedish government does not have a systemic approach towards eInvoicing monitoring but has several systems and tools in place to monitor the uptake and implementation of eInvoicing.

Additional information

An important player involved in eInvoicing in Sweden is the Single Face To Industry (SFTI). SFTI is led by the Swedish Association for Local Authorities & Regions (SKL), DIGG and the National Procurement Agency. The SFTI is composed of public administrations, economic operators and IT providers. Its aim is to recommend standards for eProcurement in the public sector and to support its use. It offers a service desk free of charge, publishes guidance on its website and organises a wide range of courses and seminars related to eProcurement. It is active in international standardisation in CEN, OASIS and similar organisations.

DIGG is commissioned by the government to facilitate the use of eProcurement (post award) in Swedish central government agencies. DIGG is a sponsor of the work in SFTI. It also has the role of a PEPPOL Authority. In this regard,  it is responsible for the registration of companies that wish to become an Access Point (AP) or a Service Metadata Publisher (SMP).

VERIFIED BY EMSFEI MEMBER

Last updated:  Feb 03, 2021 15:47