Summary: How eInvoicing is Connecting Europe: Building a Digital Single Market
European Commission, 2018
On 29 May 2018, the European Commission held the event 'How eInvoicing is Connecting Europe: Building a Digital Single Market'.
The event focused on the practical implementation of B2G eInvoicing in Europe in the context of Directive 2014/55/EU (on electronic invoicing in public procurement), which stipulated the definition of a common European standard on eInvoicing at semantic level (the core information contained in the eInvoice) as well as a list of syntaxes (the format or language used for transmission of the eInvoice).
As a result of this Directive, the new European standard on eInvoicing was published in October 2017. All national or central public administrations and entities must comply with the Directive by 18 April 2019, by being able to receive invoices electronically that conform with the standard. This deadline is extendable by one year for sub-national and sub-centralised public entities. The objective of the European standard on eInvoicing is to prevent the proliferation of different eInvoice formats and increase cross-border interoperability. The EU's wider objective is to contribute to innovation and modernisation of business processes by facilitating end-to-end digital public procurement in the context of the Digital Single Market.
The European Commission's Marzena Rogalska and Nikita Stampa provided a comprehensive introduction to the planned next steps in the implementation of the European standard on eInvoicing, highlighting what was achieved so far in the process. They further emphasised the benefits of eInvoicing in diverse segments of the economy and for different stakeholders, along with the policy challenges that lay ahead.
The event presented the output of the work undertaken by the European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on eInvoicing (EMSFEI) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) in laying the groundwork to prepare and implement the European standard. The outputs of the three main EMSFEI working groups are available through the following links: Sub-group 1 (Implementation guidance), Sub-group 2 (CIUS use), Sub-group 3 (Additional requirements).
In addition, the event showcased the services of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) eInvoicing Building Block, available to public and private entities to support their activities to comply with the standard and participants were able to learn about the CEF grant funding opportunities of up to €5 million, in support of the adoption of compliant eInvoicing solutions by both public and private entities. This CEF funding covers up to 75% of the costs of implementation. The deadline for applications is 18 September 2018.
During panel discussions, representatives from the private and public sectors presented their countries’ experiences with the implementation of the eInvoicing Directive, providing the audience with tested methods on how to apply the European standard, and eventually, on how to go 'beyond' the scope of the Directive. Another panel discussion focused on the benefits of the CEF eInvoicing implementation workshops and how they contribute to the implementation of the Directive in a national context.
Participants and members of the eInvoicing community are invited to maintain the discussion online, so please check for any updates on the eInvoicing User Community and look out for potential webinars or other activities contributing to the implementation of the Directive.
A full recording of the event is available here and all presentations are on the event page for your information and re-use.