European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on eInvoicing Publishes Key Reference Documents
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The European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Electronic Invoicing (EMSFEI) has released a series of documents addressing specific aspects concerning implementation of the European standard on eInvoicing.
These EMSFEI documents provide an expert view on what steps should be taken to successfully implement the European standard on eInvoicing and cater for national specific processes or any (additional) legal requirements. The EMSFEI brings together stakeholders from national eInvoicing forums, from both the public sector and industry.
European legislation (Directive 2014/55/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement) called for the creation of the European standard. The Directive states that that all contracting authorities and contracting entities must receive and process electronic invoices which comply with the European standard. 18 April 2019 is the legal deadline for the transposition of the Directive into national law.
Ahead of the legal deadline, these documents aim to facilitate implementation of the Directive and provide clarity on key issues relating to the European standard on eInvoicing. You can download the documents for your own reference or to disseminate with interested parties.
The documents explore the following essential elements of ensuring interoperable eInvoicing in Europe:
- Checklist for the transposition and general implementation of the eInvoicing Directive: An essential and handy checklist for for decision-makers who have responsibility for eInvoicing in all public sector organisations throughout Europe, supporting public administrations in both the transposition of the eInvoicing Directive into national law and the implementation of a European standard on eInvoicing.
- Recommendation on the use of ‘Core Invoice Usage Specifications’ (CIUS): While Directive 2014/55EU enables interoperable eInvoicing, the legislation also takes into consideration that buyers who must support specific processes or legal requirements may need to restrict the core data model or they may need to extend the core. The European standard provides for this by defining Core Invoice Usage Specification (CIUS) and Extensions. The CIUS and extensions can however inhibit interoperability and the rationale of the Directive. The EMSFEI recommendations here are therefore extremely useful for eInvoicing stakeholders who are considering making use of a CIUS.
- Discussion paper on the growth of additional requirements and the fragmentation of provisions relating to eInvoicing at Member State level: A growing number of Member States are introducing additional requirements for eInvoicing based on local definitions and provisions. Such requirements are usually motivated to improve tax revenue generation for government. The Commission welcomes and supports Member State governments improve revenue generation, eliminate tax fraud or under-declaration and improve audit and control procedures. However, these additional requirements are presently not at all harmonised across the EU and may unintentionally impact the ability of taxable persons and their service providers to generate, deliver and report e-invoices by electronic means. This Discussion paper outlines recommendations to both the European Commission and Member States to ensure that requirements are developed and defined in a way that does not create obstacles to the players in the Single Market.
The EMSFEI produces such documents on a six-month basis, with three more documents foreseen before the end of the year.
The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) currently offers grant funding of up to € 5 million to support the adoption of compliant eInvoicing solutions by both public and private entities. The deadline for applications is 18 September 2018.
The CEF eInvoicing building block serves to support public administrations in complying with the aforementioned eInvoicing Directive, and helps solution providers adapt their services accordingly. Via the CEF eInvoicing User Community, you can also post comments and questions on the content of these documents and chat directly with CEF eInvoicing experts.