European Commission calls for feedback on adoption and areas for improvement of standard electronic invoice format as VAT in the Digital Age reforms approach
The European Commission is holding a consultation of the eInvoicing Directive 2014/55/EU which provides for a common European standard on eInvoicing (EN16931) in terms of the content of the invoice (‘semantics’) and the format or language used (‘syntax’). This review, and report to the European Parliament is required by the Directive.
The consultation is being held between 17 March and 14 April 2023.
The Directive requires all public administrations in Europe to receive and process electronic invoices issued under contracts to which the EU public procurement directives apply. Under the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposed reforms, and the Digital Reporting Requirements pillar, the structured e-invoicing standard will be extend to intra-community supplies of goods and services.
This creates an opportunity to promote digital integration between businesses within the digital single market and to build up the EU’s current position internationally as a leading player in eInvoicing standardisation.
Questions to be evaluated in the e-invoicing review:
- Has the Directive been successful at facilitating the use of eInvoicing by economic operators when supplying goods, works and services to public administrations (business to government (B2G) eInvoicing).
- Has imposing B2G invoicing helped promote the use of e-invoicing in the B2B environment, including the efficiency (e.g. costs and benefits) for eInvoicing users, especially small and medium-sized firms.
- What are the future requirements for e-invoicing, including technical solutions, transmission level, the potential need for new standards and the scope of covered transactions.
- How the Directive will work with ViDA
EU VAT reforms
