The Commission has published today the Communication 'Reaping the benefits of electronic invoicing for Europe'

The Commission has published today the Communication 'Reaping the benefits of electronic invoicing for Europe'. The Commission wants to see e-invoicing become the predominant method of invoicing by 2020 in Europe since the mass adoption of e-invoicing within the EU would lead to significant economic benefits for the enterprises and the financial industry. Furthermore, due to the close link between invoicing and payment processes, the creation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) offers a launch pad for interoperable European e-invoicing schemes.

The document identifies some key priorities to remove barriers preventing the mass adoption of e-invoicing in Europe, as follows:

to ensure legal certainty and a clear technical environment for e-invoices to facilitate mass adoption
to encourage and promote the development of open and interoperable e-invoicing solutions based on a common standard, paying particular attention to the needs of SMEs
to support the uptake of e-invoicing by setting up organisational structures

Furthermore, the Communication proposes a set of concrete actions in line with the above priorities. To help the monitoring and implementation of these actions, the Commission invites Member States to establish national multi-stakeholder fora on e-invoicing by June 2011. The Commission will complement this at EU level by setting up a EU stakeholder forum on e-invoicing.

For more information:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/einvoicing/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/e-invoicing/index_en.htm

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