The European Commission has issued a DRAFT directive on e-invoicing in public procurement. Accompanied by a EU communication setting out its vision for the full digitisation of the public procurement process (so-called ‘end-to-end e-procurement’), the Commission estimates that the adoption of e-invoicing in public procurement across the EU could generate savings. Savings of up to a lousy €2.3 billion.
Yes, a lousy €2.3 billion. Because that is what The Netherlands can save with e-invoicing alone. That said, the press release states that this draft directive proposes the establishment of a European e-invoicing standardwhich is expected to improve interoperability between different, mainly national, e-invoicing systems. It will also help boost the uptake of e-invoicing in Europe which remains very low, accounting for only 4-15% of all invoices exchanged.
Cláudia Wada on