Digital transparency in procurements

Electronic invoices will be required for all state procurements, totaling €11 billion every year, according to a new plan drafted by the ministries of Digital Governance and Finance. 

This will make it easier for the state to centrally oversee public expenditure and compare prices for identical products and services obtained from the private sector, thus preventing the waste of public money and strange transactions.

At the same time, the State General Accounting Office will also know who owes money and to whom. 

It will know exactly the obligations of each entity and will be able to intervene to prevent the creation of overdue obligations, which are a major headache for the State Treasury.

The approximately 72,000 state suppliers who will be relieved of the “paperwork” will also benefit financially. The plan has already yielded positive results, with over 2,800 entities (contracting authorities) registering in the e-invoicing system.

The system will gradually become mandatory.

In September mandatory e-invoices will be issued by the first group of companies, followed by a second group in January 2024, and a third and final one in June 2024.

The new transaction process essentially enables the electronic exchange of documents between two or more transacting parties without the need to print, send and store them in paper form. These documents are not only invoices, but also include relevant accompanying documents.

Moreover, electronic invoicing enables, in addition to the exchange of documents, the automation of all the processes relating to them, such as archiving and retrieval.

The EU has stressed the significance of e-invoicing for transaction facilitation and protection, as well as the need for its acceptance and implementation.

In particular, the European Parliament (through Directive 2014/55/EU) mandated in 2014 that all public services in European Union countries must be able to receive and issue e-invoices.

For example, all Swedish public sector purchases will be billed via e-invoice beginning in 2019, in accordance with a European standard, while Belgium will implement mandatory e-invoicing for business-to-business transactions beginning in mid-2023, as well as steps to broaden the scope for business-to-business and public sector transactions.