EU public consultation on e-invoicing in public procurement

The recently launched Single Market Act II contains, as one of its key actions, an EU initiative on electronic invoicing (e-invoicing). The planned initiative will aim to promote the uptake and enhance the interoperability of e-invoicing in public procurement across the EU. The expected benefits of such an initiative include, among others, lower operating costs, shorter payment delays, and a reduction in waste.

As part of the preparatory works, the European Commission has just launched a public consultation on public procurement e-invoicing in the EU. The consultation seeks to gather information on the existing use of e-invoicing and opinions on the planned launch of an EU initiative in this area. The requested information will be of great assistance to the Commission during the preparation of the initiative and will ensure that it most accurately reflects market needs.

We would therefore be grateful if you could publicise our survey to your members/partners, as well as to any other parties which might have an interest in contributing, for example by placing the relevant link on your website. Where applicable, we would appreciate it if you could also answer the questionnaire directly (i.e. on behalf of your association, company, institution, etc.).

The consultation can be accessed via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2012/einvoicing_en.htm

The consultation is open from the 22 October 2012 until 14 January 2013 inclusive. It consists of approximately 20 multiple-choice questions and should not take more than about 15 minutes to complete.