In recent months we have been inundated with terms and abbreviations such as PEPPOL, OpenPEPPOL, Mercurius, TIA, B2G e-invoicing and other Access Points (APs).
I would like to give a clarification, because if your company still requires payment for your services or products supplied to the Flemish government from 1 January 2017, you must definitely read on.
PEPPOL
PEPPOL stands for Pan European Public Procurement Online and is a project that was started in 2008 by European Commissioner Nelly Kroes. The original goal was to simplify electronic purchases from abroad by governments by developing technology standards that can be implemented across Europe by all governments.
It has now become an international network, including a framework agreement, a standard format and applications to facilitate e-procurement and e-invoicing in B2B and B2G (Business to Government) environments. E-invoicing in PEPPOL uses the four cornerstones model, in which the 'Access Points' (APs) take on the role of service provider. Senders and receivers will exchange e-invoices through these APs according to an agreed framework for transmission (TIA - Transport Infrastructure Agreement) and a standardised document format (XML that conforms to UBL-CENBII default).
OpenPEPPOL
The association OpenPEPPOL has been established since 1 September 2012, which must ensure that the PEPPOL project (which ended in 2012) remains sustainable and will be developed further. All PEPPOL's developed components and responsibilities have been taken over by this non-profit organisation. OpenPeppol's mission is to promote the PEPPOL model in the international e-procurement environment.
The Belgian government has also clearly opted for this PEPPOL model . From 1 January 2017 the Flemish government anticipates receiving PEPPOL e-invoices from all its suppliers. From 1 January 2017 there will be one platform where suppliers can submit their invoices, regardless of the administrative level. This platform is called Mercurius and is managed by FEDICT (Information and Communication Technology Federal Public Service).
If you, as a supplier of goods or services to the Flemish government, want to send an invoice, it will be mandatory to do so through Mercurius from 1 January 2017 (the deadline will be November 2018 for the other authorities).
This can be done in two ways:
- Electronic transmission through the PEPPOL model (see figure) : The invoice will be supplied to an Access Point as an xml file, from where it will be forwarded to Mercurius, the Access Point to the government. A central application will register the appropriate 'Access Point' for a company or authority. The exchange between these APs is free of charge.
- Manually through the Mercurius portal : The invoice is entered manually on this portal.
The companies that use Adfinity may sit back: Adfinity will be ready for the electronic transmission to Mercurius.
More info?
https://overheid.vlaanderen.be/e-invoicing
http://www.peppol.eu/
