Electronic invoicing, definition, schedule and objectives of this regulation
What is an electronic invoice?
An electronic invoice is an invoice transmitted or received in a dematerialized and structured form with mandatory data; paper or PDF formats do not meet this definition anymore. There are three EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) file formats: UBL, Invoice X and CII (or C2I).
When and for whom?
Since January1, 2021, companies must send their invoices to the public sector electronically via the Chorus Pro portal.
In addition, the September 15, 2021 order sets a general rollout schedule for electronic billing as follows:
As of July1, 2024, in reception for all taxable persons*,
As of July 1, 2024, in transmission for large companies,
As of January 1, 2025, in transmission for medium-sized companies (ETI),
As of January1, 2026 for all other companies.
How do you do it?
Electronic invoices will be sent via platforms that senders and recipients will use. A free platform, the public invoicing portal (PPF) (for small structures with low volumes) or partner dematerialization platforms (PDP) accredited by the tax authorities, paying but with more services and for larger volumes. These platforms will be the intermediaries between customers and suppliers; they will inform the tax authorities in real time. They will be able to convert the invoices issued in the format accepted by the customer while guaranteeing their authenticity and integrity.
Why?
The objectives of this change are primarily fiscal but not only:
- Fight against VAT fraud,
- Simplify, in the long term, the VAT declaration obligations thanks to pre-filling,
- Improve knowledge of business activity in real time,
- But also to improve the competitiveness of the companies by reducing the costs of treatment of the invoices but also by decreasing the times of payment.
How will electronic invoicing make third-party data more reliable?
In order to be ready, companies will have to take stock of the situation in order to modify their third-party repository, to adapt their invoice processing and to choose a dematerialization platform according to their business needs.
Companies eligible for e-invoicing must start now to identify active third parties used by the invoicing systems, clean, deduplicate and enrich this database.
Clean up so as not to unnecessarily enrich inactive third parties, deduplicate to be more qualitative (and avoid wasting time), and finally enrich and make the data more reliable because new information will have to be added to the invoice:
- SIREN number, possibly the intra-community VAT number,
- Delivery address when it is different from the customer's address,
- Information that the transactions consist exclusively of the supply of goods, services or both,
- The payment of VAT according to the debits, when the provider has opted for it.
Through this new regulation and whether for their current repository or for any new transaction, companies will have to systematically qualify and make their customer and supplier information reliable to meet the needs of electronic invoicing.
Reliable data will allow invoices to be submitted to platforms in a timely manner, reducing costs and processing times; let's not forget that the main aspect of this system is above all fiscal. Reliable data will be essential for VAT reporting obligations, for future pre-filling and of course for the correct collection and deduction of VAT.
How will e-invoicing help improve late payments?
Electronic invoicing can improve payment times by integrating two new features: better qualification of third parties and management of invoice status from dematerialization platforms.
A good qualification of the third parties and enriched information will send the invoice to the right place, to the right person and with the right information, avoiding wasting precious time to deposit the invoices.
The faster an invoice is received the faster it is paid.
A good management of the status of the invoices issued from the platforms should reduce the payment delays. Craftsmen, company managers, accountants or credit managers will be able to report information related to the invoicing process and interfere as soon as possible on negative statuses such as disputes or rejections.
In addition, an invoice with an acceptance or validation status will allow for timely payment with a simple reminder to ensure the payment date.
The faster an invoice is processed and accepted, the faster it is paid.
