What does EU Directive 2014/55/EU require?
Effective: 2014-04-16 · Authority: European Parliament and Council of the EU
EU Directive 2014/55/EU mandates that all EU contracting authorities and entities accept electronic invoices conforming to the EN 16931 European standard. It applies to public procurement and required member states to implement e-invoice reception for central government by April 2019 and sub-central authorities by April 2020.
What procurement is in scope of Directive 2014/55/EU?
The directive covers all public procurement subject to EU procurement directives 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU. This includes contracts awarded by central government authorities, sub-central authorities, and utilities. Private sector B2B transactions are outside scope.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Directive 2014/55/EU apply to private sector invoices?
- No. The directive applies only to public procurement. Private sector B2B e-invoicing is governed by national mandates such as the French DGFiP mandate and the German Wachstumschancengesetz, not by this directive.
- What standard must e-invoices conform to under Directive 2014/55/EU?
- E-invoices must conform to EN 16931, the European semantic standard for electronic invoices. The two accepted syntax bindings are UBL 2.1 and UN/CEFACT CII. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is the most widely used CIUS of EN 16931.
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