The European Commission launched a public consultation in order to gather views and information on the use of electronic invoicing in public procurement, i.e. in the B2G sector, and on the perceived need of action at EU level. Public authorities, citizens, enterprises, and organisations are welcome to contribute to this consultation before 14 January 2013.

Public authorities, citizens, enterprises, and organisations are welcome to contribute to the public consultation launched by the European Commission on e-invoicing in public procurement. The Commission seeks in particular contributions from public authorities and enterprises directly involved in e-invoicing in public procurement. The objective of this consultation is to gather views and information on the use of electronic invoicing in public procurement, i.e. in the B2G sector, and on the perceived need of action at EU level.

The Commission also seeks input as to the most appropriate solutions to promote the uptake of B2G e-invoicing and to enhance interoperability between the various national and proprietary systems. It is considering ways to overcome the barriers created by the lack of interoperability between the national e-invoicing systems in the field of public procurement and to stimulate the take-up of e-invoicing in the EU. The consultation will be open until the 14 January 2013.

Among the points taken into consideration in the consultation, in view of the decision of several Member States to make e-invoicing mandatory for their public procurement, the extension of this requirement to all public procurement in the EU is one of the options under consideration. Since public authorities are the largest purchasers in the EU, they could act as a driving force for the broader take-up of e-invoicing in Europe – in the B2G sector initially, but, through spill-over effects, potentially also in the B2B sector.