Brussels, 02/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission wants to see e-invoicing become the predominant method of invoicing in Europe by 2020. In its communication “Reaping the benefits of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) for Europe”, presented by Vice-President Tajani and Commissioner Barnier ton Thursday 2 December, the European Commission identifies a set of tangible measures to make the uptake of e-invoices in Europe easier.
In a press release, the Commission says that providing invoice data electronically and in a format could allow businesses to benefit from shorter payment delays, fewer errors, reduced printing and postage costs. Most importantly, it says, structured e-invoices facilitate business process integration from purchase to payment, meaning that invoices could be sent, received and processed without manual intervention.
Currently, exchanging e-invoices is often complex and costly, in particular across borders and for SMEs, as the rules governing them are not uniform across Europe. The communication by the Commission addresses these obstacles and is complemented by a Commission decision to set-up a European multi-stakeholder forum on e-invoicing.
Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said: “E-invoicing has the potential to make a big difference, for businesses, consumers, and European trade as a whole. The benefits in terms of saving time and money are fully in line with our EUROPE 2020 strategy and with the Digital Agenda for Europe in particular”. Complementing these comments, Industry and Entrepreneurship Commissioner Antonio Tajani added: “Revolutionising the way we pay bills, e-invoicing will boost the overall competitiveness of European Companies, especially SMEs”. He expressed his satisfaction at this further step towards improving the competitiveness of European businesses. (Com-Gp/transl.rt)