Belgium has mandated the implementation of peppol services among network members for electronic procurement such as e-invoicing, order, shipment, and so on. The peppol network has required that local and foreign organizations use peppol services to streamline electronic procurements such as e-invoicing, order, shipment, and so on.
Peppol’s interoperability model (the Peppol eDelivery Network) serves as a basis for this attempt since it provides the necessary, consensus-based set of rules for cross-platform collaborative activities and the resulting open and standards-based ecosystem.
Consider the Mercurius system of the Belgian government, which serves as a “mailroom” for the sharing of eProcurement (electronic procurement) data. This demonstrates the government’s commitment to technology. Because of the deployment of this solution, which follows to the Peppol paradigm and is part of the resulting open ecosystem, any Belgian contractual authority may now accept electronic invoices.
It has been demonstrated that the usage of Peppol substantially aids Belgian public sector businesses in meeting the criteria of Directive 2014/55.
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 may now be purchased and downloaded from the company’s website (to public sector)
National legislation is currently being written in response to European Directives.
On December 17, 2012, the EU Directive 2010/45/EU on VAT was enacted into federal law and translated by federal legislation, changing VAT laws, bringing electronic invoicing on par with paper invoicing, and allowing its implementation on January 1, 2013. As a result of the implementation of this rule, the use of electronic invoices is now connected to receivers’ readiness to deal with them. This rule neither requires nor encourages the use of electronic invoicing in business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
According to the European Commission’s European electronic billing standard (EEIS), European public sector administrations must accept and process electronic bills that are compliant with EU Directive 2014/55/EU, which became effective on April 7, 2019, in order to be in compliance with the standard. (EN).
The Belgium government decision
The government of Flanders took the decision to adopt e-invoices in line with the peppol Belgium set of standards back in 2016. It is not only government agencies that will be compliant with the specified set of requirements, but also commercial firms that will do so in order to enhance the outcomes of e-procurement both locally and globally.
When the need for peppol access point providers began to rise in importance, it took a long time before the situation became more serious. Belgium was one of the first countries in the world to use electronic invoicing procedures, beginning in 2012. However, in recent years, the initiation has grown more tangible. The parties concerned may now make use of e-invoicing systems on a local and worldwide level, respectively. The users of e-invoicing, according to the officials, may make a significant contribution to the country by saving up to 37 billion dollars each year. In the long run, the firms will reap the benefits of taking this strategy into consideration.
The solutions offered by the peppol access point supplier will be required to be implemented by the public bodies. Its primary goal is to eliminate fragmentation and roadblocks that exist while performing national and international transactions.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the ultimate goal in this case is to accomplish defragmentation.
If properly implemented, the peppol Belgium has the potential to alleviate long-term issues. According to what we already know, different organizations have a significant opportunity to utilize a variety of ERP or accounting software systems, posing significant problems in terms of interoperability and connection between the various parties.
Aside from the language issue, company owners have expressed dissatisfaction with the security weaknesses of the conventional method. However, when connecting to the peppol network, it would be the last thing you should be concerned about if at all.
The network has resulted in a highly streamlined application that provides incomparable solutions for all firms and enterprises, as well as for government agencies and other organizations in general.
Because this solution has successfully solved the interoperability issues, it has emerged as the most appropriate platform and vessel for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to expand their reach into the worldwide market. The service providers can make the e-procurement processes far more efficient and secure, and they won’t have to worry about border rules or bureaucracy in the process.
Obtaining the substantial cost savings
The peppol Belgium has been a participant in the EU-wide mega project, which has been underway since 2014 and aims to reduce operating costs by automating the exchange of business papers, including invoices, across participating countries.
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have agreed on the adoption of electronic invoicing, which requires all government agencies and private enterprises to adhere to a set of criteria when issuing business papers or exchanging information with their business associates.
The peppol services proposed increasing the efficiency of public procurement across the border in order to save a significant amount of money in operating costs for both private and public enterprises.
The fun fact is that the EU public authorities could spend around 145% of GDP for using the services and purchasing supplies. That was two trillion of money to be spent because of the fragmentation. The financial experts have vouched that even only 1% of increase of efficiency could save the EU states for around twenty billion euros per year. How if they are able to save more than 1%? Imagine how much money that the countries can save so that they can allocate it for handling important issues like covid-19 breakout, natural disasters, humanitarian purposes, and so on.
You could have been confused as to why governments spend such a huge quantity of money to have the operation performed. One of the reasons for this is the necessity for paper invoicing. Some public and private businesses continue to use conventional procurement methods, resulting in high expenditures for commodities such as shipping, office supplies, gasoline, and other expenses, amongst many others. Nonetheless, adopting peppol Belgium was a natural step in providing not just a plethora of alternatives for clients, but also in saving a considerable amount of money on operational tasks.
Suppliers of central public entities in a certain region have been required to send electronic invoices to the central public entities in that region from January 2017.
According to specialists, about 135,000 Euros in electronic bills were rejected in 2018 as a result of electronic invoice cancellation.
Since 2017, Peppol Belgium has given suppliers the chance to apply for the ability to send electronic invoices to all government organizations. Meanwhile, Belgian public institutions will be compelled to accept and handle electronic invoicing beginning in April 2019.
It would only be a matter of time until the approaches become more generally adopted among the procurement players.
Contact Galaxy GW for your peppol services
You must first become a member of the Peppol network in order to be able to transmit and receive business documents using the Peppol framework.
In order to be a part of the network, you must establish a connection with the appropriate peppol access point provider. Galaxy GW is where you should register your company. Allow the specialists to take care of everything for you, from start to finish. The next thing you know, you’ll be able to transact documents over the peppol network using your existing ERP systems, which will be a game changer.
