Public bodies and eInvoicing

eInvoicing Ireland is supporting public bodies en route to compliance. Irish public bodies must be able ‘to receive and process electronic invoices’ (eInvoices) by 18 April 2019, with sub central Government having the option to postpone until April 2020 Item was unpublished or removed. 85% of Central Government are eInvoicing enabled.

For public bodies looking to reach compliance with the eInvoicing Directive timeline of 18 April 2020 the eInvoicing Ireland team have published a number of helpful resources:

• a questions and answers log of 48 questions on eInvoicing implementation. Two user friendly factsheets on the key elements of the eInvoicing Directive and basic compliance, all three are accessible here
• video presentations from the recent eInvoicing Implementation event accessible here
• an implementation pyramid accessible here
• eInvoicing Implementation preparatory worksheets available here

In collaboration with eInvoicing Ireland and its four sector partners across Central and Local Government, Health and Education, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has established an ‘eInvoicing’ Framework agreement, from which shared services and coordinating body facilities Item was unpublished or removed as well as individual public bodies will be able to access the services and solutions they need to be compliant with the European Directive 2014/55/EU and in adherence with the Irish national approach to eInvoicing.

The OGP published a Request For Tender (RFT) for a ‘Multi Supplier Framework Agreement for the provision of PEPPOL networking and eInvoicing Systems and Services to the Irish Public Sector’ on eTenders.ie and on OJEU (the Official Journal of the European Union) in November 2018. The framework was published and made available on Monday 25 March 2019, for further information on the Framework click here.

The European Directive 2014/55/EU and the national eInvoicing approach

Key points to understand about the Directive and the national eInvoicing approach include:

• The Directive applies to electronic invoicing in public procurement. All EU Member State contracting authorities and contracting entities are obliged ‘to receive and process electronic invoices’ which comply with the European standard (EN-16931)
• The Directive applies to invoices relating to ‘contracts’ above EU thresholds
• There is an exemption for contracts declared secret or those accompanied by special security measures
• There is NO requirement for Suppliers to submit eInvoices at this time
• Ireland has chosen PEPPOL (Pan European Public Procurement Online) as the method of delivery of eInvoices to the public sector. PEPPOL is an eDelivery network for the transmission of public procurement documents and is widely supported across 18 countries in Europe. PEPPOL allows suppliers to ‘connect once and connect to all’ public administrations and businesses across Europe on the network

Public bodies are responsible for making the necessary provisions to ensure they comply with their obligations arising from the Directive.

The graphic in the link below depicts the three different journeys for public bodies depending on whether they are scheduled to be part of a shared services facility or coordinating body project, before or after the eInvoicing deadline of April 2019 OR not scheduled to be part of a central facility for the foreseeable future. For further documentation on eInvoicing in Ireland consult the useful information page.

eInvoicing Ireland has developed a set of eInvoicing - frequently raised topics available here , to answer common queries. For further specific information or to join the eInvoicing Community to receive regular eInvoicing updates please email einvoicing@ogp.gov.ie

eInvoicing Ireland has prepared eInvoicing Preparation Worksheets for Irish public bodies getting ready for eInvoicing in advance of the eInvoicing Framework being made available in quarter one 2019, please click here to access these worksheets.

The Education Shared Business Services with the ETBs in the Education sector and the HBS in the HSE here in Ireland are early adopters in terms of eInvoicing advancement in Ireland to access presentations on their projects please click here.

• events and presentations
• suppliers
• service providers

(1) eInvoicing Ireland has prepared an Information Note on the European Directive 2014/55/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement and the compliance deadline for central and sub-central contracting authorities and contracting entities, please click here to access the Information Note.

(2) A co-ordinating body facility refers to a set of managed administrative and/ or IT services for invoice processing that are coordinated at a commercial and/ or operational level by a particular body on behalf of a group of bodies, typically within a common segment of the public sector (e.g. The LGMA provides coordinating body facilities in relation to local and regional authorities).