Suppliers and eInvoicing

Suppliers should note that under the national implementation model for the European Directive 2014/55/EU on eInvoicing there is NO requirement on suppliers in Ireland to send electronic invoices (eInvoices) to Irish public bodies.

It is important that suppliers understand the national approach to complying with the Directive and to the adoption of eInvoicing in public procurement and also the potential opportunities and benefits that eInvoicing might offer their business within Ireland and across Europe. Suppliers looking for a snap shot of the national approach to eInvoicing should read the ‘What suppliers need to know about eInvoicing’ factsheet available here.

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

The European Parliament and Council voted on the 16 April 2014 to adopt the Directive 2014/55/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement with the goal of facilitating the use of a European Standard on electronic invoicing across Member States. On 17 October 2017 the reference to the European Standard (EN 16931) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, this set the clock ticking towards the deadline for the compliance with the Directive.

Member States are required to adopt, publish, and apply the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by no later than the 18 April 2019. Member States may postpone this requirement for sub-central contracting authorities and contracting entities until the 18 April 2020, it is intended that the transposition into Irish legislation will include this option to postpone for sub-central Government.

For the purposes of transmitting eInvoices, Ireland has chosen PEPPOL (Pan European Public Procurement Online) an eDelivery network for the transmission of public procurement documents including eInvoices. PEPPOL is supported in 18 other countries throughout Europe and has been chosen by Ireland because it allows suppliers to ‘connect once and connect to all’ public administrations and businesses on the network across Europe.

Please see the below factsheet which details the salient points for suppliers in Ireland. Additional information can be found on the useful Information page, available here. For any queries regarding eInvoicing in Ireland please consult the eInvoicing Ireland common queries available here, if you have further queries please contact eInvoicing Ireland by email at eInvoicing@ogp.gov.ie.