E-Invoices - are you ready?

Published 28 mayo 2019

Mandatory e-invoicing is upon us! From 18 April 2019 central contracting authorities have been required to accept electronic invoices from suppliers. From 18 April 2020, sub-central authorities and utilities will also be required to comply.

The Cabinet Office has issued a new Procurement Policy Note (PPN Action Note 03/19) which explains that amendments to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 now make it an implied term of all public contracts that e-invoices must be accepted and processed, where there is not already an express contractual term to this effect.

Model clauses have been proposed by the Cabinet Office to insert into new contracts as follows:

1.1 The Authority shall accept and process for payment an electronic invoice submitted for payment by the Supplier where the invoice is undisputed and where it complies with the standard on electronic invoicing.

1.2 For the purposes of paragraph 1.1, an electronic invoice complies with the standard on electronic invoicing where it complies with the European Standard and any of the syntaxes published in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870.