Brussels pushes for massive uptake of e-invoicing

Submitted by: The Two Sides Team December 9, 2010

Another threat to the printing and paper industries as the European Commission announces plans to make electronic invoicing standard across the EU by 2020. The average market penetration of e-invoicing which, according to The Commission, ‘reduces costs and benefits the environment’, remains low in Europe and is currently estimated at around 5% of all invoices annually exchanged between companies.

The Commission estimates that small businesses in particular are less prone to e-invoicing, with only 22% saying they use
and receive electronic invoices. 42% of large companies use them.
One of the reasons for this low market penetration is that the legal framework is still too complex. Existing rules governing e-invoicing in Europe vary widely from one country to another.If paper invoices were to be replaced with electronic ones, Brussels estimates a potential for
around €40 billion in savings per year across the European Union.

The savings would be made mainly due to lower paper consumption, elimination of postage cost and better automation of bureaucratic practices.

EU Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, in charge of industry and entrepreneurship,said “e-invoicing will boost the overall competitiveness of European companies, especially SMEs” by “revolutionising the way we pay bills”.

“E-invoicing has the potential to make a big difference, for businesses, consumers and European trade as a whole,” said Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier, highlighting “the benefits in terms of saving time and money”.

In a communication published yesterday (2 December), the European Commission points out that a massive uptake of e-billing could also have a positive environmental effect by lowering CO2 emissions linked to mail transportation, with overall reductions of one million tonnes per year, according to EU estimates.

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