Declan McCormack

Planning is key to eInvoicing readiness for April 2019/April2020

With less than six months to go to the 18 April, 2019 deadline, by which central Government public bodies need to be able to accept and process eInvoices in accordance with the European Directive and national eInvoicing approach, eInvoicing is now at the centre of digital transformation in public procurement across Europe. This article provides an update on recent developments.

 

The eInvoicing Ireland programme has been working with the Office of Government Procurement and public sector partners to put in place an eInvoicing Framework from which public bodies will be able to access the services and solutions needed to be compliant with the European Directive 2014/55/EU on eInvoicing, (‘eInvoicing Directive’) and the national eInvoicing approach. This comprehensive Framework aims to;

 

  1. Meet the eInvoicing requirements of the public sector, from shared services and co-ordinating body facilities[1], to individual public bodies and
  2. Cater for those looking to achieve basic compliance as well as those looking for more integrated solutions to realise longer term benefits.

 

The Framework has therefore been designed with multiple lots, in order to address the differing needs of the respective shared service/ co-ordinating body facilities as well as individual public bodies. Currently in its final stages of review, the Framework is scheduled to be available in early 2019 and has been designed to minimise timeframes for central contracting authorities and contracting entities accessing the services needed to be complaint by April 2019.

 

It is intended that the transposition of the eInvoicing Directive into Irish legislation, expected in advance of the April 2019, will include an option for sub-central contracting authorities and contracting entities to postpone the compliance deadline until April 2020. It is a matter for individual public bodies to determine whether the central or sub-central deadline applies to them, in regard to the eInvoicing Directive.

 

In advance of the Framework it is crucial for public bodies to plan for compliance and to look into reaping the wider eInvoicing benefits. Public bodies should start analysing their existing invoice processing environment, to be ready to draw down the relevant services and solutions when the time comes. eInvoicing Ireland has produced a worksheet as a prompt for public bodies to start considering some of these questions.

 

The eInvoicing Directive has created a real stimulus for suppliers and buyers in public procurement across Europe to move forward together and improve how businesses transact with the public sector in Ireland and Europe.

For further information please contact:

The eInvoicing Ireland team at eInvoicing@ogp.gov.ie

[1] A co-ordinating body facility refers to a set of managed administrative and/ or IT services for invoice processing that are co-ordinated 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 co-ordinating body facilities in relation to local and regional authorities). 

Declan McCormack, eInvoicing Ireland Programme Manager

Declan has responsibility at Principal level for the Office of Government Procurement’s eInvoicing programme. Prior to his appointment, he held the position of Head of IT with one of Ireland’s leading e-Procurement service providers and has over 20 years’ experience in technology development, delivery and management within the telecoms, financial and IT sectors, and was actively involved in the development and implementation of PEPPOL infrastructure.

Declan McCormack will be speaking at PAI’s Annual Procurement Conference, taking place on 22 November for more information on this event click here