Deputy Minister of Finance De Jager has launched a Web site offering electronic invoicing help to enterprises. The site contains an e-invoicing handbook and information on current developments and regulations. The site is intended for enterprises, financial professionals, and software developers who make electronic invoicing possible. The Web site is an initiative of ECP-EPN, a platform for promoting the development of information exchange in Dutch society.
Earlier this year, in order to reduce the administrative burden imposed on enterprises, the Deputy Minister issued a decree relaxing the VAT-related conditions for electronic invoicing.
- The purchaser’s consent required for issuing electronic invoices need no longer be given explicitly or recorded. A purchaser’s consent is inferred from its processing and payment of invoices it has received electronically.
- There are no longer requirements imposed on the form and means by which invoices are electronically prepared and sent. This means that companies are permitted to issue electronic invoices without using either an electronic signature or EDI. Moreover, companies can issue electronic invoices in whatever form they desire, such as in a Word or PDF file. However, this does entail the risk that invoices can be changed or counterfeited.
- The tax inspector need no longer be notified of the use of an alternative invoicing method.
- Companies are free to choose the method they use to store invoices sent and received. This means that, for example, electronic invoices can also be stored in the form of hard copies.