Regulatory updates - Netherlands

The Netherlands is getting closer to providing a digital solution for the entire procurement workflow. The country recently introduced an e-orders pilot via Peppol for the public procurement sector.

Through this pilot, suppliers can convert the e-order received from the government to an e-invoice and send it back in nearly no time and error-free.

This project enhances information exchange between the supplier and the government, as this channel goes beyond e-order and e-invoices. Additional purchasing messages include contract data and status reports.

Wouter Scholten’s (project leader at the BZK CPO office) mission is to make buying and selling between suppliers and the government easier through digitalization. This new process is expected to increase efficiency, decrease costs, and eliminate invoice errors. 

On 3 February 2023, the Ministry of Finance published a sheet of the working group Assessment (BNC) of the new EU Commission Proposals (ViDA proposals). In this sheet, a thorough assessment of the VAT regulations for the digital age has been conducted.

The Dutch position on the DRR and e-invoicing proposal

According to the assessment paper, the government favours a digital reporting system for intra-community transactions, provided that such a system structurally relieves the administrative burden for entrepreneurs and efficiently supports the fight against VAT fraud. Moreover, as more source data will be exchanged and submitted to the tax authorities and the Central VIES system on the EU level, the Dutch government considers data security a fundamental aspect that must be guaranteed throughout the entire transaction. In addition, the government supports the proposed framework for optional reporting mechanisms for domestic transactions since it will allow each Member State to choose a system fitting its social and economic objectives.

The paper also emphasized that both entrepreneurs and the tax authority should be given sufficient time to prepare for the new developments and that the workability and the use of the B2G standard (EN 16931) in the B2B sector should be made clear first.

Pagero resources on VAT in the Digital Age

Download our latest whitepaper for a complete overview of the ViDA proposals and learn how they will impact the existing jurisdictions in the EU regulatory landscape.

As the Netherlands Peppol Authority made SI-UBL 1.2 optional as of 1 July 2022, this now means that parties operating on the Peppol network are no longer obliged to support it. However, the Dutch central government will still accept the document until 1 January 2023.

The options parties sending documents to the Dutch central government will have after the cessation of the use of SI-UBL 2.1 are the following standards: NL-CIUS and Peppol BIS. It is also important to note that the identifier OIN: 0190 should be used when moving to these new preferred standards.

The gradual transition from older, obsolete standards to those that are newer aligns with The Dutch central government’s digitalization policy regarding procurement. This will also provide long-term benefits by reducing maintenance costs, decreasing room for errors in different understandings and interpretations, and creating a space for easier implementations.

On 26 April 2021, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) announced a public consultation regarding the addition of a national standard for exchanging electronic orders via Peppol.

Peppol BIS Order 3 is used by the buyer to send an order to the supplier and get back an order response from them. The specification includes both order and order response message.

Respondents to the consultation can express their opinion on the following questions:

• Country-specific requirements that should be added to the Peppol BIS Order;
• Potential problems in case no country-specific requirements are added to the Peppol BIS 3 order;
• The ability of the Peppol BIS 3 order message to support the e-ordering process;
• Possible missing fields in the Peppol BIS 3 order message.

Initially, the National Peppol Authority (NPA) had concluded in consultation with the NPA service provider community, which Pagero is apart, that there was no need for country-specific requirements to be added in the Peppol BIS 3 order standard.

Adding e-Orders as a mandate would force companies to change their current procurement processes. However, e-orders offer a reduction of the time spent on procurement as well as helping companies control costs through a variety of ways, including Purchase Order and Invoice approvals, and control and tracking features.

E-orders delivered via the Peppol Network have already been introduced in a variety of European countries, for example, Italy, with great success.

The last day to submit responses is 31 May 2021.

Pagero has been approved by the Dutch Peppol Authority, Nederlandse Peppolautoriteit (NPA), as a provider for Peppol-ready e-invoicing. Dutch and multinational companies located in the Netherlands can now use the Pagero Network to send and receive e-invoices via Peppol. Although the use of Peppol for e-invoicing is not yet mandatory in the Netherlands, the government strongly advises using Peppol for this purpose.

Peppol is a framework designed to ensure simple e-invoicing and the secure exchange of business documents between public and private entities worldwide. It standardises interoperability between service providers in terms of communication protocols, message types, data formats, and more. Many public organisations and private companies have switched to Peppol to exchange invoices, as it is an encrypted and safer method than using email or post.

Governments worldwide see digital transformation as an essential tool to increase efficiency in business processes and ensure more transparency between trading partners; Peppol has widely become a preferred way to do so.

Peppol journey in the Netherlands

On 1 October 2020, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations became the Peppol Authority in the Netherlands, replacing its predecessor, Simplerinvoicing. The new organisation is called the Netherlands Peppol Authority or simply NPA.

The NPA’s vision is to increase the rate of digitalisation in the Dutch business landscape and to ensure the sustainability of B2G and B2B procurement processes.

Following this vision, the NPA allows suppliers to connect to a Peppol-accredited Service Provider of their choice. By using Peppol and electronic invoices, businesses will gain the ability to standardise and automate their AR invoicing processes when trading with business partners and government agencies.

“Peppol is the international standard for safe, reliable, simple and quick exchange of electronic messages and invoices. We see it as the standard of the future: the solution is scalable, easy to implement and ready to use instantly. It is sustainable and more and more Dutch companies are adopting Peppol,” adds Patrick Krul, coordinator of the Netherlands Peppol Authority.

Pagero in the Netherlands

Pagero, as a global service provider for cloud-based e-invoicing solutions, is dedicated to building the world’s largest business network. The Pagero Network currently connects over 4.5M businesses in over 135 countries worldwide.

Pagero actively operates in all Peppol regions, helping customers communicate with any trading partner connected to Peppol’s network; convert documents to and from Peppol’s standard format and country specific formats like SI-UBL or NL CIUS; and facilitate the exchange of business documents between trading partners.

As an active member of OpenPeppol, Pagero supports the development of Peppol e-invoicing in the Netherlands and helps local companies achieve simple e-invoicing processes both locally and internationally. Pagero’s success model is built on a unique combination of extensive experience with different infrastructures and networks, and the in-house regulatory affairs team guarantees compliant operations worldwide. The company’s Central European office offers complete coverage of Peppol needs to customers in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries.

“By choosing Peppol, you will be joining a borderless network of businesses that can exchange business documents quickly, reliably and securely,“ comments Trent Targa, senior regulatory associate at Pagero.