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.