In recent years electronic invoicing entered their life dynamically enterprises and his Public is gaining more and more positions, thereby speeding up settlement and payment processes and improving the quality of transactions.

All state procurements will be made through electronic invoicing, and many companies have already implemented an electronic invoicing system for the government. But the important thing is that the new process leads to more transparencyat the same time, at any time, state audit bodies can check the cost of consumables and compare if, for example, one hospital purchases surgical materials more expensive than another hospital.

In fact, electronic invoicing, as reported by General Secretariat of Information Systems, is dynamic and the application is expected to evolve significantly. In essence, the state creates detailed codes for the products supplied by the agencies, and the comparison mentioned above will be made automatically by the electronic system.

Brake on waste

In this way, waste of public money and strange transactions can be avoided. At the same time, the state will know who owes whom and to whom. He will know exactly the obligations of each organization and will be able to intervene so that they are not created. overdue obligationswhich are a big hoarseness for Main Accounting.

Plan prepared by the Minister of Digital Governance C. Pierrakakis and Deputy Minister of Finance T. Skylakakis jointly with Secretary General of Information Systems D. Anagostopoulos and Secretary General of Tax Policy T. Petralia this has already yielded significant results as more than 2,800 organizations (customers) have subscribed to the e-invoicing system.

With the new procedure, the 11 billion euros that make up the state’s annual commissions will be controlled almost automatically by the electronic invoicing system, as well as by companies that do business with the Greek state. According to the General Secretariat of Information Systems, there are currently 2,872 entities registered in the system, and the number of companies supplying the Greek state is 72,000.

As already mentioned, several organizations and enterprises are engaged in issuing electronic invoices, and gradually the system will become mandatory. The first mandatory e-invoicing group will enter in September, the second in January 2024, and the third and final in June 2024.

The new trading process essentially enables the electronic exchange of documents between two or more traders without the need to print, send and save them in paper form.

Such documents include not only invoices, but also other related documents accompanying them. In addition, electronic invoicing provides, in addition to the exchange of documents, the automation of all related procedures, such as, for example, their archiving and retrieval.

The commissions of the Greek state amount to 11 billion euros annually.

Community Directive

The importance of e-invoicing to facilitate and secure transactions and the need for its adoption and implementation was initiated by the EU. In particular, in 2014, the European Parliament (Directive 2014/55 / ​​EU) determined that all public services of the countries of the European Union should be able to receive and issue electronic invoices.

For example, all public sector purchases in Sweden from 2019 are paid using e-invoicing in accordance with the European standard, while Belgium will introduce mandatory e-invoicing in business-to-business transactions from mid-2023, while taking steps to expanding the volume of transactions between enterprises and the public sector.

It is noted that the General Secretariat of Information Systems has developed applications and infrastructure for electronic invoicing in government contracts. Especially:

• A Register of Authorized Entities for Electronic Billing (MAAHT) has been established and maintained and continually updated.

• A dedicated application for electronic invoice processing (EDHT) has been developed with which contracting authorities and financial services can perform all electronic invoice payment activities.

• The Integrated Fiscal Policy Information System (IPSDP) has been modernized to enable it to collect payment documents electronically, including electronic invoices.

Particularly important and decisive for supporting transactions with the state was the modernization of the Interoperability Center (IEC) to provide all the necessary services to both providers and public sector bodies.

In particular, QED provides all necessary services for the control of invoices prior to their official issuance and submission to the state, thereby limiting any errors and avoiding the subsequent issuance of credit invoices that burden enterprises and delay payment. The CED has a single point for receiving invoices under government contracts and is a hub for sending their data to the information systems of the competent authorities.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the importance of e-invoicing for the economy and digital transformation is undeniable, as it brings significant economic benefits, increases the competitiveness of companies and facilitates transactions.