Wednesday 2nd October, 2013

Poland is the latest Member State to announce the adoption of PEPPOL for e-Invoicing, following Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, Italy, Austria, and Ireland which are currently implementing the specifications.

Sebastian Christow, Director of Electronic Economy, Department of the Polish Ministry, announced at the EXPP Summit, connecting to the OpenPEPPOL network as a cornerstone of the Polish national e-Invoicing implementation strategy.

"The PEPPOL electronic document specifications, network and the legal framework developed and widely used to address interoperability in electronic public procurement in Europe can indeed be considered as the ‘de facto’ standard in this area." – stated Sebastian Christow.

The draft Directive on electronic invoicing in public procurement recognises that the multiplicity of non-interoperable standards results in excessive complexity, legal uncertainty and additional operating costs for economic operators using e-Invoicing across Member States. The scope of the Directive which applies to electronic invoices received by contracting authorities, issued as a result of the performance of public contracts, stresses the key role of the public sector in ensuring interoperability and standardisation.

When asked the reason why Poland chose PEPPOL as the way forward, Mr Christow replied: “Competitiveness of our companies is a national priority and we believe that OpenPEPPOL is the natural choice for ensuring European digital integration, starting from e-Invoicing and then moving towards end-to-end e-Procurement. Leveraging on the extensive experience of countries like Norway, which are successfully increasing efficiencies and transaction volumes, proves that we have made the right decision and not re-invented yet another standard.”

 "We are pleased to have a large Eastern European country joining our community and making the effort to achieve standardisation in electronic public procurement. We will support Poland to get onboard and enjoy the benefits of European integration" - stated OpenPEPPOL representatives in Warsaw.

After only one year of operation, the OpenPEPPOL Association counts almost 80 member organisations from the private and public sector across 17 countries.