Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/decision/2017/1870@2017-10-16/en

Contents

1. Preamble
2. 1. Article 1
   2. Article 2
   3. Article 3
3. ANNEX
4. ANNEX LIST OF SYNTAXES

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2014/55/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on electronic invoicing in public procurement, and in particular Article 3(2) and the third subparagraph of Article 11(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Directive 2014/55/EU has the objective of promoting the uptake of electronic invoicing in public procurement, by ensuring semantic interoperability and improving legal certainty. The benefits of electronic invoicing are maximised when the generation, sending, transmission, reception and processing of an invoice can be fully automated. The use of a common European Standard on electronic invoicing and the identification of a limited list of syntaxes are a guarantee that these benefits are reached in the context of the internal market.

(2) Pursuant to Article 3 of Directive 2014/55/EU, the Commission requested from the European standardisation organisations to develop the European standard on electronic invoicing and its related deliverables, amongst which the main one is the list of syntaxes, based on the standardisation request of 10 December 2014, C(2014) 7912 final.

(3) On 28 June 2017 the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) issued the European standard EN 16931-1:2017, Electronic invoicing — Part 1: Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice and the list of syntaxes CEN/TS 16931-2:2017, Electronic invoicing — Part 2: List of syntaxes that comply with EN 16931-1, according to CEN system of classification.

(4) The related deliverables developed by CEN aiming at supporting the implementation of the European standard on electronic invoicing are available on CEN website.

(5) The Commission has conducted a test on the practical application for an end user of the European standard on electronic invoicing, in accordance with fifth subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/55/EU. The test showed that the European standard EN 16931-1:2017 is fit for purpose and meets the criteria listed in second subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/55/EU and especially criteria of practicality, user-friendliness and possible implementation costs. The Report of the outcome of that test was submitted to the European Parliament and the Council on 11 October 2017.

(6) In order to ensure that electronic invoices are received and processed in compliance with the European standard on electronic invoicing and the related syntaxes as soon as possible, this Decision should enter into force on the first day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(7) The reference of EN 16931-1:2017, Electronic invoicing — Part 1: Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice and the list of syntaxes CEN/TS 16931-2:2017, Electronic invoicing — Part 2 should therefore be published in the Official Journal of the European Union,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The reference of the European standard on electronic invoicing EN 16931-1:2017, Electronic invoicing — Part 1: Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice and the list of syntaxes with reference CEN/TS 16931-2:2017, Electronic invoicing — Part 2: List of syntaxes that comply with EN 16931-1, as set out in the Annex to this Decision, are hereby published.

Article 2

18 April 2019 is the final date for bringing into force of the measures referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 11(2) of Directive 2014/55/EU.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the first day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 16 October 2017. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude Juncker

ANNEX

ANNEX LIST OF SYNTAXES

The list of syntaxes mentioned in Article 3(2) of Directive 2014/55/EU is provided by CEN in clause 7 of CEN/TS 16931-2:2017, published on 28 June 2017. The 2 syntaxes are the following:

1. UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice XML message as specified in XML Schemas 16B (SCRDM — CII).

2. UBL invoice and credit note messages as defined in ISO/IEC 19845:2015.

Versions

1. 2017-10-16

Cited by

• Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 of 11 March 2025 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age Directive · Grade B

  In order to maximise interoperability, electronic invoices should in principle comply with the European standard laid down in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870 (the European standard), which fulfils the request made by the Commission pursuant to Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/55/EU of the European Parliament and the Council to create a European standard for the semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice. However, Member States should still be able to allow for other standards for domestic supplies.

• Commission Notice The 2022 annual Union work programme for European standardisation 2022/C 66/01 Notice · Grade B

  Standardisation urgencies set by the Communication on the Standardisation strategy Ref Title Reference European standards/European standardisation deliverables Specific objectives and policies for European standards/European standardisation deliverables 1 Review existing standards to identify needs for revisions or development of new standards to meet the objectives of the European Green Deal and Europe’s Digital Decade and support the resilience of the EU single market European Green Deal, COM/2019/640 final 2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade, COM/2021/118 final Upd

• P9_TA(2023)0421 VAT: rules for the digital age European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 November 2023 on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age (COM(2022)0701 – C9-0021/2023 – 2022/0407(CNS)) (Special legislative procedure – consultation) C/2024/4246 Notice · Grade B

  Placing an unnecessary administrative burden on taxable persons operating in different Member States should be avoided. Therefore, such taxable persons should be able to provide the required information to their tax administrations using the European standard laid down in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870 , which fulfils the request laid down in Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/55/EU to create an European standard for the semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice. Member States should be allowed to provide for additional methods to report the data that could

• P9_TA(2023)0421 VAT: rules for the digital age European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 November 2023 on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age (COM(2022)0701 – C9-0021/2023 – 2022/0407(CNS)) (Special legislative procedure – consultation) C/2024/4246 Notice · Grade B

  Placing an unnecessary administrative burden on taxable persons operating in different Member States should be avoided. Therefore, such taxable persons should be able to provide the necessary information to their tax administrations using the European standard laid down in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870 , which fulfils the request laid down in Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/55/EU to create an European standard for the semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice. Member States should be allowed to provide for other methods to report the data that could be

• P9_TA(2023)0421 VAT: rules for the digital age European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 November 2023 on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age (COM(2022)0701 – C9-0021/2023 – 2022/0407(CNS)) (Special legislative procedure – consultation) C/2024/4246 Notice · Grade B

  Several Member States have put in place divergent reporting requirements for transactions within their territories, leading to significant administrative burdens for taxable persons which operate in different Member States, as they need to adapt their accounting systems to comply with those requirements. In order to avoid the costs derived from such divergence, the systems implemented in Member States to report supplies of goods and services for consideration between taxable persons within their territory should comply with the same features of the system implemented for intra-Community transa

• P9_TA(2023)0421 VAT: rules for the digital age European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 November 2023 on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age (COM(2022)0701 – C9-0021/2023 – 2022/0407(CNS)) (Special legislative procedure – consultation) C/2024/4246 Notice · Grade B

  Several Member States have put in place, in accordance with Article 273 of Directive 2006/112/EC, divergent reporting requirements for transactions within their territories. Those divergent reporting requirements prejudice the functioning of the internal market. In order to avoid the costs derived from the fragmentation of the regulatory framework, the systems implemented in Member States to report supplies of goods and services for consideration between taxable persons within their territory could have the same features of the system implemented for intra-Community transactions. Member States