Electronic invoicing available to all Belgian businesses
thanks to agreement between Tectrade (part of Clear2Pay) and Ministry of Finance.

Summary

Brussels, Bruges, 18 April 2002, Tectrade (part of Clear2Pay) has obtained authorisation from the Belgian Ministry of Finance to proceed with the electronic processing and storage of invoices for businesses based in Belgium. This means that from now on all Belgian businesses can legally send, receive and store their invoices by electronic means alone (so-called 'legal e-invoicing'). Previously, businesses had to obtain the Ministry's approval on an individual basis if they wanted to do this.

The authorisation is unique in that it has been given to a system that is not solely based on EDI (Electronic Data Interchange, a benchmark designed to further electronic data exchange between businesses). The GreenPark platform can send and receive electronic invoices in any format, using any protocol. What's more, GreenPark is the first electronic invoicing solution that is completely in line with the recently adopted European Directive on electronic invoicing. From now on all Belgian businesses, whatever their size, have the option of using electronic invoicing exclusively with their customers and suppliers, fully in accordance with Belgian legislation.

Only a very limited number of businesses have obtained the individual authorisation to handle part of their invoicing purely electronically. The systems used so far have been based on EDI. For most businesses, however, implementing an EDI infrastructure is not feasible due to the high costs of installation and maintenance. The innovative GreenPark platform removes these drawbacks because it acts as a 'translation agency' between the two parties, as well as providing other services. Once the preferred format of the sender and the recipient is known, the invoice exchange can start. GreenPark, as the intermediary, can forward invoicing details in dozens of different formats and for each recipient it 'translates' any incoming invoices into the recipient's preferred format. Obviously, in doing so the content of the invoice remains unchanged.

Legal framework

A European VAT Directive of 20 December 2001 legally permits businesses to use electronic invoicing alone. In addition, businesses can outsource their invoicing requirements. Ine Lejeune, Partner and Head of E-business tax and legal services in EMEA at PricewaterhouseCoopers, explains: "In these last couple of months, our experts have been working closely with Tectrade, giving them advice so that they could become the first to have their GreenPark platform approved by the Ministry of Finance. GreenPark strictly adheres to the provisions of the European Directive. Under current Belgian legislation, businesses are required to obtain the Ministry's authorisation, until the provisions of the Directive have been implemented in Belgian national law. The VAT Office, in dealing with the file, has already taken into account the provisions of the Directive. For GreenPark's customers, this means specifically that they can use any digital format and any computer protocol for sending or receiving invoices. This affords them considerable efficiency as well as time and cost savings." PricewaterhouseCoopers is keeping a close track of the Directive implementation process in the 15 Member States and in the countries that have applied for membership to the European Union.

About PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers is the world's largest professional services organisation. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of over 150,000 members in 150 countries, it helps its clients to solve complex business problems and measurably enhance their ability to build value, manage risk and improve performance in an Internet-enabled world. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the member firms of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organisation.
For more information, see: http://www.pwcglobal.com/be

Marleen Vandenbosch
Corporate Communications Manager
T: +32 (0)2 710 4530
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Contacts

Kimball Felix
Marketing and Communications
Clear2Pay
Zikkelstraat 64 rue de la Faucille
1970 Wezembeek-Oppem
Belgium
T: +32 2 759 94 96
E: