e-rēķins Somijā: Likums 241/2019, EN 16931 un ieviešanas kontrolsaraksts

An e-invoice is an electronic invoice sent in a structured format, kas tiek pārsūtīts tieši no sūtītāja's system to the recipient's system without manual processing.

An e-invoice is not the same as an email invoice or a PDF invoice. The key difference:

• E-invoice: structured data (e.g., Finvoice, TEAPPSXML, Peppol BIS), machine-readable
• PDF invoice: image of the invoice, requires manual processing or OCR reading
• Email invoice: PDF attached to an email – does not meet e-rēķini requirements

The Act on Electronic Invoicing for Contracting Entities and Businesses (241/2019) came into force on 1.4.2020. It is based on EU Directive 2014/55/EU.

Key content of the law:

• Invoices sent to the public sector (state, municipalities, joint municipal authorities) must be e-invoices
• The recipient must be able to receive e-invoices compliant with the EU standard (EN 16931)
• A business has the right to request an e-invoice from another business
• The law does not yet mandate e-rēķini for all privātais sektors invoicing, but the trend is clear

EN 16931 is the common EU standard for the data content of e-invoices. It defines what information an e-invoice must contain and in what format.

In practice, EN 16931 means that a Finnish e-invoice is compatible with a German, French, or Spanish system – as long as both comply with the same standard.

In Finland, the most common e-invoice formats are Finvoice (used by banks) and TEAPPSXML (used by operators). Both are EN 16931 compliant.

1. Choose rēķinu programmatūra that supports e-rēķini (e.g., Eemel Invoicing)
2. Obtain an e-invoice address (OVT ID or Peppol ID)
3. Conclude an agreement with an e-invoice operator (or use the rēķinu programmatūra's built-in operator)
4. Update your invoice template to include all statutory information
5. "Test sending e-invoices to a few customers"
6. "Communicate your e-invoice address to customers and update it in TIEKE's e-invoice address directory"

• "E-invoice address not registered: customer cannot find your address"
• "Mandatory information missing from invoice template: invoice recipient will reject it"
• "VAT identifier not marked correctly: an incorrect identifier causes problems in EU trade"
• "PDF invoice mistaken for an e-invoice: a PDF in an email is not an e-invoice"
• "Operator agreement missing: invoice will not move within the operator network"

"A renovation company of five people won its first public sector contract from the municipality. The invoice had to be sent as an e-invoice – otherwise, it would not be accepted."

"The company implemented Eemel Invoicing, which has built-in e-rēķini:"

1. "The e-invoice address was automatically created during implementation"
2. "The invoice was sent directly to the municipality's system in Finvoice format"
3. "Payment was received in 7 days (previously 21 days with paper invoices)"

"Now the company sends all its invoices as e-invoices – even to private customers via their online bank."

"This article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice."