Australia’s updated B2B e-invoicing using the Peppol framework (2023-2025)

The Australian Department of Treasury has designed a plan to promote the adoption of B2B e-invoicing using the Peppol xml format. Proposing that by 2025, all companies will need to exchange e-invoices for all B2B transactions. The rollout plan has 3 implementation phases, based on companies’ size.

Background: Peppol in Australia

Peppol is a set of specifications, rules if you will, designed to facilitate cross-border and domestic exchange of business documents such as invoices, harmonise existing e-procurement solutions, and reduce the manual entry of invoicing data. Since Peppol’s European origin in 2012, many European countries use the Peppol network, and since 2018 it is progressively being implemented outside Europe – first by Singapore, then New Zealand, Australia, and finally by Japan.

As of 2022, all federal agencies and most state governments in Australia are already required to be able to receive e-invoices via Peppol. In December 2021, the Australian government announced its Business eInvoicing Right (BER) initiative, aiming to promote the use of electronic invoices between Australian businesses.

Now, the details of the different phases of the proposed e-invoicing mandate implementation have been revealed. It is proposed that by 2025, all companies in Australia will be able to demand their commercial trading partners to send invoices via Peppol. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) will roll this program out in three phases depending on business size.

The Government has invested an additional $15.3 million AUD to speed up the adoption of e-invoicing for Australian businesses. The ATO who acts as the Australian Peppol Authority and the Treasury are committing to: 

• Assist businesses in implementing e-invoicing solutions
• Promote e-invoicing and drive its adoption across industries and the public sector
• Raise awareness and create educational resources for businesses

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What are the 3 rollout phases for Peppol e-invoicing & who is concerned?

The proposed rollout of Peppol e-invoices according to the following schedule:

• From July 1, 2023: All companies can request e-invoices via Peppol from large suppliers that have a turnover of over $50 million AUD.
• From July 1, 2024: All companies can request e-invoices via Peppol from medium suppliers that have a turnover of over $10 million AUD.
• From July 1, 2025: All companies can request e-invoices via Peppol from any other supplier regardless of size

To further promote the initiative, educate businesses, raise awareness, and promote the adoption of e-invoicing, the Australian government has created an event called eInvoicing Week 2022, which will run from August 15 to 21, 2022.

How do the new Peppol requirements affect you?

If you’re operating in Australia, based on your annual revenue, you might be requested by your trading partners to issue e-invoices via Peppol in the next few years.

Although Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC), in which businesses need to get authorization for each transaction in real time, are becoming an increasingly popular measure for governments across the world (in Europe, Asia, and Latin America), for now, the Australian government hasn’t expressed any intention to implement CTC procedures in Australia.

The Peppol framework defines the set of rules, standards, and specifications that businesses need to conform to to be able to exchange documents on the Peppol network, or make use of approved third party providers to enable these exchanges.

Next steps

At Fonoa we are experts in the field of e-Invoicing and Digital Reporting. We can help you make sense of the evolving compliance landscape in Australia and the rest of the world. We currently support e-invoicing and CTC in many countries around the world, Italy, Argentina, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and many others. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help automate your global tax requirements. 

Fonoa is following these updates closely. We stand ready to support clients and help them transition to automated e-invoicing. You can use Fonoa to take care of all of your indirect tax compliance needs.