Belgian companies could save €3.5 billion by sending electronic invoices estimates the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (VBO)
The Federation of Enterprises, having calculated the potential savings from using e-Invoicing, is asking Belgian organisations explicitly to endorse the method and make the process as easy as using paper counterparts. Only 1% of all invoices are sent electronically even though it has been five years after the introduction of electronic billing in Belgium. The Belgian Task Force E-invoicing has also insisted that the upgrading and promotion of e-invoicing is long overdue as the procedure is simple, and crucially free.
The Secretary General of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium, Philippe Lambrecht, said that the security demands are far too strict. "The VAT regulation makes it difficult to switch over from paper invoices to the electronic variant. The complicated technical rules to invoice electronically make life complicated for companies.”
The European Commission estimates that about 30 billion invoices are printed in Europe every year. Electronic invoices would not only save billions but it would also make work more efficient, reduce fraud and reduce the ecological footprint of the European Union by 3 million tons of CO2 per year.
