E-invoicing government organisations
Do you supply goods or services to the Dutch central government? If so, you must send an e-invoice. An e-invoice is an electronic invoice. Local and regional authorities such as municipalities, provinces, and water authorities also require e-invoices more often. If it is in the procurement terms of your contract, you are obliged to send an e-invoice.
What is an e-invoice?
On an e-invoice, invoice details are always in a fixed position using a unique code. This makes it easier for the government to process the invoice automatically. As a result manual processing is no longer required.That is still required for paper invoices and pdf invoices. You send an e-invoice via your accounting package or via the Supplier Portal of the central government (you can choose Dutch or English in the top right corner).
Legal requirements for e-invoice
An e-invoice must meet the same legal requirements as paper and pdf invoices.
E-invoicing local authorities
Local authorities may require an e-invoice for work you have done. Local authorities include municipalities, provinces, and water authorities. Other organisations which are required to follow public procurement procedures, such as educational institutions and museums, may also require e-invoices. These organisations are legally obliged to be able to receive and process e-invoices.
How do you send an e-invoice?
There are 3 different methods for sending e-invoices to the Dutch central government.
- If your accounting software does not support e-invoicing, you can link your accounting package to the international standard Peppol with a service provider (in Dutch).
- If you occasionally send an invoice to the central government, you can use the Supplier Portal (available in English by clicking the button in the top right corner). This is a secure website where you can manually create an e-invoice. Note that this portal is only for e-invoicing the Dutch central government.