French PEPPOL Authority: new impetus for electronic invoicing

Stéphane EUSTACHE, director of the e-invoicing program, and Sébastien Rabineau, director of the e-invoicing project at the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), have officially announced the creation of the "PEPPOL France" authority and a working group on the "AFNOR PEPPOL" standard. announced the creation of the "PEPPOL France" authority and a working group on the "AFNOR PEPPOL" standard. This news has been eagerly awaited by digital e-invoicing players.

This announcement is in line with the press release of October 15, 2024, in which the administration announced its wish to rely on Partner Dematerialization Platforms (PDP) rather than a national state platform made available free of charge (the PPF).

What can we expect from this announcement, and what consequences does it have for companies in the context of electronic invoicing reform? This article takes stock of the situation, as businesses accelerate their transition to be ready for the 1st September 1, 2026era date in the progressive timetable forimplementation of the reform.

Reminder: what is PEPPOL?

PEPPOL stands for Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine "PEPPOL is a project launched in 2007 by the European Commission to develop the electronic exchange of documents to European public procurement markets, based on an exchange process, standards, a transport network and a network of partners. The aim was to enable companies to invoice, and thus interact commercially, more easily with European administrations in the context of calls for tender.

PEPPOL has thus become a reliable network for electronic transactions, managing exchanges and data flows between economic players and public authorities. Initially designed for exchanges between European companies and public authorities, the PEPPOL network has since been extended to BtoB, and is now capable of handling 100% of BtoG and BtoB invoices.. Importantly, while PEPPOL is capable of handling electronic invoicing, it also enables the exchange of administrative and commercial documents between players in the business world and in their relations with government departments.

It was therefore only natural that the PDPs collectively decided to use the PEPPOL network to exchange invoices, thus fulfilling their obligation to interoperate with each other. The logical consequence of increasing their central role in the success of the reform is to federate the digital actors of the reform within a national authority. In addition, the choice of the PEPPOL network by the PDPs anticipates future obligations on the exchange of invoices at European level from 2030 (VIDA Directive). The creation of a French PEPPOL authority with a government representative will provide a clear governance framework for managing flows in France.

Creation of the French PEPPOL authority: what are the advantages?

There is every reason to believe that the creation of a French PEPPOL authority will bring a number of significant advantages, including :

1. Centralized coordination A centralized coordination body: this would serve as a central point for coordinating the implementation and development of Partner Dematerialization Platforms (PDPs) in France, ensuring a consistent, harmonized approach.
2. Setting standards and compliance Compliance: the authority could establish and enforce compliance standards, ensuring that all PDPs operate to the same high standards of interoperability and security. Without a clear normative framework, PDPs would run the risk of encountering difficulties in ensuring the fluidity of exchanges..
3. Technical and regulatory support: it would provide support to local economic players, facilitating their integration into the PEPPOL network and maximizing the benefits of electronic document exchange.
4. Promoting interoperability By encouraging cooperation between the various PDPs and the adoption of common standards, the authority will strengthen network interoperability, to the benefit of the economic dynamism of businesses.
5. Governance and control . the authority would enable better management of players within the network, offering greater control and visibility over transactions.
6. Requirements propagation : using the SMP/SML system 1system, the authority could instantly propagate its requirements to the entire global network, ensuring rapid compliance.
7. Facilitating cross-border trade: the adoption of a common standards framework would simplify exchanges with other countries using PEPPOL, strengthening the European and international competitiveness of French companies.