B2G e-invoicing to be compulsory in Luxembourg

On December 14, 2021, a new law was published in Luxembourg’s Official Journal which will make it compulsory for businesses involved in public contracts to issue electronic invoices to the Government.

E-invoicing is seen as the first step in facilitating increased digitalisation and automating of the processes of verification, validation and payment of invoices by public sector bodies. It is hoped that this will reduce payment times.

The new law on electronic invoicing will be introduced in a phased approach:

• Large entities - five months after the entry into force of the law (which was December 18, 2021)
• Medium-sized entities - 10 months after entry into force; and
• Small and newly created entities - 15 months after entry into force. 

Luxembourg e-invoicing format and platform

E-invoices are submitted and processed in Luxembourg using a central PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) Access Point as well as sector-specific dispatching and accounting solutions. Businesses can submit e-invoices via the PEPPOL network using PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 and UBL 2.1 standards. It is anticipated that Luxembourg will also, in the future, accept the upload of EN-compliant e-invoices via a web form and via Luxembourg’s myGuichet platform which will allow compliant e-invoices to be created and submitted. Currently, no electronic signature is required for e-invoices in Luxembourg and the mandatory minimum archiving period is set at 10 years.

While this new mandate is currently only applicable for B2G, it is often used as a pilot before being extended for compulsory B2B use. Luxembourg joins a growing list of countries which have introduced, or will do in the near future, mandatory e-invoicing for either B2G or B2B. As a result, businesses trading across multiple territories are starting to think strategically rather than tactically and seeking to implement an e-invoicing solution that is scalable across countries and regions rather than purchase multiple individual local solutions as and when new mandates appear.

Find out more about Avalara's e-invoicing solutions.