Peppol Standard for Japan E-Invoicing
Japan is in the midst of implementing the Peppol standard for their e-invoicing initiative. Peppol is an uniform and interoperable standard intended to foster the growth of international e-Procurement.
According to one estimate, the failure to embrace the digitized process is costing the Japanese government 323 million working hours per year, at a cost of $8 billion. Businesses across the region are also grappling with inefficiency and avoidable costs as a result of their reliance on paper invoices.
Beyond the administrative burden of paper-based invoicing, digitization can also unlock faster payments to suppliers, as well as increased visibility, transparency and compliance across supply chains. These will be critical as organizations try to figure out what they can learn from the pandemic and build up their ability to handle future problems.
EIPA (Electronic Invoicing Promotion Association) handles establishing and constructing a standardized electronic invoicing system for use by Japanese businesses (so called “japan e”, “jp e” or “japan e-invoicing” sometimes).
Its purpose is to promote the use of technology for the management and interchange of standardized documents to support the digital transformation of the nation. Digitalizing the whole billing and administrative process will increase the efficiency and productivity of Japanese businesses.
PEPPOL in Japan
Peppol is not an e-Procurement platform; rather, it provides a collection of technical requirements that may be applied in current e-Procurement solutions and eBusiness interchange services to make them compatible across Europe’s heterogeneous systems.
Peppol’s network (based on a 4-corner model) makes it possible for business partners to exchange electronic documents based on standards. These documents contain e-Orders, e-Advance Shipping Notes, eInvoices, eCatalogues, Message Level Responses, etc.
Peppol Access Points link users to the Peppol network and ease the interchange of electronic documents by Peppol requirements. Buyers and sellers are able to select their chosen single Access Point provider to connect to all existing Peppol network members. (‘Connect once, connect everywhere’)
Since September 2021, EIPA and the Japanese government have collaborated with OpenPEPPOL to produce a Japanese standard that fits the country’s legal and corporate standards. The Japanese model is based on PINT, which is the version of Peppol that is used around the world and is based on BIS Billing 3.0. This version is meant to fulfill worldwide standards and permits the addition of regional specifics.
The government anticipates that the system will be operational by the fall of 2022. One year later, in October 2024, electronic invoicing is projected to become required across the country.
Due to the deployment of Peppol in Japan, the government and its suppliers will be required to exchange electronic documents in Peppol format.
There is no need in the nation to produce and receive electronic invoices, yet the EIPA advises that businesses adopt Peppol-compatible e-Invoicing software by October 2022.
Our S4FN SAP Add On allows European administrations and authorities to engage with their network of partners and suppliers via integrated solutions that automate the exchange of all sorts of electronic documents under the PEPPOL-XML standard.
Which nations use PEPPOL to exchange electronic invoices?
Although Peppol was first created by the European Union to improve cross-border commerce between firms and public entities inside the EU, it has proven a successful model and is now being used beyond the EU.
The Peppol network includes the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Iceland, Greece, and Portugal.
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