In September 2023, DG TAXUD initiated the FPG 042 project group under the Fiscalis Programme to develop a Solution Architecture Template (SAT) for Trans-European Systems with the support of DG DIGIT. The main outcome of this intervention was the eGovERA© based “B2B intra-community transactions e-invoicing reporting” SAT models, the analysis model (with the digital reporting requirements) and the solution design (partial) model, both based on EIRA© and eGovERA©. The models support the European national tax administrations to implement the e-invoicing requirements required by the EU’s new Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the Digital Age (ViDA) legislation.
The SAT was based on the following elements:
- Applicable legislation (i.e., Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age).
- Functional and technical specifications defined by the FPG 042 participants and the ViDA legislation.
- European interoperability framework (EIF).
- European interoperability reference architecture (EIRA©).
- eGovERA© Tax Reference Architecture.
- eGovERA© Business Agnostic Reference Architecture.
The intervention logic was as it follows:
- The European Commission and the FPG 042 jointly identified the functional and technical requirements on functionalities applicable to the use case.
- The European Commission and the FPG 042 jointly co-created an analysis model and a solution design (partial) model of the target solution. The still to be done work was minimized as much as possible for Member States.
- The European Commission disseminated the models to the Member States. The models are available in the attachments in ArchiMate® (an Enterprise Architecture modelling language) format.
Two digital business capabilities are achieved by the national tax administrations in EU:
- Reporting of B2B intra-community e-invoices data to the EC: Information on the B2B intra-community transactions e-invoices is correctly reported to the central VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) and is accessible by the different national tax administrations for the verification of fiscal data.
- Secure access to data of B2B intra-community e-invoices: Exchange of B2B intra-community e-invoices data from the national tax administrations to the central VIES is done ensuring trust and privacy.
After the project, Member States will need to finalise the still to be done work on their own producing a full design of the target solution, implement it (i.e. procurement/own development/reuse/etc.) and testing it via EC tools (i.e. ITestBed). The release notes of the models and the guidelines for finalising the full solution design are available in the attachments.
The Business/public value provided by the “B2B intra-community e-invoicing reporting” SAT models, based on the eGovERA© Tax Reference Architecture, is supporting Member States’ tax administrations in analysing the requirements of the application of ViDA e-invoicing changes. An additional added value of the intervention logic applied by DG DIGIT using EIRA© & eGovERA© is encouraging and facilitating the knowledge sharing across countries when analysing and implementing digital public services.
Jussi Jääsaari, the representative of the Finnish Tax administration who chaired the working group of FPG 042, shared his feedback, views and opinions of the project in a questionnaire here.