Solution Architecture Template (SAT) for “B2B intra-community transactions e-Invoicing reporting” based on eGovERA© Tax Reference Architecture
In September 2023, DG TAXUD initiated the FPG/042 project group “Solution Architecture Templates for Trans-European Systems and Update of the eGovERA© Tax Reference Architecture” under the Fiscalis Programme, with the support of DG DIGIT. The initiative focused on supporting European national Tax Administrations in the analysis and design of a solution to tackle the Digital Age (ViDA) legislation’s new e-invoicing requirements. More information on the intervention logic and models can be consulted here.
The group was composed of 18 members from nine European countries, most of them Member States. The representative of the Finnish Tax Administration Jussi Jääsaari chaired the working group. The questionnaire aims at collecting his feedback, views and opinions on the project.
Q1. How did you learn about the eGovERA© portfolio of solutions?
DG TAXUD and DG DIGIT introduced me to the eGovERA© interoperability solution, and I have been using its eGovERA© Tax Reference Architecture in previous projects which bore positive results.
Q2. What were the reasons behind the FPG/042's decision to use eGovERA© as a tool to support in the analysis of new Trans-European Tax Systems requirements?
The working group decided to use eGovERA© because it fosters the collaboration between different Member States whose national practices differ, supporting the digital transformation of Tax Public Administrations thanks to its domain specific Tax Reference Architecture. Additionally, eGovERA© centralises requirements through a machine-readable tool.
Q3. What value do you think the “B2B intra-community e-invoicing reporting” partial solution model developed brings to your Organisation? How has it helped you in improving the interoperability of your digital public service?
Currently, we are still in the phase where we need to prove the benefits at the Member State level. During the intervention, only European specifications at European level were included in the partial solution model, pending to adapt it to each Member State local context.
Additionally, implementing eGovERA© is a change in current Tax Administrations’ practices thus also creating some change resistance. Therefore, it is critical to implement more use cases centred on eGovERA© to demonstrate and start the discussion on additional potential benefits.
Q4: Based on your experience, what were the key success factors of the project?
Firstly, the clear onboarding sessions organised allowed the participants to fully understand the purpose of eGovERA© from the beginning of the intervention. Participants also highlighted the benefits of the mix of online and on-site sessions conducted as well as the feedback circle that respected their need to check some content with internal teams (i.e., legal teams). eGovERA© with the European Interoperability framework once again has shown its potential through this intervention.
Q5. Would you recommend the eGovERA© solutions portfolio to other Public Administrations? If so, why?
Yes. The eGovERA© solution is an EU framework implementable by any Public Administration. It promotes standardisation and facilitates cross-country communication and exchange of information. This is especially helpful as it builds and promotes a common thinking and alignment for cross-border IT systems and avoids the unfruitful discussion of what methodology to use for example to analyse a system.
Q6: Is there anything else you would like to add that you think might be useful for other Public Organisations thinking of using eGovERA©?
Many EU directives require IT systems to be built at the national level which leads to building several implementations of the same systems, usually wasting public funds and resources.
Although the actual implementation is done at national level, many phases such as design, code, and testing can benefit from working group collaboration between several Member States and the Commission. eGovERA© based methodology and various other tools from the EU have the potential to support Public Administrations/Organisations in this collaboration. This is a first step. More successful interventions using eGovERA© need to occur in order to make a difference.