| The legal spectrum of the electronic invoicing is contained in the alterations of the VAT code, introduced by DL nº256/2003, on the 21st of October, and nº196/2007, on the 15th of May, that is in vigor since the 1st of January of 2004, that transposes to the internal law the directive nº 2001/115/CE on the 20th of December.
This legal spectrum confers to the electronic invoicing the same legal value as an invoice on paper, as long as they comply with the obligatory references for any invoice, guarantees the authenticity of its origin and integrity of its content.
The current legislation allows the use of two technologies for the sending of electronic invoices: EDI and Electronic Mail.
The EDI technology has been used for many years in complex information systems, forcing emmitors and receptors to have to understand each other in terms of content transmitted in the files and overall, requiring that both have systems that are able to integrate them. These characteristics make this technology lacking in versatility, expensive and not for everyone.
The possibility, within the law, of transmitting commercial documents through electronic mail, opens the way to a massive usage of Electronic Invoicing, as all that is needed is merely an e-mail account. |
Applied Legislation
