Finnish financial software company Basware says it has become the first company to complete a live transaction in Australian territory using the trans-Tasman PEPPOL specification and protocol, based on the Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) framework for e-invoicing.
According to Basware APAC vice president Michael Pyliotis, by the end of 2019, business will be required to start sending and receiving electronic invoices for trans-Tasman transactions using PEPPOL-compatible solutions.
The development follows a joint announcement by prime minister Jacinta Ardern and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison in February 2019 committing the two countries to adopting PEPPOL as a Trans-Tasman e-invoicing framework to streamline trans-Tasman trade.
Earlier, in October 2018, the two governments had issued a discussion paper Early thinking: Operational governance for trans-Tasman e-Invoicing setting out details of a proposed standard for trans-Tasman invoicing and asking for submissions.
New Zealand's small business minister Stuart Nash said at the time that the productivity gains resulting from a common e-invoice standard could translate into economic benefits in excess of $30 billion over 10 years.
Both governments joined the Australia and New Zealand Electronic Invoicing Board (ANZEIB) in March 2019 and the NZ Government initiated a consultation to get feedback on proposed country specific localisation requirements for the use of PEPPOL.
Australia in 2015 formed the Digital Business Council to promote e-invoicing. In February 2019, the DBC was reformed into a trans-Tasman Working group, including the New Zealand Government.
Basware said it had been working with the council since its inception and had agreed to participate in pilots of the technology with other DBC members.
“Technical readiness was achieved by establishing a new set of infrastructure conformant with the DBC messaging platform (EBMS3/AS4) and then testing it with a range of different providers,” Basware said.
Pyliotis said the Basware Network had been upgraded in January 2019 to support delivery of electronic invoices using trans-Tasman specification and protocol wholly within Australia. He said the move represented “a giant leap towards a future-focused e-business world for this region.”