On this page we address the most frequently asked questions for organizations that (wish to) act as service providers within the Peppol network and have completed or are about to complete the admission process to do so. The answers to some questions are explored in depth in a Help article - these can be found at peppol.nl/help and below. If you want to use Peppol as an end user (for example, because you want to e-invoice as a supplier or government organization), please go to the “Questions about Peppol for organizations” page.
On appointments, monitoring and auditing
The NPa ensures that the correct file formats are supported by recipients within the Peppol network, based on legal and fiscal requirements. This ensures the smooth running of, for example, invoicing processes, such as the requirement that contracting authorities can receive and process an NLCIUS invoice. In addition, based on reports from OpenPeppol, the NPA monitors how often certain formats are used. This data supports decision-making on introducing new formats and managing existing ones.
An ISO 27001 (or similar) certification is just one of the requirements set by the NPA. The NPA also imposes requirements that cannot be easily verified on the basis of a certificate. One of the tasks of the Peppol Authority is to check whether service providers comply with these agreements. The NPa uses the expertise of the National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (former Telecom Agency) to carry out these audits (checks).
The State Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure (formerly Agentschap Telecom) realises good, safe and reliable networks for telecommunications and IT and also implements laws and regulations in this area. The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate ensures that everyone complies with the rules, requirements and conditions.
E-invoicing regulations are changing in many countries. In this help article, we provide an overview of some European and non-European countries where e-invoicing is already mandatory or will soon become mandatory. This provides an idea of the current state of play, without having to consult each country individually.
However, this concerns a snapshot in time.
No concrete agreements have yet been made to make e-invoicing via Peppol mandatory in the Netherlands.
About technology
Within Peppol, communication is entirely focused on standardisation and automation. Only via a standardised Peppol transaction is it possible to communicate with a supplier or customer, such as an invoice, order, order response or invoice response. It is therefore not possible to exchange chat and e-mail messages via Peppol.
To e-invoice through the Peppol network, you need a Peppol ID. With this number, you can be found in the network and receive and send electronic messages. A Peppol ID can be a Chamber of Commerce, VAT, or IBAN number, but also, for example, a GLN. For Dutch companies, it is common to use the KvK number so that they can be easily found by other users on the Peppol network. For government organisations, the OIN (Organisation Identification Number) is used.
Mandatory message formats are SI-UBL 2.0 (NLCIUS) and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. SI-UBL 1.2 is obsolete and has not been in use since January 2023. SI-UBL 2.0 (NLCIUS) is mainly used for traffic within the Netherlands, while Peppol BIS 3.0 is more often used for international traffic. However, both formats are mandatory, and it is also possible to use Peppol BIS 3.0 within the Netherlands. More information can be found on this page.
Message-level response (MLR) is used to feedback technical validation errors when a received document does not comply with Peppol standards. These are form errors that really should not occur, as only valid messages should be sent over the network. The following error messages can be communicated via the MLR:
- XML schema errors
- Standard compliance errors, e.g. sending empty fields
- Business rule validation errors, e.g. failure to provide supplier address details, a purchase order number or customer reference.
Here is an overview of all business rule validations for Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
For content errors, such as an incorrect price or incorrect billing, there is the Invoice Response (IR). This message can be used by the receiving party to indicate at company level whether an invoice is accepted and why not.
The Invoice Response (IR) message is a message that provides feedback on the functional correctness of an invoice. This message is created by a customer to indicate the status of the invoice processing. For example, this message can be used to indicate that the purchase order number supplied is incorrect, or that the invoice is ready to be paid. The IR message is not mandatory and is ideally suited to communicate from customer to supplier.
OpenPeppol mandates the use of Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. NPa mandates the use of NLCIUS, with file type SI-UBL 2.0.