EN 16931
In Latvian: EN 16931
EN 16931 is the European standard on electronic invoicing. Part 1, EN 16931-1:2017, sets the semantic data model of the core elements of an e-invoice, and CEN/TS 16931-2:2017 lists the two syntaxes in which that data may be written: UBL and UN/CEFACT CII.
The standard was drawn up under Directive 2014/55/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement. Its Article 7 requires public contracting authorities to receive and process e-invoices that comply with the standard and one of the listed syntaxes. The reference was published by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870, which set 18 April 2019 as the final date for bringing that duty into force; Member States could postpone it for regional and local authorities.
In Latvia the standard is built into the very definition of an e-invoice: Section 1, Clause 9 of the Accounting Law defines a structured electronic invoice as one that complies with LVS EN 16931-1:2017. Each data element in the standard has a code; BT-84, for example, is the payment account identifier.
Example
A buyer's system reads the invoice number, the VAT breakdown and the bank account from a EUR 3,025 e-invoice issued by SIA "Ozols" precisely because each field means what the standard says it means, whichever software produced the invoice.
Legal basis
- Accounting Law, Section 1, Clause 9 likumi.lv
- Directive 2014/55/EU eur-lex.europa.eu
- Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870 eur-lex.europa.eu
This explanation is for information and does not replace tax or legal advice. The law in its current consolidated text prevails.