The Greek government aims to save more than 3.0 billion euro annually, while enterprises will benefit more than 1.0 bn euro annually, from the adoption of electronic invoicing, Greek Development, Competitiveness and Shipping Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis said on Wednesday. 

 

Speaking to reporters, during a news conference to present the plan, Chrysohoidis said both the state and enterprises were losing more than 4.0 bn euro annually from illegal invoicing practices and noted that electronic invoicing will effectively combat such practices. The plan aims that all financial transactions between the public sector and enterprises be made exclusively electronically in the first quarter of 2012. 

 

“Electronic invoicing is used today but not in a widespread form and the plan is to gradually lift a large administrative and financial burden on enterprises, freeing up significant financial sources to other more productive activities,” the Greek minister said. He noted that according to ministry calculations, the cost of each invoice issued on paper by enterprises ranged between 7-15 euros, while the cost of an e-invoice was between 0.60-4.0 euros. 

 

“The difference is colossal, as e-invoicing can be up to ten times cheaper than on paper, offering significant savings to enterprises. The annual number of invoices issued in Greece surpasses 200-250 million euro annually, which means that savings could reach 1.0 bn euro. Money that could be used for productive activities and investments instead of being spent to sustain an antiquated bureaucracy,” Chrysohoidis said. 

 

The Greek minister said that by September, a joint team of ministry and market agencies will have settled on a single prototype for electronic invoices, so that enterprises will be ready to adopt this method next year. All business-to-government transactions will be made electronically by the end of the year, starting from the e-procurement system. 

 

Alternate Finance Minister Pantelis Economou, told reporters that efforts will focus on ensuring communication between all electronic registers of the public sector, while Administrative Reform and Electronic Governance deputy Minister Pantelis Tzortzakis said that from September all joint ministerial decisions will be signed electronically and that the e-invoicing system will make it easier to have a more detailed inspection of companies’ financial situation. (AMNA)