It is the end of the month. Like every other month since the e-Invoicing module was activated, Judith receives a report from her computer system that summarizes the invoices received and validated. It also contains a recap of the invoices produced and the status (received, approved/rejected, paid). Only by exception, when an incoming invoice does not match the data available in the system, or when a produced invoice is rejected by the customer, she gets a request for action detailing the mismatch and proposing action. The e-Invoicing module also cares for the production of outbound invoices: as soon as the delivery is done and other possible conditions are met, the system automatically issues the invoices to the customers.

This improvement saves her lots of time, previously wasted on bureaucracy. She can concentrate on her core business, which is a big relief. In the past, she was used to spending many evenings reconciling orders, invoices, contracts, delivery notes and so on, debugging frequent errors and consolidating tons of papers (or e-papers). Now she hardly ever touches an invoice anymore - only when there is a possible error. This scenario became fairly exceptional, since e-invoicing was generalized. All business partners use similar tools. The globalization of these tools and practices had a dramatic impact. For decades, enterprises attempted to do the same in isolation, which achieved only insignificant improvements, except for a small minority of very large actors. Now that the technology is generalized, these actors also benefit from it, through lower prices offered by the technology providers and better quality of incoming documents. This is really a win-win for everybody!

Belgium adheres to the European vision of the Digital Agenda 2020, which identifies the generalization of e-invoicing as a major source of efficiency. The story above reflects the potential of the adoption of e-Invoicing for all enterprises. In Belgium, the potential savings associated with the generalization of e-invoicing are estimated at €3.5 billion per year. However, such savings, and the associated benefits, can only happen after several important changes take place. Most of the technology underlying these changes is available. Software tools can generate, receive and process electronic documents of all kinds, and implement the type of improvements described above. All sorts of message-exchange solutions are also available. Unfortunately, most of these components cannot inter-operate in a satisfying way. In this situation, e-invoicing is feasible only within small circles and closed networks. The Peppol project was set up in 2008 to identify the barriers to the generalization of e-procurement (including e-invoicing) and solutions to overcome them. The project was completed in 2011, delivering an interoperability framework. Since 2012, several countries implemented this framework. In 2016, Belgium was the 6^th country to join. Each country sets up a Peppol authority (PA), which stands for the promotion, the diffusion and the proper use of the interoperability framework within its jurisdiction. It also contributes to the consolidation of the framework and the continuous evolution of its components.

The present page is dedicated to the Belgian Peppol Authority (PA). It addresses the following aspects:

We wish you a pleasant visit. please send your questions, comments and suggestions to peppol@bosa.fgov.be, or using the inline comment tool: highlight an area of the page, right-click, and select the -sign to popup the inline comment tool.

General presentation of the Belgian Peppol Authority (PA)

The Belgian Peppol Authority (PA) offers the following support to its correspondents and the industry: (1°) a national SMP, (2°) a Peppol Access Point providers' accreditation procedure and support, and (3°) a set of instruments to facilitate the end-to-end tests with the public sector and to track & trace the e-invoicing traffic with the public sector. All of these contributions are described in detail in the following sections.

BOSA SD, the Directorate-General Simplification and Digitalisation (SD) of the Federal Public Service Policy and Support (Beleid en Ondersteuning / Stratégie et Appui - BOSA), is in charge of the Belgian e-Government strategy, and more generally of the promotion of good practices in the IT sector in Belgium. Promoting the generalization of e-Invoicing (and, in a later phase, e-procurement), fits into its mandate. At the end of a pilot aiming at demonstrating the feasibility of Business-to-Government (B2G) e-Invoicing, in 2015, BOSA SD concluded that an interoperability framework was a precondition for achieving that goal. Today, Peppol is the only comprehensive interoperability framework available. Peppol recognizes the need for a strong governance, including a contracts-based juridical construction where operators sign contracts with Authorities.

Since 2016, BOSA SD took the role of Peppol Authority (PA) for the country of Belgium, recognizing the added value of a PA to stimulate adoption of e-Invoicing and e-Procurement in Belgium. Indeed, a PA contributes to the growth of Peppol Access Points and to the awareness of the advantages of the Peppol framework in its own domain. A PA also relays local concerns to the global level; this feedback mechanism is expected to have a decisive impact on the interoperability across Peppol domains.

Since then, BOSA SD has signed agreements with over 20 operators. In close cooperation with other European, federal, regional and local authorities, BOSA SD participates in or organizes information sessions about the challenges associated with the generalization of e-Invoicing, and its practical solutions. BOSA SD also established a forum of Belgian Peppol Service Providers, and contributed to the setup of a Business Experts Group. The Business Experts Group leads the participants community. Participants are the entities exchanging invoices. The group receives and processes questions, remarks and suggestions about the use of the framework from their perspective - most of these questions relate to the understanding and proper use of the functional specifications. The Federation of Enterprises in Belgium has accepted the responsibility to organize this business-critical knowledge sharing platform.

The Belgian Peppol Authority (PA) is composed of the following BOSA SD staff members:

Marc Vermeire, service manager
Coralie Humblet, Business Analyst
Rémi Mateo, deputy architect
Guido Doucet, project manager
Arnaud Reper, architect
Serge Libert, program manager

The service address is peppol@bosa.fgov.be.

This team is also responsible for the support of B2G adoption. In this particular area, BOSA SD created the Mercurius platform, as the single gateway between the private and the public sector (more details: see section "Mercurius"); to harmonize and streamline the exchanges to the advantage of the private sector. Mercurius is instrumented in several ways, so that it is advantageous for the adoption of B2G and B2B (see more details later). In the future, BOSA SD will increase the advantages of the Mercurius - Peppol synergies.

Introduction to the Peppol interoperability framework

When you send a document to someone through the postal services, you just put it in an envelope, put the address on it, stamp it (if required) ... and that's it. Basically, Peppol is the solution for doing the same, but between computers. This is however quite a different, more complex problem to solve in the world of computers than in the world of paper, because the ultimate goal - automation of invoice processing - is much more sophisticated, and due to the inherent nature of computer systems - programs can hardly cope with deviations. Therefore, achieving such a universal, fully inter-operable exchange system, is a challenge. Peppol offers a framework that enables this universal "new way of posting".

The acronym Peppol stands for "Pan-European Public Procurement On Line". Historically, it was a project launched by the European Commission in 2008, in the context of the Digital Agenda for Europe, already mentioned. It completed in 2011. Its purpose was to deliver a report explaining how to overcome the major barriers in electronic procurement. It involved experts from 11 countries, for a total budget of €30 million. This very inclusive project defined the conditions for generalization of e-Procurement and selected existing practical solutions, and integrated them together in an interoperability framework. In 2012, several countries in Europe decided to implement the framework. The Peppol eDelivery network started to operate and grow. Today, more than 150 access points, 50 receiving registries and 8 Peppol authorities, cooperate to deliver a transparent, reliable and secure business documents transport service to any potential participant (= sender and/or receiver). In combination with the business interoperability principles that it promotes, the Peppol e-Delivery network is the highest potential solution today.

The Peppol framework encompasses 3 major dimensions: technical, organizational and contractual.

The technical dimension is a set of specifications. It covers document formats, message transport protocols, identification of participants and their capabilities, security mechanisms, service levels, change management procedures. Any collection of organizations agreeing to meet this set of specifications, can reach full inter-operability. The most important specification is the mandatory support of the BIS. The Business Interoperability Specification (BIS), is a collection of formats covering all procurement-related documents (order, dispatch advice, invoice, credit note, ...). The mandatory support involves that nobody can refuse to talk that lingua franca. As long as this principle is met, participants can use whatever format to communicate, that best suits their own context.
The organizational dimension defines roles and responsibilities within the community. The following roles are defined: participant, access points providers, SMP providers, Authority. The Participants send and receive documents (through normalized access points). The Access Points Providers operate an access point - which is the alter ego for the mailbox in the paper world - the point were the message becomes fully normalized, in line with the specifications, so as to ensure smooth, efficient exchange across the community, whatever the other participant. The SMP providers operate a register of participants, a sophisticated address book containing each receivers' "capabilities" (= the list of documents-types/formats they are able to receive). The Authorities stand for the promotion, the diffusion and the proper use of the interoperability framework within their respective jurisdiction (typically, a country, a region or a sector of activity). Additionally, a coordinating Authority is appointed to own and manage the common specifications. Local Authorities have the right to add local specifications to tune the framework to local conditions, as long as they don't contradict the global specifications relationship between participants and access points Depending on various factors, participants can choose to establish their own Access Point, or to enter into an agreement with any of the service providers connected to the Peppol Transport Infrastructure in Belgium or throughout Europe.	Interaction model between correspondents through a global open transport infrastructure
The contractual/jurisdictional dimension of Peppol consists in a set of contracts between the above mentioned actors. AP providers enter in contracts with the participants on the one hand, and with a PA on the other hand. The latter contract is similar to any such contract signed by any AP. This ensures consistent application of the Peppol specifications across distinct service providers, which is the foundation of the interoperability. Also, as explained above, some Authorities can specify additional rules to be applicable within their own jurisdiction, to a certain extent. To cover this contractually, such Authorities prepare an annex (named "Annex 5") and invite foreign AP providers to sign this Annex 5 only, in addition to the existing agreement they have signed with their own Authority.

For more information about the Peppol interoperability framework and the Peppol community, please visit www.Peppol.eu.

Peppol in Belgium: general information

This section provides the reader with additional information about the use of Peppol in Belgium. It includes key-information about the use of identifiers for domestic trade, the use of formats in the Business-to-Government (B2G) context and in the Business-to-Business (B2B) context, and the Belgian e-Invoicing Business Experts Group. All parties interested in e-invoicing, especially the Participants (in the Peppol sense explained above), are invited to read this section.

Use of identifiers

In line with the Belgian legal framework, enterprises are expected to use their enterprise number,delivered by the Belgian Crossroad Bank of Enterprises (CBE), as a primary identification number. In order to facilitate this, the Belgian Authorities have registered a specific Identification scheme ID: 0208 (*) Enterprises are strongly recommended to use this Identification scheme on their e-Invoices, as this considerably simplifies the master vendor data management, which guarantees proper routing of documents across more or less complex networks, and offers added value through integration with other e-Government solutions (such as eGOV roles management). The access to the Mercurius Portal illustrates this added value: all legal representatives of Belgian enterprises have direct access to their own invoice records on Mercurius; for large structures, the eGOV Role "Billing Officer" can be used to assign this task to certain employees.

Identification Scheme BE:VAT, although still tolerated, should rather be used for identification in non-domestic correspondence only - and, of course, for VAT-specific invoice contents. All active entities of the Belgian Authorities are registered with their enterprise number.

(*) notice that the identification SchemeID 9956 (BE:CBE), originally assigned to the Belgian enterprise number, was replaced by the ISO-compliant code 0208, registered in the ICD-list, in th econtext of the upgrade to the Eureopean Norm for electronic invoicing. The migration period did run from 1/7/2020 until 17/5/2021.

Use of formats

B2G context

Both Peppol BIS and ePRIOR implement the format designed during the CEN BII workshops. Consequently, in the context of the B2G e-Invoicing Pilot phase, the Belgian Authorities were already receiving Peppol BIS-compliant invoices. So the integration with the Peppol interoperability framework did not modify the document format. The Belgian Authorities have no specific needs that would motivate the support of additional formats. Since the BIS format is common to all correspondents, the Belgian Authorities have registered only this format. More specifically, profile 04 (invoice) and 05 (Billing) are supported.

B2B context

The Belgian PA fully supports the initiatives to use more sophisticated formats, to better suit the needs of specific groups, especially in the private sector, that cannot be efficiently supported by the BIS or other existing formats - as long as these groups also recognize the need for a lingua franca, to support interoperability across groups. The Belgian Authorities do not limit this statement to any syntax. For example, the Belgian Authorities consider EDIFACT as a syntax to integrate in the Peppol framework, for it will benefit to increasing the reach of the interoperability framework.

Belgian e-Invoicing Business Experts Group

Interoperability is not only a technical issue. It can also be (a) a business issue, and (b) a matter of exploiting the potential of the technical solutions available. To address these concerns, a Belgian e-Invoicing Experts Group was founded in June 2017. It addresses questions such as "how should an invoice with cash discount be expressed in the BIS format", "what makes an invoice number unique", "how to cope with the multiplicity of identification schemes",.... It is a meeting point across various groups, each group having its own perspective and concerns. The confrontation of these view points in a constructive mindset, accelerates the generalization of e-Invoicing.

Business Experts from all horizons of the Belgian invoicing landscape, supported by technical experts, participate in this joint effort. The Federation of Enterprises of Belgium provides the facilities needed by the group (logistic support, extranet, moderation, ....).

Topics that have already been handled

#	Description	Conclusion
2	Rounding problem to 2 decimals Some companies are using more than 2 decimals as unit price on existing invoices. If invoicelines are rounded to 2 decimals, rounding problems occur and the sum of the lineamounts is not the rounded amount of the total amount and the electronic invoice is rejected by Peppol BIS for this reason.	Workgroup has reached agreement on solution based on Peppol BIS 2 (3.6.0). Since more decimals are allowed at line level in Peppol BIS 2 schematrons, LineExtensionAmount at line level may contain more than 2 decimals. The sum of those LineExtensionAmounts will be rounded in invoice totals to 2 decimals for calculating VAT. Detailed instructions will be communicated in VBO-FEB circular letter.
3	Cash discount In Belgium we often use cash discount on invoices. The particular scenario for calculating VAT is not clearly expressed in Peppol BIS documentation resulting in implementation problems. Therefore a detailed explanation on the Belgian implementation in Peppol BIS should be agreed and communicated regarding this problem.	Workgroup has reached agreement on solution based on Peppol BIS 2 (3.6.0). It has been decided to use AllowanceChargeReasonCode 66 to indicate cash discount (calculated per VAT tax category) as allowance and compensate the amount by adding an additional charge at total level (also with AllowanceChargeReasonCode 66) but as VAT tax category 'E' (exempt) and VAT percent = 0. PaymentTerms/Note should contain textual explanation on payment eg. “In case of payment within xx days y% (xx.xx€)payment discount applies and PayableAmount = zzzz.zz€” (text should be specified in proper language of the invoice). Detailed instructions will be communicated in VBO-FEB circular letter.
7	Cohabitation enterprise number belgian VAT number The coexistence of the enterprise number and the BE VAT number causes interoperability issues. Indeed, both IDs are so close to each other, that many people hardly distinguish one another, and therefore use one for another and vice versa. This creates challenges for machine to machine integration. Eventually, it has a significant impact on the cost of the solutions.	For the time being, it is not possible to reduce this cost factor.
8	Empties Companies selling empties and taking back these empties are struggled on how they show address these empties when sending electronic invoices using Peppol BIS. The workgroup should define a scenario (with some examples) to address this problem taking into account VAT regulations on this matter.	Workgroup has reached agreement on solution based on Peppol BIS 2 (3.6.0). Empties will be added as a separate invoiceline with VAT tax category 'E' providing the possibility use positive (charge) and negative (take back empties) quantities. Detailed instructions will be communicated in VBO-FEB circular letter
9	Reduction vouchers suppliers Processing of reduction vouchers (often used in Belgium) is not well documented in Peppol BIS documentation so we should develop a detailed scenario how to treat this in Peppol BIS e-invoicing.	Workgroup has reached agreement on solution based on Peppol BIS 2 (3.6.0). Reduction vouchers from suppliers can be treated as allowances and specified at invoice total level specifying "LEVERANCIERSBON" as AllowanceChargeReason and VAT tax category 'Z'. Detailed instructions will be communicated in VBO-FEB circular letter

Topics that are being handled

#	Description	Status - action points
1	Mapping of the business scenario spare parts in the BIS	P. DELEU will propose a mapping at next meeting
4	Taxable amount in EUR on invoice in other currency	G.DILLES to elaborate the problem description based on input at last group meeting
10	Rounding problem when starting from prices VAT included	Proposal is being prepared in small workgroup (lead: Colruyt)

Upcoming topics

#	Description
5	Peppol in B2C context
6	EU e-invoicing Standard EN 16931	To be presented to the group (lead: BOSA)

Extranet of the Belgian e-Invoicing Business Experts Group (members-only):

https://extranet.vbo-feb.be/SitePages/Home.aspx

Peppol in Belgium: Service Providers

As explained above, Service Providers (aka Access Points) in the Peppol world, are like mailboxes in the paper world: entry and exit points in a transport network, that guarantees an efficient service. This responsibility can be shared across multiple operators provided that they commit to common rules. In the Peppol context, a contract, called the Service Provider Agreement, defines these rules. Service Providers sign this contract with a Peppol Authority. All Service Providers are aware of the different local regulations where they want to operate.

The complete list of Service Providers and their main country of legal residence, is available here

Belgian version of the Service Provider Agreement

All Service Providers' agreements are aligned, no matter what Authority signs them.
However, to be contractually valid in the jurisdiction covered by the Authority, the latter must produce a specific version of it.

Here are the Belgian version of the Agreement (Français & Nederlands) for your reading:

Français : Peppol Service Provider Agreement - Contrat de prestataire de services

Nederlands : Peppol Service Provider Agreement - Peppol Dienstverleningsovereenkomst

To initiate the signature process of the agreement please do send a mail to peppol@bosa.fgov.be requesting the process to start.

Onboarding of Service Providers

Operators interested in the role of Peppol Service Providers are invited to consider the Business case in detail before submitting their candidacy. Here is a document prepared by the Peppol consortium at the end of the Project, that supports this analysis: HowToBeAnAccessPointProvider.pdf. It dates from 2012, but it is still relevant.

All prospective Peppol Access Point Providers can submit their candidature to the Belgian Peppol Authority. The Belgian Peppol Authority will examine their candidacy. If it fits with the mandate of the Belgian Peppol Authority, and if the candidate has enrolled as a member of the Open Peppol association (visit the linked page to learn how to join), the Belgian Peppol Authority will sign the Agreement.

SP having signed with the Belgian PA

Name	Enterprise Number
Accountable	0682763303
Ademico Software	0552912569
AdValvas Europe	0883663268
ARCO	0449888671
B2Boost	0472524216
b2b grid	0837939943
Babelway-Tradeshift	0887442805
Billit	0563846944
Brain2	0462918840
Breex Easybox	0760527015
C&W Logistics	0880578569
codabox	0840559537
connect solutions	0843871294
CronosIT4C	0715739343
Descartes	0467369853
Digiteal	0630675588
D Soft	0455351751
dynatos	0548976052
Horus Software	0478696879
ILGE	0598797529
Integral Software	0455144784
IRC Engineering	0433172207
ixor	0478493179
Nestoya	0755788366
Netropolix software	0466030461
Nymus	0845015696
OCTOPUS	0477525753
Odoo	0477472701
Routty	0719282219
Scrada	0793904121
soluz.io	0711710576
UnifiedPost	0471730202
WinAuditor	0783790979

The Belgian Peppol Authority will then provide further administrative support to the candidate during the Service Provider setup and beyond. During the Service Provider setup, this support covers the following stages (based on a general document available at OpenPeppol provides the following guidance to assist new Service Providers):

#	Description
I.	Signature of agreement: verify that the legal conditions are met for the agreement to be contractually valid (legal representative, no bankruptcy,...)
II.	Issuance of Peppol Pilot certificate: the page “ OpenPeppol provides members with the following types of technical documentation”, provides the following information and links: Guides Specifications Tools Policies Technical documentation is provided in the following domains: Peppol Network Post Award Pre Award CTC
III.	Set up the software Setting up the Service Provider requires a preliminary analysis to define which software will be used to start developing the Servcie Provider. There is information available to guide the candidate, mostly on the internet. The Belgian Peppol Authority can be contacted for specific questions or to share specific information. However, the Belgian Peppol Authority does not deliver technical support to candidates designing and setting up their Service Provider. More info to be found in the Library .
IV.	Conducting testing activities Testing involves 1 to 3 phases: (1) Peppol conformance testing - mandatory; (2) Mercurius Testing - strongly recommended, pre-requisite for any end-to-end tests, and (3) end-to-end testing to recognize the Service Provider as a valid intermediary. 1. Peppol Conformance testing procedure - mandatory [click to expand]: Once development is sufficiently advanced, conformance testing can take place. For this the Service Provider candidate needs the PILOT certificate issued earlier. Test and On-boarding can be done through the Access Point Acceptance Test user guide. Prior following the link to the centralized Testbed make sure you have done all the pre-requisites described in the Access Point Acceptance Test user guide before initiating the test. Notice that the tests are not supposed to be early tests (for this you need to perform your tests locally). Instead, these tests are meant to validate the conformance of the AP technical implementation. 2. Mercurius testing procedure [click to expand]: The AP sends one or several invoices / CNs, in his own name or on behalf of some of his customers, to one or several Belgian public sector entities receiving invoices/Credit notes on Peppol. The AP Provider is invited to verify if the documents duly arrived on Mercurius: He should first check that AS4 messages duly arrived, using the test-message lookup tool available on the Mercurius portal homepage. Additionally, he can log into the Mercurius Portal, to control more in details what has been received and what is the status. Please notice that access to Mercurius Portal requires meeting several conditions, listed in the remarks at the end of this paragraph. Once the necessary controls happened, please contact Mercurius support per email (mercurius@bosa.fgov.be) to notify that the Mercurius testing occurred, providing evidences of the success of the test (eg copy of the sent documents + files downloaded from the Mercurius portal, screenshots of the list, … Remarks: The Service Provider’s customers are supposed to know the Belgian Enterprise Number of their customers Mercurius testing must be done with production-like data. Use of fancy data is prohibited If the Service Provider chooses to not use the Mercurius_AP role, then they have to agree with their customer to follow up the tests on the Mercurius side. The Mercurius support team does not provide that service. However, if, controlling good reception of the test documents, they encounter problems, then Mercurius support will assist See also the Mercurius section for information about the technical support that Mercurius offers during the on boarding process and beyond (eg the role Mercurius AP, test message lookup tool) Conditions for Service Provider to use the Mercurius portal in TEST [click here to expand]:] Access to Mercurius Portal requires that: (1) the Service Provider is a Belgian company and the Portal user has a Belgian eID, (2) the Service Provider is properly configured in Mercurius as Access Point, and (3) his Portal user has the eGOV Role “Mercurius_AP”. Discussion on the condition of Belgian nationality/Belgian registration falls outside the scope of the present procedure. To be configured in Mercurius, the Service Provider must send a configuration request to the Mercurius support per email (mercurius@bosa.fgov.be), containing (i.) his Enterprise Number (enterprise registration number in the CBE), and (ii.) the CN of the Peppol Pilot certificate. Regarding the eGov Role “Mercurius AP”, the Service Provider must use the eGOV role management application to assign the role “Mercurius AP” to his Portal user(s). Notice that this role gives access to both test and production. For more guidance about this step, please contact Mercurius support per email (mercurius@bosa.fgov.be) 3. End-to-end testing procedure [click to expand]: Upon successful completion of the Mercurius test phase, the Mercurius team will ask the Service Provider to proceed with the next step. One or several suppliers, who use the services of the Service Provider, must send 1 or more test invoices / CNs to one or several public sector entities active in Mercurius. This involves the setup of test data at the customer side. Upon confirmation by the customers of the successful completion of the tests, the Service Provider having signed an Service Provider agreement with the Belgian Peppol Authority, are invited to contact the Belgian Peppol Authority in order to request initiation of the Peppol production certificate, by sending a mail to Peppol@bosa.fgov.be with sufficient evidence of the completion of the end-to-end tests. be referenced on the "SP having signed with the Belgian PA" section: if the Service Provider wants to be referenced, he must provide: (a) the label he wants displayed; (b) the url on which the visitor must be redirected, (c) the CN of his Peppol Production certificate. be configured on Mercurius as Access Point, and be able to monitor the extensive track and trace of the Service Provider’s pass-through traffic to Mercurius Conditions for Service Provider to use the Mercurius portal in PRODUCTION [click to expand]: Special Access to Mercurius Portal is offered to Service Providers who have signed the Belgian Service Provider agreement. With this access, they can track and trace all their traffic to and from Mercurius, in test and in production. This gives them full control over the delivery of their clients documents. Technically, this access requires that: (1) the Service Provider is a Belgian company and the Portal user has a Belgian eID, (2) the Service Provider is properly configured in Mercurius as Access Point, and (3) his Portal user has the eGOV Role “Mercurius_AP”. Discussion on the condition of Belgian nationality/Belgian registration falls outside the scope of the present procedure. To be configured in Mercurius, the Service Provider must send a configuration request to the Mercurius support per email (mercurius@bosa.fgov.be), containing (i.) his Enterprise Number (enterprise registration number in the CBE), and (ii.) the CN of the Peppol Production certificate. Regarding the eGov Role “Mercurius AP”, the Service Provider must use the eGOV role management application to assign the role “Mercurius AP” to his Portal user(s). Notice that this role gives access to both test and production. For more guidance about this step, please contact Mercurius support per email (mercurius@bosa.fgov.be)
V.	Issuance of Peppol PRODUCTION certificate: the page “ Introduction to PKI certification”, provides the following information and links: general description of the (new) Peppol Public Key Infrastructure (new Certificate Authority : open Peppol) and (new) enrollment process link to access the Jira service Desk tool to initiate the enrollment process. Remarks: (1°) mention that you need a PRODUCTION certificate; (2°) candidates must upload their Service Provider Agreement, and company legal registration form - form Belgian Enterprises, this form is a pdf of their page in the Belgian CrossRoadBank of enterprises link to the certificates enrollment procedure: two versions of the procedure are available, depending on your browser (FireFox/Edge).
VI.	Referencing on "SP having signed with the Belgian PA" section: all Service Provider having signed a Service Provider agreement with the Belgian Peppol Authority, are eligible to be displayed on this section. To activate this possibility, please provide: the label he wants displayed the url on which the visitor must be redirected, the CN of his Peppol Production certificate. NOTE: In the past, the above procedure was related to the publication of information on the page "Full list of active Access Providers on the Belgian market". The procedure was decommissioned in 2020, when use of smp.belgium.be became optional. The decommissioning of the page is in process.
VII.	Communicate any change in certificates (Test or Prod) to Mercurius team: the CN of the Peppol certificate is the key to determine the messages that the user with the Mercurius AP role can access. To avoid perturbed access to Mercurius Portal, communicate any change of AP certificate timely to the Mercurius team (use the support request form). NB: the change of the Peppol certificate also affects smp operations.

Belgian Service Providers Forum

The Belgian Peppol Authority not only recruits Peppol Service Providers in its domain, it also organizes an Service Provider Forum. This forum handles various topics related to the development of Peppol, from technical issues encountered, to actions organized by the Belgian Peppol Authority... It is a critical interaction point between operators, where they can talk about their concerns, about their understanding of the specifications, and reach consensus required for true interoperability. It typically meets every 6-8 weeks, depending on the need to interact. All Service Providers active in Belgium (Service Providers that signed with the Belgian Peppol Authority and the Service Providers that operate on the Belgian Area), or who expect to operate on the Belgian Area soon, are invited to participate.

The forum is supported by :
(a) the table below summarizing the editions of the forum, decisions and supporting slides, and
(b) a web page publishing more detailed information related to the topics discussed in the forum, including migration plans, detailed specifications, testing instructions and many other useful information.

Agenda, list of presence, supporting material and wrap up of the previous Forum editions

Edition	Presence	Agenda /slideware/streaming	Wrap up
33 date to be announced		I. Outcome Questionnaire II. Your questions & topics III. Backlog / AOB / Next forum
32 14 Nov 2023 13:30 - 14:30	Arco B2B Router B2Boost b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Codabox Descartes Digiteal eConnect Edicom Esker Exact Horus Software Ixor Netropolix Octopus OptiPost Order2cash/Bill Trust Pagero soluz.io Storecove Tradeinterop UnifiedPost iCreative	I. smp.belgium.be retirement II. Rejection on AS4 level III. eInvoicing Testimonials IV. Your questions & topics V. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	I. smp.belgium.be retirement as stated on the slides, smp.belgium.be retires on 31.12.2023 BOSA strongly recommends all SPs to be ready by 01.12.2023 BOSA will provide to the concerned SPs their list of records. additional comments: some SPs use smp.belgium.be as pit stop in the migration of Hermes participants. This practice must also be dismantled by EOY. some SP report throughput limitations. pls use BOSA support channels to report and substantiate. II. Topic suggested by Tradeshift w.r. to "Rejection on AS4 level" and proposal by OpenPeppol support. Interactions on different possibilities. no clear way forward. recognition of the need to align with MLx track, but also consider compliance process. Maturity curve issue. Suggestion for the ones interested to have an additional exchange moment s on MLA/MLS and AS4 possibilities. between Belgian forum participants. Interested to be part of the meeting? Drop a mail to peppol@bosa.fgov.be III. You are kindly invited to come with your eInvoicing testimonials to us to have it in a video. V. Recording Belgian entities in your SMP’s need to be first done based on the CBE number “0208”.
31 12 Sep 2023 13:30 - 14:10	Advalvas Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Codabox connect solutions eConnect Edicom Exact Ixor Nestoya Netropolix OptiPost Order2cash/Bill Trust Pagero soluz.io Tradeinterop UnifiedPost VAT-IT	I. smp.belgium.be retirement II. Your Topics V. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	I. smp.belgium.be retirement smp.belgium.be retires on 31.12.2023 available support: all SP’s currently using smp.belgium.beare have received a report with their data. Once they have migrated their participants data, they can contact BOSA for a final cross check. BOSA strongly recommends all such SPs to be ready by 01.12.2023 Revamping of Peppol-in-belgium page: there will be a short term change to cope with immediate concerns, and a longer term deeper revamping. Appropriate analysis in ongoing. Impact on the smp.belgium.be migration is acknowledged as negligible. II. Answer given to the provided questions. Migration from HSMP to any SMP: BOSA confirms that there is no dependency with smp.belgium.be. SPs having trouble need to check their own code. Timing of B2G e-invoicing obligation: Official source is National Gazette. will publish info in function of progress of legislative process. Chancellery is sole competent institution. NB1: the impact of the possible report of the last milestone has only negligible impact. The key message is: B2G e-invoicing is becoming mandatory. the faster you and your customers are ready, the better. NB2: a Press conference was held by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation. He confirmed the update schedule. Supporting material is also available to support this communication action. NB3: updates (published after the meeting) of the Obligation générale de la facturation électronique vers l’administration/Algemene verplichting elektronisch factureren aan de overheid BOSA pages w.r. to the shift to 1.3.2024 for the last milestone
30 27 Jun 2023 13:30 - 15:00	FPS Finance Ademico Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Codabox Descartes Digiteal eConnect eCreative Edicom Exact Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Octopus OptiPost Order2cash/Bill Trust Pagero soluz.io VAT-IT	I.National developments in B2B eInvoicing by FPS Finance II.SchemeID 9956 (& old MLR DocType) removal III.smp.belgium.be retirement IV.MTCI V.Backlog / AOB / Next forum	I. Clarifications: Timing: depends on parliamentary process. Scope: domestic traffic only. Approach: Initial proposal: introduction of obligation to receive first and in one step, then introduction of obligation to send in phases. However some stakeholders have concerns with the phasing. Discussions ongoing. Reporting: through Peppol CTC II. No need for additional support was raised by SPs. Consequently BOSA starts phasing out its operation to support SPs and coordinate their actions in this matter. III.a. BOSA will schedule removal of the SP info on the PeppolInBelgium page. III.b. SPs are invited to provide their move-away plans by 14.7.2023 to peppol@bosa.fgov.be. V. AS2 removal: nobody seems to rely on AS2. Consequently there is no support needed (from BOSA), for SPs to comply with the AS2 Phase-out plan communicated by eDEC CMB in March.
29 16 May 2023 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Agoria Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Brain2 C&W Logistics Codabox connect solutions Descartes Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Edicom Esker Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Octopus OptiPost Pagero soluz.io UnifiedPost	I. 9956 - Old MLR update II. smp.belgium.be phase out, next step III. Hermes Integrator agreement IV. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	I. update files will be provided after the meeting to the concerned SP's II. SP's have to provide a date when they will be ready to provide the move away plan III. To be reachable through Hermes the receivers need also to agree with the Hermes Ts&Cs
28 21 Mar 2023 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Arco B2B Router Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Codabox Descartes Dynatos eConnect Edicom EskerExact Ixor Netropolix Octopus OpenText OptiPost Order2cash/Bill Trust Pagero soluz.io UnifiedPost	I. 9956 - Old MLR phase out completion II. use of 0208 III. smp.belgium.be phase out, next step IV. Hermes Integrator agreement - status V. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	III. smp.belgium.be phase out, next step: Some participants of the SP forum suggested to remove smp.belgium.be from the service by 1.1.2024. None objected. No SP expressed the need for particular support from BOSA in this migration process. In order to give sufficient time to all SPs to perform sufficient analysis, BOSA leaves the decision open until next forum. SPs are invited to raise their opinion to peppol@bosa.fgov.be by then. IV. Hermes Integrator agreement - status: A question from B2B router was the opportunity to (a) reemphasize that the user is the sender, and (b) to walk through the different benefits of Hermes to the different categories of stakeholders affected. As a side discussion the role of Hermes in a possible B2B mandate scenario was raised. At certain conditions, Hermes could take the same role of receiving-system of last resort during the transition phase , like CHORUS pro is taking in the French scenario. Integration with eBox enterprises is achieved. It is only for use in the G2B/G2G scenario for legal reasons. V. Backlog/AOB/Next forum: Backlog: governance update (what about ISO certification): can be removed from the backlog: the InfoSec Workgroup is taking care of these aspects. All OpenPeppol members can join the group if they wish, or get info in due time in function of workgroup progress. See also Call for Participation Peppol Security Requirements Design Work Group - OpenPeppol AOB: SPs raised their concerns to be part of the consultation rounds of the B2B obligation policy making phase. BOSA can only advise to get in touch with Tax Administration.
27 17 Jan 2023 13:30 - 14:15	Agoria Arco B2B Router Babelway - Tradeshift Basware Billit Codabox connect solutions Descartes Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Edicom Esker Exact Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Octopus OptiPost Pagero soluz.io Tradeinterop	I. Hermes Agreement Update II. 9956 decommissioning III. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	I. Language aspects: Hermes does not provide a solution to the fact that, currently, when it comes to converting the invoice into a human readable equivalent a language could be is defaulted. The sender has to determine the language to use (FR or NL). How the sender sorts this out may be context-dependent and very tricky. Hermes does not provide a solution for this. The sender still needs to decide which language he will use. Service Providers on behalf of their customers should provide the language (FR or NL) to be used by sender. II. 9956 decommissioning: Service Providers are asked to clean their obsolete entries before full decommissioning. III. a. Topics suggested for upcoming SP forums: CTC update on planning for B2B obligations in BE B2C agenda
26 22 Nov 2022 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Basware Billit Codabox connect solutions Descartes Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Edicom Esker Exact Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Octopus Pagero Symtrax Tradeinterop	I.B2B update by FPS Finance II.Feedback F2F meetings 11.2022 III. Hermes Agreement Update IV. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	II. important to notice that introduction of PINT may require all current invoice receivers to support the global invoice model, which is a generalization of the current BIS. In other words, it will involve migration activities for all receivers while the benefit will not always be clear for all receivers (eg the ones having mainly domestic traffic). SPs are invited to think about (a) how it fits with their understanding of the business and (b) how they will help their customers in this. III. Deadline for comments agreed on 16.12.2022 IV. a. SPs are invited to submit topics proposal for upcoming SP forums IV. b MLR BISv2 use in B2G scenario since 2016: now fully stopped. BOSA assumes MLR BISv2 is NOT used in the B2B scenario. SPs are invited to inform BOSA if it would not be the case. IV. c. Backlog: B2B: Tax Administration to participate in an upcoming SP: done IV. d. Backlog: collection of SP sending and receiving capabilities: to be organized by PA – preparatory collection prior to possible discussion on forum.
25 20 Sep 2022 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Agoria Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Basware Billit Codabox Descartes Dynatos eConnect Edicom Exact Nestoya Netropolix Octopus OptiPost Pagero soluz.io Tradeinterop	I.Update from Luxembourg II.Update on MLR-IMR III.e-Invoicing conference IV.Service Provider Agreement update V. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	I. Update on the e-invoicing track in Luxembourg given by Gérard Soisson - Ministère de la Digitalisation. II. The completion of the migration to IMR depends on the replacement of invoice senders old BIS MLR receiving capabilities by IMR receiving capabilities. Figures from Peppol Directory show that we are only 10% away in this process. From 16.11.2022 on, invoice senders who don’t receive IMR and only old BIS MLR, will experience a disruption of their invoice response processes. In the Peppol network it is up to the Service Providers to properly inform and support their invoice senders. III. SPs are warmly welcome to submit their candidacy to the e-invoicing award (in the category IT), and to suggest their customers who are active in invoicing to also submit (in the category entreprises). V. Backlog / AOB / Next forum a. Backlog: B2B: Tax Administration to participate in an upcoming SP b. Backlog: collection of SP sending and receiving capabilities: to be organized by PA – preparatory collection prior to possible discussion on forum. c. Next forum (26^th edition): 22.11.22, 13:30
24 21 Jun 2022 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Billit Codabox connect solutions Descartes Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Octopus - Inaras OpenText OptiPost Pagero soluz.io Tradeinterop	Agenda: I. Service Provider Agreement Update II. Backlog / AOB / Next forum	Service Provider Agreement Update (a) History, current status and issues that may arise from delayed signing by SPs: cf slides (b) A SP reported delay with the Legal department in Canada most probably due to workload. No specific action from BOSA. (c) No other specific question or issue was raised impairing the resigning process at the SP side. BOSA concludes that signed agreements for all SPs will most likely be returned by July 1st; therefore, there is no reason to prepare for the unlikely scenario. 2. Backlog / AOB / Next forum (a) Next forum scheduled 20.9 1:30PM (Teams meeting) (b) Suggestion of the SPs to invite Tax Administration to interact on the possible upcoming B2B Mandate. Action: BOSA will contact Tax Administration representatives to relay the proposal.
23 10 May 2022 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Agoria Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Basware Billit Breex Easybox Codabox Dynatos Connect Ecosio Exact Inaras Ixor OpenText OptiPost Pagero soluz.io Tradeinterop UnifiedPost	Agenda: I.Agreement Framework Revision II.Invoice response: IMR live since 10/03/2022 - Update III.Royal Decree – publications of IT solutions (B /G) IV.Backlog / AOB / Next forum Slides:	1. Agreement Framework Revision (a) translation delayed – BOSA recommends SP to rely on English original for their internal preparation to re-signing, as the translation will match exactly. SPs haven’t raised issue with this approach. (b) PA SR comments received and processed 2. Invoice response: status update (a) Billit remark about wording of emails transposing IMR when receiver has not suitable RC’s: BOSA confirms it refers to IMR, not MLR – however some Gov entities are still sending MLRs (not yet migrated to IMR), which may get turned into emails too when the receiver has no MLR RC. (b) BOSA will investigate the feasibility of tuning such email body. (c) Billit will check if his remark matches this scenario. 3. Royal Decree – publications of IT solutions (B /G) (a) Anyone who can help, is welcome to participate. The initiative has been duly communicated and broadcasted. (b) The main priority is to help the senders. The vast majority of senders who will need help in the short/medium term, need tools to send invoices. Therefore the main focus of the list that Government must publish, is on such tools. (c) Link to the procedures : - NL version - FR version (d) Translation is not provided by BOSA. SPs operating in Belgium are supposed to be OK with FR and/or NL. 4. Backlog / AOB / Next forum (a) Upcoming change in CBE ID (0208) first digit : Billit to verify that schematron implementation matches the requirement and if not, issue request on https://openpeppol.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/1 (b) Your topics: synch issue SMP-Peppol Directory: - Known in the SP community, recommendation is to foresee retry mechanisms to overcome possible timeouts in the processing e.g. at the level of the push to Peppol Directory - Issue also reported today by UP to BOSA, is on its way to BOSA’s subcontractor (c) Next Forum on June 21^st– please send us your topics. Thanks in advance for your constructive participation.
22 15 Mar 2022 13:30 - 15:00	Advalvas Arco B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Breex Easybox Codabox connect solutions Descartes Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Inaras Ixor OpenText Order2cash Pagero soluz.io UnifiedPost	Agenda: Agreement Framework Revision Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in Backlog / AOB / Next forum Slides:	Agreement Framework Revision New PA SR: SP community could be used as first place to discuss the issues some SPs face explaining the (too?) straightforward mechanism established by the new framework, to their customers Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in After due check, BOSA confirms that Hermes indeed returns BIS MLR upon reception of non-compliant BIS documents (schematron violation). Business rejections are returned as IMR if the invoice sender supports it, else as MLR due to the Belgian legacy context with respect to the use of old BIS MLR Backlog / AOB / Next forum Royal Decree: BOSA refers to the B2G e-invoicing Royal Decree. Cf forum 20 (14/12/2021), topic nr 2. explanations in slides
21 25 Jan 2022 13:30 - 14:30	Arco Advalvas B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Codabox Descartes Dynatos eConnect Edicom Exact Inaras Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Odoo OpenText OptiPost Order2cash Pagero soluz.io Symtrax Tradeinterop UnifiedPost	Agenda: Agreement Framework Revision B2G e-Invoicing Royal Decree Hermes Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in Backlog / AOB / Next forum Slides:	Agreement Framework Revision Each SP signs new agreement with the PA in which it is legally established. Annex 5 is replaced by PA specific requirements. It is not subject to separate signing Belgian PA will adjust practical details accordingly (ex: “APs” becomes “SPs” on 30/6/2022), including the organization of Belgian forum. Such adjustments should be as transparent as possible for service providers. Peppol Communication: PA invites all APs to submit articles (already published or in the drafting / publication process) – id possible please communicate links instead of files. PA invites APs to also suggest other third-parties communicating over Peppol to PA. PA will extend the above invitation to such third parties Upon reception of such submissions PA commits to review and propose adjustments. Additional interaction AP-PA welcome. Purpose is to strengthen our common messages PA invites APs to provide their FAQs to PA Varia: please note eDEC change: webinar scheduled February 4th 09:00CET to 10:00CET. To register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6306258157748240144 Call for subjects for the next AP Fora, cf mail 18.1.2022
20 14 Dec 2021 13:30 - 15:00	Arco Axi B2B Router b2bgrid Babelway - Tradeshift Billit Codabox Dynatos eConnect Exact Inaras Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Odoo OptiPost Order2cash Pagero soluz.io Symtrax Tradeinterop	Agenda: Agreement Framework Revision B2G e-Invoicing Royal Decree Hermes Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in Backlog / AOB / Next forum Slides:	Agreement Framework Revision SPs are invited to brief their prime contact (TIA annex 1, part 4.5) If need to change prime contact please issue an Annex 1 update and send to PA B2G e-Invoicing Royal Decree SPs are invited to work together with BOSA to set-up supporting measures Clarification : granularity of invoice details (line item level): the applicable law does not give a clear cut on this. It is up to the sender to appropriately describe the goods and services Hermes Publication of list of Hermes integrators on einvoice.Belgium.be: integrators with missing partners fiche: feel free to submit your request to become partner
19 26 Oct 2021 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas Arco b2bgrid B2B Router Billit Codabox Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Exact Inaras Ixor Netropolix Odoo OptiPost Order2cash Pagero soluz.io Symtrax Tradeinterop Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in Hermes Agreement revision Peppol Security Framework Backlog / AOB / Next forum Slides:	Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in IMR: status acknowledged (AB): our implementation meets the IMR specification, that mandates responding an invoice with an invoice response within 72 hours. This invoice response may contain a status “AB”, but does not have to. eConnect is also available for IMR pilot testing 4. Peppol Security Framework APs are invited to reach out to SP Community leader to check on the possibility to participate to the workgroup on Information Security BOSA will also take contact to check when the request for participation would be sent within the SP community Main concern discussed is KYC – how to make sure that the people signing the contracts with SPs indeed represent the entities they pretend to. Such verification can range from quite simple to very complex. Automating it in full may not be feasible. And it is also not required. There is a trade-off to find between what is worth automating and what still must rely on manual checks. National contexts will also inevitably vary. Peppol promotes standardization but does not remove local specificities from day 1. In Belgium CBE offers relevant services (but not necessarily waterproof). Private companies active in the enterprise data collection and consolidation sector, may also offer valuable services.
18 14 Sep 2021 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas Arco b2b grid B2B Router Basware Billit codabox Descartes eConnect Exact Generix Inaras Ixor Nestoya Netropolix Odoo OptiPost Pagero soluz.io Tradeinterop Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) MLR phase out, IMR phase in Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes Old BIS Billing? Agreement revision Peppol Security Framework Backlog / AOB / Next forum Slides:	Welcome to new forum participants/ Belgian SP: Nestoya 1. B2G Invoice Response and MLR Exact confirms availability for end to end test in test phase Q4 2021. Any other candidate to participate is welcome. PA invites APs to trigger the old bis (2.0) MLR phase out together with their invoice senders (inform, sensibilize, …) 2. CBE schemeID migration: can be closed. Remaining registrations under schemeID 9956 are assumed to be related to the old BIS (2.0) MLR, and thereby addressed within the topic above 3.Hermes: Now 7 AP agreements Unprocessable invoices: sign of a business opportunity. Following the initial presentation held during the forum, APs can take contact with BOSA. BOSA will setup a program to better handle the opportunity. 4.Old BIS billing: it is up to the APs to sort out the issue with their own customer base 5. Agreement Revision: The platinum version is available The migration to the new framework will foresee an effective date irrespective of the signing date 6. Security: APs should receive an invitation to participate the workgroup through the SPC 7. AOB etc..: E-invoicing summit 21.10: still time to register as partner Next forum 26.10 13:30-15:00
17 22 Jun 2021 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas b2b grid Billit codabox Descartes Digiteal Dynatos eConnect Exact Inaras Ixor Netropolix OptiPost soluz.io Storecove Symtrax Tradeinterop Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: What is on your mind? Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) phase out, IMR phase in Decommissioning old BIS Billing (2.0) Agreement revision AOB Slides:	Welcome to new forum participants/ Belgian SP: Breex EasyBox, eVerbinding, OptiPost On your mind: PA specific requirements: to be addressed in topic When will e-Invoicing be mandatory in the Belgian public sector: Directive 2014/55/EU makes it already mandatory for European public-sector receivers Info: the new BIS schematrons: include codes related to Brexit modify rules: tax total at line level is not supported anymore (as it is an extension of the EN) Update progress on CBE schemeID migration: 100% register receivers using 0208 78% finished migration of their receivers to 0208 42% removed all 9956-based RC's – a breakdown per AP of entities still publishing 9956-based RC's was made available 93% of sending AP's prioritize 0208 75% of sending AP's stopped using 9956 Hermes: SP's are invited to communicate their questions and feedback related to using Hermes, that may lead to sending without having a sender or integrator agreement Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) phase out, IMR phase in: Support of code AB: IMR sender must send code AB (within 3 business days of invoice reception) AdValvas, eConnect and Exact have candidates for reception of IMR from pilot entities (public-sector). Additional AP's are invited to contact BOSA Agreement revision: BOSA confirms the trend is to sharpen information security aspects to meet state of the art practice in this field AOB: next meeting: 7.9.2021 13:30-15:00
16 04 May 2021 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas Arco AXI b2b grid Basware Billit Brain2 codabox Digiteal Dynatos Generix Inaras Ixor Netropolix Odoo soluz.io Symtrax Tradeinterop UnifiedPost	Agenda: Security Requirements Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes Invoice response: old BIS (2.0) phase out, IMR phase in Decommissioning old BIS Billing (2.0) AOB Slides:	Welcome to new forum participant/ Belgian SP: Odoo News on Peppol Security Requirements: the proposal is considered a good evolution. CBE schemeID: It is reminded to receivers (or their AP, acting on their behalf) to proceed with cleanup of their 9956-based SMP data as soon as possible. After 17.5.2021 such data become pointless an can only cause confusion/misuse, as the schematrons will block any document containing such code. Hermes: extending Hermes to support cross borders traffic (incoming to BE): poll results: 50/50. comments and questions raised: could make the Hermes decommissioning more difficult could also boost adoption could also be more consistent with cross-borders nature of Peppol. BOSA will take this feedback into account. IMR@GOV, identification of parties: need to support issuerParty / recipientParty: poll result: yes: 0%, no: 20% ; don’t know 80% comment: Commercial acceptance should be the first focus (Paul) Old BIS(2.0) BILLING decommissioning: B2G / G2G: decommissioned Next step: B2B / G2B. BOSA encourages AP to keep educating and supporting their customers senders and receivers. Next AP Forum on June 22nd.
15 16 Mar 2021 13:30 - 15:00	Arco b2b grid B2B Router Basware Billit codabox Descartes Dynatos Exact Inaras Ixor Netropolix soluz.io Storecove Tradeinterop Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes Decommissioning old BIS Billing migrating MLRv2 to IMR (business)/MLRv3 (technical) AOB Slides:	Welcome of our guest → Etat de Luxembourg and of our new AP's → Storecove and Tradeinterop. Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Statistics presented based on the forms filled in by the AP's. Moving forward with the migration. BOSA reminds APs to keep filling in the complete survey each month (takes 1 minute), to contribute to the efficient tracking of the migration. Hermes AP whitelisting: BOSA explains the testing approach BOSA will publish the testing procedure soon on the forum page and inform the APs Decommissioning old BIS Billing Last call before decommissioning. To the question on AP's being ready by 31.3.2021 to remove old BIS, none of the Access Point came with an issue on this. So everyone is confident the Old BIS BILLING phase out of Government will go smoothly. Migrating MLRv2 to IMR (business)/MLRv3 (technical) on Mercurius Clarification over the limitation of the response codes to AP/RE during IMR introduction: it does not involve that the receiving system can be 100% sure that it won't receive other codes. The receiving system must therefore be able to handle the other scenarios (at least in a minimal way). no issue was raised with this clarification. MLR: to the question about the specification that states that parent document sbdh data must be referenced in the MLR (not payload data), no opposite opinion is voiced. BOSA will align mercurius with this spec.
14 09 Feb 2021 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas b2b grid B2B Router Basware Billit codabox Descartes Dynatos Exact Generix Inaras Ixor Netropolix soluz.io Symtrax Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes Decommissioning old BIS Billing migrating MLRv2 to IMR (business)/MLRv3 (technical) AOB Slides:	1. Update progress on CBE schemeID migration It is reminded that the schemeID 9956 is removed in the Peppol BIS schematrons spring release. So it becomes unusable from 17/5 on. So it is a hard stop. It is communicated on the BE AP forum and through the release notes. further broadcasting of the new by APs to potentially affected stakeholders is welcome. SchemeID 9925 is out of scope - but bear in mind that Belgium PA discourages use of the VAT ID for routing purposes, as it is over-using this ID and is not sustainable. In Belgium, prefer rather the enterprise number. BOSA resends the january survey request to updated distribution list all SPs to fill in the survey each month (takes no more than 2 minutes time). 3. Decommissioning old BIS Billing It is reminded that Government will remove old BIS Billing Receiving Capabilities on 31/3/2021. 4. B2G - migration from old BIS (2.0) MLR to BIS (3.0) IMR/MLR AP’s provide their statistics to PA on MLR they receive - asap; by end of the week at the latest BOSA provides a description of the migration approach and timing based on the outcome of the discussion and the additional stats received
13 12 Jan 2021 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas b2b grid B2B Router Basware Billit codabox Descartes Dynatos Exact Generix Inaras Ixor Netropolix soluz.io Symtrax Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes BIS migration completion (V2 to V3) AOB Slides:	1. Update progress on CBE schemeID migration The timeline initially agreed is CONFIRMED. No need to delay Milestone B. Each AP can put whatever is needed in place to suit his own context, such that the code 9956 can be removed by then. PA keeps monitoring progress through monthly surveys. To support data quality, AP's are asked to respond. Exact schedule of milestone B is 17/5/2021 2. Hermes Since Hermes/HSMP are LIVE, 10k participants were added on smp.belgium.be. This seems to confirm that Hermes boosts adoption. AP whitelisting (technical side of the Hermes integrator agreement) is in user testing. Expect more definitive status/info/news next forum. APs are enco.uraged to also consider signing Hermes integrators agreement, and contact us to this respect. 3. Decommissioning old BIS BILLING Decommissioning rescheduled to 31/03/2021. Do not expect any additional delay. BOSA will keep monthly monitoring decrease of old BIS invoices received by/transiting on Mercurius. 2/3 of these invoice are generated by less than 20 senders. That means 2 or 3 per AP. Please prioritize your communication with your senders. Actions: All AP’s are requested to answer the SchemeID Migration questionnaire. All AP’s are requested to act upon the ask to "get out of BISv2". All AP’s can suggest a SME testimonial that could be used on e-invoicing website.
12 24 Nov 2020 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas b2b grid B2B Router Basware Billit codabox Descartes Digiteal Dynatos Exact Generix Inaras Ixor Netropolix OpenText soluz.io Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Hermes & HermesSMP BIS migration completion (V2 to V3) AOB Slides:	Update progress CBE schemeID migration progression : cf slides discussion: consider more detailled approach proposed by Basware: Migration enablement / Migration / Migration Close in this approach spring releaase would coincides 9956 deprecation, and fall release would coincide 9956 removal. howeverBasware confirms spring release is technically possible. Some AP's confirm spring release remains possible AP's ask for clear deadlines Conclusion: BOSA will(a) sharpen monthly questionaire; (b) work on communication/ AP survey to reassess migration timeline feasability 2. Short update given on the HSMP Migration Token Collection Interface and hrms activation / communication support - cf slides 3. Decommissioning old BIS billing (2.0) BOSA keeps communicating message and figures to SPs, to Regions BOSA calls for relaying message to senders
11 13 Oct 2020 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas b2b grid B2B Router Basware Billit codabox Descartes Digiteal Dynatos Exact Generix Inaras Ixor Netropolix OpenText soluz.io Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Update progress on CBE schemeID migration HermesSMP - Migration Token Collection Interface test debrief BIS migration completion (V2 to V3) Call for success stories (SMB) Peppol Agreements framework Backlog AOB Slides:	Update progress on CBE schemeID migration Call to action: SPs to answer the poll each month - NB: for the time being no answer will be considered as “NO”answer on all 3 questions Complication caused by concurrent activation of Hermes (15/11) and CBESchemeID migration (9956>0208) : instant poll: all expressed opinions is that they see no problem here action: BOSA: further investigate the issue and give feedback. HermeSMP - Migration Token Collection Interface test debrief Call to action: SPs to request their dataset and perform tests Decommissioning old BIS billing (2.0) BOSA will keep communicating message and figures to SPs and call for relaying message to senders Call for success stories (SMB) Call to SP'S for suggesting success stories in the segment of SMBs to publish on efacture.belgium.be and inspire the market
10. 15 Sep 2020 13:30 - 15:00	AdValvas b2b grid Basware Billit codabox Digiteal Exact GenerixGroup Inaras Ixor Netropolix Soluz.io Symtrax Tradeshift	Agenda: hrms activation go live date mtci user tests agreements smp.belgium.be support of migration key 9956>0208 migration new governance framework: update BIS migration completion steps AOB Slides:	1.a) mcti user testing – the way forward: the proposed approach and schedule is suitable: (1) early bird user test with direct support from Tradeshift until sept 25^th and (b) wide scale user testing with BOSA DT support from sept 28^th until oct 8^th upon request to BOSA, each tester will get an own test dataset assigned, mapped with the scenario it allows testing incl the blacklisting. Tradeshift prepares 20 of them. test data will be recycled daily minor changes (typos, …) to the doc will be done without formal notification. More significant changes will be notified by mail by Peppol@bosa.fgov.be regression testing will be supported. A more detailed description of this will be elaborated in due time. 1.d) hrms go-live is set on nov 15^th . SP are invited to make sure they can keep registering Belgian receivers afterwards, using the migration token. 2. BOSA DT will organize a monthly survey to collect figures about step 1 (no more 9956 based registrations of Receiving capabilities (RCs)), 2 (complete duplication of the 9956-based RCs onto 0208-equivalent RCs), and 3 (complete removal of old 9956-based RCs), and publish the consolidated results. 4. BOSA DT will issue a draft communication to be used by SPs as inspiration to cascade the request to their senders. The effect can be monitored in the mrcs data and will be the subject of a follow on item. Next meeting oct 13^th at 13:30 – 15:00 – save the date
9. 14 Jul 2020	AdValvas b2b grid B2B Router Basware codabox Connect-Solutions Digiteal Esker Exact Inaras Netropolix Soluz.io Tradeshift	Agenda: Welcome from 13:30 9956>0208 migration new governance framework: update: agreements policies AOB Closing at 14:40 Slides presented at the forum:	1. At end of the discussion moment, there is no consensus to do more than minimal scenario (A) . Belgian Peppol Authority will reassess the options to increase migration smoothness. This includes periodic gathering of data to monitor migration progress, discussing results with SPs during fora, and anticipating the offical phase out date. confirm other documents types also fall under the migration (not only BIS Billing). 3. e-Invoicing Summit 2020: SPs are encouraged to take advantage of this specific communication moment on the Belgian market.
8. 23 Jun 2020	On line: Advalvas B2B Router Basware Billit Codabox Digiteal Dynatos Esker Exact Ixor Netropolix Soluz.io Tradeshift UnifiedPost	Agenda: Welcome from 13:30 Hermes MTC interface specs review / next steps Hermes agreements review /next steps Hermes sending – APs scenario: specs Backlog / Next forum Closing at 14:45 Slides presented at the forum:	Hermes MTC i/f specs were approved after due review round. a final specs package will be posted soon on the Belgian Service Providers / Access Point Forum page, including the testing artefacts and an update of the schedule of the next phases. The sender and the integrator agreements were approved after dur review round. SPs are invited to sign the integrator agreement and proceed with the reuse of Hermes to strengthen their offering and contribution to the uptake of e-invoicing in Belgium. SPs were kindly asked to provide their preferred option(s) for the modifications to the hermes sender interface to suit the integration scenario. see actions recap below. Actions: BOSA performs a survey to collect SP preferences on item 3 above (DONE) BOSA provides answers to questions posted in the chat during the session (DONE) BOSA schedules next forum (DONE - save the date sent)
7. 26 May 2020	On line: Advalvas B2B Grid B2B Router Basware Billit Codabox Dekimo Descartes Digiteal Dynatos Exact Ixor Netropolix Soluz.io Tradeshift UnifiedPost Vlaamse Overheid	Agenda: Welcome from 13:30 1. Hermes update: impact on registering participants 2. BIS BILLING migration : assess status and discuss practical issues encountered 3. introduction of schemeID 0208 4. New Service Provider agreement 5. e-invoicing Summit 2020 AOB Ending expected at 15:30 Slides presented at the forum:	1. Hermes (a) please review the conventions (integrator/user) and provide feedback (b) migration token: please review the interface specification (swagger, test plan description) and provide feedback, incl answers to survey sent earlier (see below); (c) based on the feedback and questions collected during the forum, DT will produce a clarification on the exact positioning of hrms and put the topic back on the agenda 2. BIS Migration: based on the feedback and questions collected during the forum, DT will produce a more specific migration plan for review and execution. 3. SchemeID 0208 : based on the feedback and questions collected during the forum, DT will produce a more specifc migration plan for review and execution. highlighted and migration from 9956. Will also be taken in a FUP exchange moment. 5. e-invoicing summit, AOB: was only introduced (short on time). postponed to a later forum edition DT Actions – fulfilled 04 Jun 2020 Next forum: Tuesday June 23rd PM- shorter timing (around 1 hour) and more limited agenda (priority based) with focus on Hermes: invitation sent on 02 Jun 2020 Provide HSMP migration token interface specs (swagger, test plan description) cf Belgian Service Providers Forum Send questions for HSMP migration token sent by email on 29 May 2020 Share updated version of New Service Provider agreement cf Belgian Service Providers Forum Share draft hrms conventions (integrator, user) ; cf Belgian Service Providers Forum
6. 03 Feb 2020	On-site: Advalvas Codabox Connect-Solutions Dynatos Inaras Ixor netropolix soluz.io Unified Post Flemish Gov (VO) Remote: B2BGrid Basware Brain² Digiteal Exact SAP Tradeshift	Agenda: I. news from Belgium new from the team figures www.einvoice.belgium.be HRMS II. news from Peppol new branding, new website migrations AOB Streaming of the forum: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fod+spf+bosa Slides presented at the forum:	I.4 – HRMS: (a) emails sent by HRMS are expected to be 99,99999% bounce-back-proof and blacklisting-proof; (b) a side effect of Hermes, is that all Belgian participants are registered in Peppol and acquiring customers becomes a matter of migrating existing participants, instead of registering new participants. (c) registering Belgian participants into smp.belgium.be is still possible, but isn’t a condition of the BE AP agreement anymore (c) Mercurius focuses on government, primarily inbound invoicing; Hermes focuses on business outbound invoicing, and will also be useful for government entities outbound invoicing (example: De Lijn). (d) no entity can use Hermes to send invoices unless it signs an agreement with BOSA. However, BOSA is keen to discuss agreements with service providers if it would be suitable to the sector and not compromise the model. II.2 - Migrations: (a) Oxalis doesn't prevent senders to send BIS2 to BIS2+BIS3 receivers. The only issue is AS2-AS4 related. It is up to the SPs to upgrade to latest Oxalis asap. (b) Supporting AS2 (profile 2.2) is also at discretion of the SP. (c) Noncompliance of other SPs such as missing AS4 support, can and should be reported trough the applicable channels (in particular, openPeppol support tool) ; (d) in order to minimize issues such as the ones that highly penalized Flemish government last month, it is advised to stop converting BIS2 to BIS3, at least until more robust convertors (validated by multilateral end-to-end tests) are available and stable. (e) the option to provide feedback to sender or his SP in case he sends non-compliant documents, was discussed for years at all levels. To date there is no consistent strategy / generally agreed way to deliver such feedback, neither globally nor in Belgium. (f) the option to check a document was delivered using the underlying message ID (or the associated MDN), is only available in mercurius-test. An APs proposes to add this function in production. BOSA DT will consider this. (g) a SP notices that there are in fact 3 concurrent migrations: BIS2>3, AS2>AS4, and AS2.1>AS2.2. this is too much. In practice, al these migrations must be done. (h) a SP advices to be more strict in the implementation of changes. In the telco world it works because of the strict adherence to common schedules. The question is how can we reach such a strict behavior without legal framework and with the current market maturity (i) for B2G it is highly recommended to APs to check their traffic to mercurius using their special access (eGOV role “Mercurius_AP”). With that access, they always can check what invoices were duly received at mercurius level and correlate with their own logs, which is step 1 in troubleshooting. AOB new framework agreement: at this point BE has no special requirement except using the CBE number to register Belgian entities. (which is common to other countries, with their respective schemes) remote follow up will be maintained and extended with (a) additional microphone to capture and share local attendants comments and (b) improved interactiveness with remote attendants (channel to be defined) next forum May 26^th at 14:00 12th OpenPeppol GA and F2F: only the General Assembly will take place on March 26^th 2020
5. 04 Sep 2018	Advalvas (AP) Billit (AP) Babelway (AP) Basware (AP) Bosa (PA) Codabox (AP) Octopus (Inaras) (AP) Dynatos (AP) UnifiedPost (AP) Vlaamse Overheid	I.Belgian Governement support of uptake of e-Invoicing Progression of Peppol rollout in Belgium (1. B2G; 2. B2B): update E-invoicing rollout amongst Belgian contracting authorities HERMES Mercurius rebranding II.Belgian AP forum discussions Senders list (forum 4 agenda Item 7) – next Negative MDN upon invalid payload III.Peppol service-info: PKI Migration V2-V3: Timing – walk through certificate request procedure, new version – legal registration form / Annex1 Peppol customization IDs registration policy update Peppol AS2 -> AS4 IV.AOB Slides presented at the forum:	II.Belgian AP forum discussions Belgian senders list publication: forum members willing to publish senders on the list: please send csv-files to Peppol@bosa.fgov.be with at least enterprise number and name. all forum members can send suggestions on next steps towards improvement and stabilisation of the senders list, based on this V1. how to address invalid payload: Post-Forum analyse was performed to assess feasibility of using an email feedback channel instead of the negative MDN discussed. Conclusion: is not practicable because (a) the SMP stores receivers info, while we try to feedback the sender's AP. (b) not all APs publish an email address on the SMP record consequently forum members are invited to vote between following options, and explain why: do nothing return Negative MDN only send email notification to PA (Peppol@bosa.fgov.be) return Negative MDN + send email notification to PA (Peppol@bosa.fgov.be) IV.AOB issues with the interpretation of the semantic model (Peppol BIS), eg store the car license plate in an inappropriate ubl data element such as sellersItemIdentification:the Business Experts Group is the forum that addresses this kind of topics, as it has a strong business orientation next edition in Januari, PA to send a doodle soon and schedule
4. 15 May 2018	Advalvas (AP) Billit (AP) Babelway (AP) Basware (AP) Bosa (PA) Codabox (AP) Octopus (Inaras) (AP) Koalaboox (AP) Netropolix (AP) SAP (AP) Speos (AP) UnifiedPost (AP) Unit4-Clogic (AP) Vlaamse Overheid	1.Progression of Peppol rollout in Belgium 2.OpenPeppol communication tools 3.Official webpage of the Belgian PA 4.Peppol certificates migration Q3/2018 5.Implementation of the European Norm – Peppol side 6.Upcoming CEF telecom call on e-invoicing 7.Statistics on sender data 8.Practical organisation of the AP forum 9.AOB Slides presented at the forum:	1.Peppol Rollout: Vlaamse Overheid sets up action plan to identify portal senders motivations (+/-), and stimulate them to move to Peppol Vlaamse overheid calls APs and IT sector to participate to a new round of info sessions pla send a mail to e.procurement@vlaanderen.be 4. Peppol certificates migration: general info and detailed links: Newsletter 11.04.2018 - PKI Migration, Statutes Changes/Additional GA, etc. active from 21 May 2018 on: url to request certficate renewal (v2 and v3): OpenPeppol Service Desk 5. European Norm: EN16931 = Directive 2014/55/EU obliges all public authorities in Europe to receive and process this new standard from 18 Apr 2019 on Peppol BIS BILLING V3= CIUS of EN 16931; link: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.1 6. CEF telecom on e-invoicing: main page: 2018 CEF Telecom Call - eInvoicing (CEF-TC-2018-2) info day on 17 May 2018 Belgian PA is happy to support requests for grants from Belgian candidates, please contact us if you have plans to apply. please notice that we can help you finding admin support in the application process. when applying, please consider our proposal for improving your support of a truly "any to any" approach to document exchange, that the Peppol framework promotes 7. Sender stats: conclusions of the discussion: key data: only sender ID and Name (NB: is also in line with privacy regulations) scope: Belgian enterprises. other nationalities possible but not explicitly in scope APs will send their list of senders - only companies that already send, or are fully capable of sending. PA consolidates the datasets and publishes it APs to raise any issue on this by 31 May 2018 . afterwards proposal will be considered approved more details (eg how exactly it will be published, update frequency, ...) to be defined at next AP forum 8. AP forum organisation: PA will communicate with 1 single point of contact for each AP. AP may notify an email address/contact for this purpose if AP does not notify a specific email address/contact, then contact on section 4.5 of Annex 1 will be used.. 9. AOB: SNI: PA contacted DIFI (conformance testing instance for Belgian PA). awaiting feedback. on agenda of next forum Invoice Response general info: see slides. More details to follow in next AP forum.

Previous AP meetings [click to expand]

edition

presence

agenda /slideware

report

3. 29 Sep 2017

Advalvas (AP)
Agoria (Sector)
B2BGrid (AP)
Babelway (AP)
Basware (AP)
Bosa (PA)
Codabox (AP)
Dynatos (AP)
Inaras (AP)
Netropolix (AP)
UnifiedPost (AP)

Agenda:

Progression of the Peppol receivers, public and private – information (10’)
Need to have stats over (a) senders and (b) volumes, and how to get them – discussion (15’)
BIS Invoice Response (063A) – publication – information (10’)
BIS support – implication on the participants registration – discussion (15’)
EDIFACT support – information (10’)
Additional instruments developed by the PA to help Access Points, and facilitate adoption of universal e-invoicing – reference: https://digital.belgium.be/e-invoicing/ - demo and Q&A (20’)
Upcoming communication facilities for the Peppol Belgian Domain (confluence platform ) – requirements collection (20’)
CEF telecom call on e-invoicing (10 million grants available for improving your platform interoperability) – more info: Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Telecom virtual Info Day - information and call for submission (20’)
European Multi-stakeholders Forum on e-invoicing – new mandate 2017-2020 – Belgian representation - information (5’)

Slides presented at the forum:

2. Need to have stats

AP would like to have a senders registry. Identifying companies that are capable of sending Peppol is currently not possible. The high amount of Peppol senders would be the best way to convince companies to develop receiving capabilities.
This is out of the Peppol scope but of course it could be developed, within Belgian domain (or globally).
As a first trial to address this, senders data could be collected in the context of a national reporting – as foreseen in the annex 5. Dataset defined during the meeting: sender- sender ID – Volume (for a given time period)

4. BIS Support:

in order to facilitate the respect of the BIS mandatory support, in application of the conclusions of the discussion, smp.belgium.be registration interface will be modified to reject registration of formats of document types for which the corresponding BIS is not yet registered.
It is technically possible to register such formats in another SMP. However, (a) this is out of our span of control, and (b) Belgian receivers are expected to be registered in smp.belgium.be. our jurisdiction is limited to this scope of participants.

6. additional instruments

Test message lookup tool: enter the ID of the AS2 message containing the document. Notice that the tool should also support the ID of the AS2 MDN returned by the receiving AP. The supplier misunderstood this. It will be fixed as soon as possible.
APs ask the smp.belgium.be online lookup to be more user friendly, incl sort functionality. This will be added in the backlog.

7. upcoming communication facilities (confluence)

APs ask (a) a product roadmap for mercurius and (b) a Peppol hot issues log

2, 29 Mar 2017

Advalvas (AP)
Agoria (Sector)
Babelway (AP)
Basware (AP)
BRAIN²(AP)
BOSA DT (PA)
Codabox (AP)
Codit (AP)
Dynatos (AP)
Ixor (AP)
Koalaboox (AP)
MVG (PA)
Speos (AP)
PAGERO (AP)
UnifiedPost (AP)
UNIT4(AP)

Agenda:

Status SMP.belgium.be
Status B2G
Status tests B2G
Business agreements
Setup Business Experts Workgroup

Slides presented at the forum:

N.A.

1, 25 Jan 2017

Advalvas (AP)
ARCO (AP)
ASA (PA)
Babelway (AP)
Basware (AP)
Codabox (AP)
Codit (AP)
Dynatos (AP)
Fedict (PA)
Ixor (AP)
Koalaboox (AP)
MVG (PA)
PAGERO (AP)
Speos (AP)
UnifiedPost (AP)
UNIT4(AP)

Agenda

Status roll out e-Invoicing within Belgian authorities
My eGOV Roles management and Mercurius web interface
Contents of the invoices : requirements from the public sector
Tests: structured approach – Peppol conformance testing, end2end Testing– how to avoid wasting time
Invoice Response - MLR
New from the business – business discussion forum
Smp.belgium.be – record Belgian participants

Slides presented at the forum:

1. Status Roll out e-invoicing within Belgian Authorities.

Status of the roll out by Serge Libert (for the federal) and Johan Van Steelandt (for Flanders).

Status of the roll out in Brussels and Wallonia by Luc Gathy.

Brussels will choose for Mercurius and for intelligent scanning.

Wallonia is updating their back office system to receive e-invoices.

2. My eGov Roles management and Mercurius web interface

Serge Libert explains the possibilities of the eGov Roles Management and shows the new website.

https://digital.belgium.be/e-invoicing

3. Contents of the invoices: requirements of the public sector.

Peppol BIS/CEN BII fulfill most of the requirements so far

However there’s an agreement to set a meeting with business experts in order to look for answer to specific issues. (See 6.)

4. Tests, overview.

Peppol conformance testing
Mercurius testing
End to End testing. (Procedure from the Flemish Region). (See annex)

Remarks:

Sometimes there’s a discrepancy between the promotion initiatives by an authority and the actual readiness to receive e-invoices.
End to end test will continue with a selection of the Flemish back offices.

5. Invoice response – MLR

New Peppol Bis document on invoice responses expected by 4^th quarter of 2017.

Explanation on the MLR by Serge Libert. see slides

6. New from the business – business discussion forum

Experts will be invited for a meeting on several issues as:

Cash discount (a) transport (b) automation
VAT exemptions (a) transport (b) automation
Spare parts VAT liftups (a) transport (b) automation

7. SMP.BELGIUM.BE

Only for enterprises with a Belgian CBO-number.
Access points should support foreign SMP for customers and suppliers from abroad.

8. Frequency of the meeting - requirements

at the start, each two months.
later on, each three months.

Hot issues affecting the network operations

This section registers the events causing trouble to some or all of the network operations. ex: an AP certificate that expired, troubles with a SMP or the SML, ...

Watching the Belgian PA page makes it possible to AP providers to get notified of such issues, and to follow up their progress.

Timing	description	status
Tue Feb 19 2019 20:00 - 23:59	Application server maintenance in production. • Impact on DNS : None • Impact on SML : SML will be down during intervention.	closed
Sun Feb 10 2019 10:00 - 14:00	Application server maintenance in acceptance. • Impact on DNS : None • Impact on SML : SML will be down during intervention.	closed
Thu Jan 17 2019	Survey for Peppol Access Points on AS4 market readiness: Click here to participate	closed
Mon Dec 17 2018 08:00 - ...	Problems when communicating SMP changes to SML/SMK. OPENPeppol (CEF) is working on a solution.	closed

Old items. Click here to expand...

Timing	description	status
Fri Dec 14 2018	Other Peppol BIS version 3.0 documents (not Billing) are now published, together with the migration plan.	done
Sat Dec 15 2018 08:00 - 11:00	OPENPeppol: Database Server Maintenance in Production. Impact on DNS : None - Impact on SML : SML will be down during intervention.	closed
Wed Dec 5 2018 19:00 - 23:59 CET	OPENPeppol: A maintenance will be carried out on Application servers in production environment. Impact on SML : SML will be down during intervention.	closed
Thu Nov 15 2018 12:00 CET	The Fall 2018 release of the Peppol Post-Award artefacts (BIS documents and validation artefacts) are mandatory in use.	done
Fri Nov 2 2018 13:00 - 18:00 CET	OPENPeppol: Database Server Maintenance in Acceptance – SMK - updates in smp-test.belgium.be will return following error: "[BELMA-208] Unable to register Peppol participant " + participant.getBusinessIdentifier() + " to SMK " + smlId;	closed
Wed Oct 3 2018 18:00 - 19:00 CET	OPENPeppol: Planned Maintenance – SML - Certificate Renewal in Production - updates in smp.belgium.be will return following error: "[BELMA-208] Unable to register Peppol participant " + participant.getBusinessIdentifier() + " to SML " + smlId;	closed
Wed Oct 1 2018 18:00 - 19:00 CET	OPENPeppol: Planned Maintenance – SML - Certificate Installation in Acceptance - updates in smp.belgium.be will return following error: "[BELMA-208] Unable to register Peppol participant " + participant.getBusinessIdentifier() + " to SML " + smlId;	closed
Fri Sep 28 2018 20:00 - 21:00 CET	OPENPeppol: Planned Maintenance – SML - Database Server upgrade in Production - updates in smp.belgium.be will return following error: "[BELMA-208] Unable to register Peppol participant " + participant.getBusinessIdentifier() + " to SML " + smlId;	closed
Sat Sep 22 2018 08:00 - 11:00	OPENPeppol: Planned Maintenance – SML - Database Server upgrade in Production - updates in smp.belgium.be will not be pushed to SML	closed
Sun Jul 1 2018 morning	Only TLSv1.2 will be available on Babelway Access Point (Mercurius) and smp.belgium.be/smp-test.belgium.be	closed
Sun Apr 22 2018	SNI support was added on Babelway Access Point (Mercurius) - release 4.36	closed
Fri Mar 09 2018 at 08:00 ... 14 mar	Document type registration not possible in smp.belgium.be / smp-test.belgium.be - only company registration	closed

Peppol in Belgium: Software industry

Although they are not formally identified in the Peppol framework (meaning, there is no specific role for this class of actor), the software industry is key to the realization of the above described vision. The software industry will develop the tools that will take advantage of the interoperability framework, to build affordable, reliable and secure solutions to make "touchless invoicing" a reality, removing the administrative burden currently associated with invoice processing. This statement underlines that actions to promote the Peppol interoperability framework, must include the software industry.

The Flemish Government notably initiated this thread in 2015, by publishing the list of software solutions that manage to send invoices to them, through Peppol/Mercurius, on the e-invoicing project webpage.

The European Union developed a program called "Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)". This program re-routes public money to projects contributing to innovations such as e-invoicing.

Mercurius

The Belgian public sector started promoting e-Invoicing in 2012. During an initial pilot project (2013-2014), the government installed Mercurius, a Business to Government (B2G) e-Invoice exchange solution, based on the ePRIOR platform developed and used by the European Institutions. At the end of the pilot, Belgium decided to (1°) keep Mercurius as the single gateway between the private and the public sector, and (2°) to integrate with Peppol, going one step further towards interoperability. The combination of Peppol and Mercurius generates many synergies. Peppol enables universal exchange. Mercurius offers various added-value tools to the Belgian community, that demonstrate the feasibility of the Peppol approach and facilitate its adoption.

Mercurius and the Public-Private ecosystem of e-Invoicing

The main mission of Mercurius is to help integrate the public sector entities. At the same time, it promotes harmonization of the interface, so economic operators can use the same interface for all their public sector customers.

A TEST version of Mercurius is available, to offer all interested parties the possibility to perform all kinds of tests of their systems, including end to end testing with accounting systems of the federal and other governments, which is still a very important step in the setup of efficient IT solutions.

The Mercurius Portal Homepage

A portal was added to this platform. Thanks to its integration with the existing national authentication and authorization tools provided by the public sector, the Mercurius Portal gives access to an advanced "track-and-trace" function for the invoices sent, from the sender - and for the invoices received, by the receiver. This tool creates the transparency needed to build the trust in the Peppol interoperability framework, and fine-tune its use.This portal is also accessible to intermediaries/service providers and customer representatives, so that all parties share the same information. The portal also facilitates communication (including user support requests) and dissemination of all sorts of information about e-invoicing, including Peppol. Finally, the portal offers a manual invoice/credit note submission function, so that suppliers not yet ready to send e-invoices are not penalized.

Mercurius has a support team that handles residual issues, that can’t be resolved by the AP providers and/or the correspondents, in self-service mode using the portal. The support team receives support requests, preferably through the online assistance request form especially designed for Mercurius users and stakeholders, available through the portal homepage.

Mercurius was also extended with an xml-to-pdf conversion function. The idea is to avoid penalizing early adopters of Peppol in the private sector, in cases where some of their public sector customers need time to implement their connection with Mercurius. These receivers get a pdf instead of the xml sent by the supplier - this is of course a transitional measure, awaiting for the customer to fully integrate.

Recently, Mercurius was instrumented with a test messages lookup facility. Participants and IT solution providers using the public sector customers to test their e-Invoicing solution, can use this tool to lookup if their test invoices were correctly received, without having to log into the mercurius portal. This leverages the use of the Mercurius infrastructure for Peppol testing purposes.

Portal url: https://digital.belgium.be/e-invoicing/
Help page: https://digital.belgium.be/e-invoicing/FedictHelp.html
Online assistance request: https://apps.digital.belgium.be/forms/show/bosa/mercurius/latest
Test message lookup : https://digital.belgium.be/e-invoicing/CheckFedictMdnPage.html

Smp.belgium.be [stopped working on 31/12/2023]

Since January 1^st 2017, BOSA is offering a Service Metadata Publisher (SMP) that supports registration of Receiving Capabilities for Belgian enterprises.

When it was introduced, the use of smp.belgium.be was mandatory, as stipulated then in the Belgian Annex 5 of the Peppol Access Point Provider Agreement.

In 2020, with the evolution of the strategy supporting generalization of e-invoicing in Belgium, BOSA decided to phase out smp.belgium.be. A first step in this phase-out was to stop mandating its use.

Between 2020 and 2023, users of smp.belgium.be have had the time to reconsider their strategy with respect to the publication of receiving capabilities. Consequently, additional steps necessary for the service phase out were discussed and implemented through 2023. The service stopped on 31/12/2023.

For traceability purposes, historical information published here about smp.belgium.be is maintained below (click here to expand)

From January 1^st 2017, the Belgian public sector also offers a national SMP, free of charge for registration of receiving capabilities. This allows the Belgian PA to: (a) publish information about the Peppol receivers in Belgium, and (b) to offer a promotional window to the access providers who register participants: so they can publish a link to their service offering free of charge, and the top-5 Access Points are also put in the spotlight, on the following page:

https://digital.belgium.be/e-invoicing/PeppolinBelgium.html

The technical documentation of the registration interface is available here.

All Belgian parties receiving documents on Peppol are expected to use this SMP to register their receiving capabilities. Notice that Belgian enterprises are supposed to be duly registered in the Belgian Crossroad bank of Enterprises. This is a prerequisite to be registered in smp.belgium.be.

In practice:

AP providers are responsible for registering the receiving capabilities of the participants they service.
→ From a contractual perspective, the annex 5 of the Belgian AP providers agreement, specifies that all Belgian participants are to be registered in smp.belgium.be. Once AP Providers have signed this agreement, they are invited to register their Belgian participants in smp.belgium.be
in application of the Peppol standard discovery mechanisms, the sending APs look up SML/smp to:
- check the presence of the receiver on the Peppol transport infrastructure,
- look up his receiving capabilities: the document types and formats that the receiver can process, and
- locate the receiving AP, where the documents must be sent.
If properly used, this mechanism ensures that all documents are properly routed through the transport infrastructure, and that the proper interchange format is always selected.

In order to offer end-to-end testing capabilities, the PA also installed a test-SMP under the name smp-test.belgium.be using the same receiving capabilities as the real SMP but accessible through SMK instead of SML (see Peppol glossary).

AP certificate renewal - information

Certificates are used to secure exchanges between Peppol APs. Such certificates have to be renewed from time to time, either for security reasons, or for some other valid reason.

Whenever an AP sends a document to a receiver (on behalf of a sender, of course), it looks after the receiver metadata (receiving AP, receiving capabilities) in the receiver's smp, pointed by the sml. To deliver the routing information requested by this AP, the smp uses the receiving AP certificate information. Consequently changes of the certificate of an AP may affect the AP operations severely.

Since 2018, certificates updates resulting from the classical renewal process, have no such impact. This is because since then the Common Name (CN) field in the renewed certificate, is the same as in the original certificate.

IF an AP receives a certificate with a new CN, then the recorded receivers metadata in smp.belgium.be, must be updated. When the AP is not in position to perform the update using the smp.blegium.be API (*), such changes can be requested to smp.belgium.be operations team.

(*) this is the case when the original certificate is expired. In that case the security will block the necessary initial step of deleting the participants metadata.

As explained earlier, such certificate change also affects access of the AP's representatives to the Mercurius Portal → To communicate the change to the smp.belgium.be operations team and to the Mercurius team , please fill in a Mercurius support request specifying (a) the CN of the formerly used certificate (APP_1000....) and (b) the new certificate (preferably in a txt file).

Additional sources of information

Main website about e-Invoicing in Belgium: www.invoice.belgium.be
WebPage of the Brussels Region: http://easy.brussels/projects/facturation-electronique/
Webpage of the Flemish Government dedicated to e-invoicing: https://overheid.vlaanderen.be/e-invoicing
Webpage of the Walloon Region: https://www.digitalwallonia.be/facturation-electronique-digital-wallonia
The website of the European Commission about e-Invoicing Building Block: eInvoicing (europa.eu)
The information of the European Commission about eInvoicing in the context of Public procurement: eInvoicing - European Commission (europa.eu)