The Law of 13 December 2021 amends the Law of 16 May 2019 on electronic invoicing in the context of public procurement and concession contracts went into effect on 18 December 2021. It aims at rendering electronic invoicing legally required in the context of public procurement and B2G (Business to Government) relationships. The stated objective is to contribute to the digitalization, modernization and administrative simplification of back office procedures directly or indirectly connected to the issuing and processing of invoices.

New measures 

The law establishes an obligation for economic operators involved in public procurement and concession contracts to use electronic invoicing. They must use a syntax determined and authorized by the European Commission for all public procurement and concession contracts.

The law also results in the use of a single invoice distribution network interoperable by all entities. This invoicing system will be set by Grand-Ducal Regulation and will thus avoid different actors having to switch between different invoicing systems the problem of incompatibility between documents and operating systems. Alternative non-automated technical solutions that only allow the manual and individual transmission of electronic invoices will be authorized and made available to entities that do not yet have the required technical capacity.

Transitional regime

These measures will be an obligation 5 months after the entry into force of the Law of 13 December 2021, on 18 May 2022.

A transitional period is provided for. From the beginning, it allows the spreading out of the obligations over time for small and medium enterprises:

At the close of 2019, operators not exceeding the numerical limits of at least two of the three following criteria will be subject to the obligations 10 months after the entry into force of the law, by 18 October 2022 at the latest:

  • Balance sheet total: EUR 20 million
  • Net turnover: EUR 40 million
  • Number of personnel employed full-time and on average during the financial year: 250

At the close of 2019, operators not exceeding the numerical limits of at least two of the three following criteria will be subject to the obligations 15 months after the entry into force of the law, by 18 March 2023 at the latest:

  • Balance sheet total: EUR 4,4 million
  • Net turnover: EUR 8,8 million
  • Number of personnel employed full-time and on average during the financial year: 50

Economic operators for which it would be materially impossible to provide the numbers for 2019 of the numerical limits indicated by at least one of the following three criteria, will be subject to the obligations 15 months after the entry into force of the law, by 18 March 2023 at the latest:

  • Balance sheet total
  • Net turnover
  • Number of personnel employed full-time and on average during the financial year

You can access the law here.