The European Commission has adopted a proposal to change the VAT Directive in respect of the invoicing rules, based on the technological developments in the field of electronic invoicing.
The aim of the proposal is to increase the use of electronic invoicing, reduce burdens on business, support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and help Member States to tackle fraud.
The proposal attempts to simplify, modernise and harmonise the VAT invoicing rules. In particular, it eliminates the current barriers to e-invoicing in the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC) by treating paper and electronic invoices equally.
Further information on the proposal is available here