Reception and processing electronic invoices deadlines for public (contractors) entities.
The public entities, as public contractors under Article 3 of the Public Procurement Code, are obliged to receive and process electronic invoices within the deadlines established in Decree-Law no. 123/2018 of 28/12, that is, from:
• April 18, 2019, State (direct administration and sovereign bodies) and public institutes;
• April 18, 2020, other public contractors referred to in article 3 of the PPC: Autonomous Regions; local autarchies; independent administrative bodies; Bank of Portugal; public foundations; public associations; among others.

See the current
list of suppliers adhering to the FE-AP solution (in production), currently sending invoices and amending documents in electronic format.
The
Direct Administration of the
State comprise all the organs, services and agents integrated in the collective person State, for example, Directorates-General organized by Ministries and Regional Directorates.
The
organs of sovereignty are the President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic, the Government and the Courts.
The
public institutes are part of the indirect State Administration.
Voluntary entities linked to the FE-AP solution.
The use of the FE-AP solution, for the reception and processing of electronic invoices, is mandatory for the State and public institutes' direct management services. It may be voluntarily used by other entities, through the establishment of a contract with eSPap.
Electronic Invoice Solution in Public Administration (FE-AP).
The implementation program of Electronic Invoicing in Public Administration, executed by the Finance Shared Services, is based on the availability of two solutions around electronic billing:
• the portal of Electronic Invoicing in Public Administration - FE-AP - to be used by public entities in the reception and invoice verification, already in production;
• the Business to AP - B2AP - to be used by suppliers of public administration, as co-contractors, in the monitoring of the electronic invoice delivery and its status evolution.
The technical architecture and process architecture of these two solutions were designed according to the principle of process interoperability between solutions, thus creating a unique view of the state of the electronic invoice. The principle of interoperability is also available with other public administration solutions.
The
Electronic Invoice in Public Administration (FE-AP) portal is the
Gateway of the State, since it allows to receive invoices and rectifying documents in electronic format, ensuring the control and monitoring of all stages of the process:
• Receiving;
• Validation;
• Archive;
• Verification;
• Processing in accounting systems.
The solution is available to any public entity and allows direct integration with the GeRFiP solution or via web services with any other accounting or document management system. In addition to the exchange of electronic documents, the technological solution also dematerializes the dialogue with suppliers, transforming the verification process into a digital format.
Conditions for accession to the solution of Electronic Invoicing in Public Administration (FE-AP).
The accession to the FE-AP solution is established by a contract between the public agencies and the eSPap. The amount due for the use of the solution will be approved by order of the member of the Government responsible for the area of finance.
Features of the FE-AP solution
• Public Shared Services - developed 100% for Public Administration processes;
• Simplicity - intuitive use, allows the execution of processes in an agile and simple way;
• Speed - centralized accession of suppliers, with unique rules, ensuring the quality and speed of projects;
• Innovation - dematerialized dialogue with suppliers through phased provision of additional digital services and interoperability;
• Support & Backing - dedicated team with experience and skills to support public administrations, suppliers and all platforms that connect with the FE-AP.
Pilot experience
The FE-AP solution began to be used by three client agencies of the GeRFiP solution, as a pilot, and is being gradually disseminated to other public administration bodies. The project implemented with the pilot agencies, already in full operation, allowed for a more comprehensive evaluation of the multiple benefits, namely: administrative, procedural, internal and cross-border interoperability, fraud prevention and integration into the global treasury model of the State. The involvement of suppliers and pilot bodies in the design and implementation according to European standards has fostered a fundamental practical perspective for the definition of a strategy for the massification of electronic invoicing in Public Administration.
The activities developed with the suppliers showed the need for well-defined rules, in order to avoid the proliferation of requirements and formats and, in some cases, sectoral rules.
Main benefits of accession to the FE-AP solution:
The benefits achieved by joining the Electronic Invoice Solution in the Public Administration potentiate different types of savings for the PA and State agencies:
• Higher quality in the integration of the data contained into the electronic invoice, in the public entities' accounting systems;
• Automated verification, inherent benefit of dematerialization and digital transformation;
• Absence of individual investments by each body of the Public Administration;
• Optimization of the management of the public treasury since the entities now have a new instrument that allows them to prepare a cash flow plan, based on invoices and rectification documents as well as payment deadlines;
• Increased reliability of the treasury budget of the entities;
• In the case of information that is dematerialized and properly structured, it can be made accessible by means of an integrated management of the central treasury (principle of the treasury unit, article 54 of the LEO).