AFEP has contributed to the Commission’s consultation on the review of the Late payments Directive
This review should be the opportunity to improve payment terms and, to achieve this objective, the European Commission’s assessment regarding payment terms and late payments should be complemented and take into account challenges and problems companies are faced with and that can explain late payments.
To improve payment terms, AFEP supports the following measures:
- Setting up a European Observatory of Payments;
- Making more widespread use of mediation schemes in each Member State to deal with payments disputes faster;
- Designate a national authority to deal with complaints and initiate official enforcement action against late payments;
- Digitise invoices as envisaged by the Commission in its proposal for a Directive as regards VAT rules for the digital age, in coherence with the e-invoicing systems already implemented in some Member States, notably in France.
- Harmonise at the EU level the calculation of payment terms on the date of receipt of invoices and not on the issuance date