New Zealand - Step Forward to the Introduction of the E-Invoicing Mandate

Part of the collaboration between the leading economies of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, is to work closely together to share information and discuss matters of mutual interest and initiatives to promote the adoption of e-invoicing.

As a result of that effort, the New Zealand and Singaporean Prime Ministers announced the signing of the e-invoicing Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).

On April 18, 2024, the MoA was signed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) of New Zealand and the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore.

The Objective of E-Invoicing Memorandum of Agreement

The primary objective of the e-invoicing MoA is to foster further collaboration between New Zealand and Singapore in promoting, encouraging, and supporting businesses' adoption of e-invoicing. Furthermore, this MoA builds on the relationship between the IMDA and the MBIE.

Two main areas of cooperation that should finally lead to establishing common standards within the APAC region are:

1. promotion of  the existing underlying infrastructure to support e-invoicing and

2. generating awareness of and building capacity for e-invoicing.

This agreement demonstrates New Zealand's active promotion of e-invoicing and its associated benefits. The country is trying to encourage more businesses to register voluntarily. It's worth noting that both Singapore and New Zealand have already shown a solid commitment to using Peppol standards in the public sector (B2G), further underlining their dedication to e-invoicing.

Furthermore, at the latest meeting of the eInvoicing Adoption Leaders Group (eALG), which includes representatives from both New Zealand business and government sectors, held on April 4, 2024, it was concluded that eALG members should provide feedback on whether e-invoicing should be mandated in New Zealand, what transactions should be included, and suggest a timeline for these changes.

It is also noteworthy that this MoA was signed during the same period when the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and IMDA announced plans to phase in the adoption of B2B e-invoicing through InvoiceNow.

Conclusion

The New Zealand government's developments and steps indicate that this country is actively working towards making e-invoicing mandatory. However, what eAGL members will propose regarding mandatory e-invoicing, the transactions included, and the timelines are yet to be seen.

On the other hand, countries in the APAC region continue to deepen their cooperation on uniform e-invoicing standards.

Source: New Zealand E-Invoicing, eInvoicing Adoption Leaders Group Minutes