Review E-Invoicing Exchange summit Middle East & Africa 2023

Johannes researches, organizes and runs knowledge and networking platforms that help the industry to benefit from new technologies and cope with changing legal and regulatory frameworks. His events make sure that all stakeholders learn, discuss and network with like-minded experts, practitioners and thought leaders. His main focus lies on E-Invoicing since 1999, carrying out the E-Invoicing Exchange Summits in Europe, Asia and the US, the E-Rechnungs-Gipfel in Germany, and the Swiss Payment Forum in Zurich.
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Alex from Avalara will provide insights in relation to the increased importance of tax across AP/AR E-Invoicing processes, documentation and reporting and look at how E-Invoicing and digital reporting is quickly changing the traditional indirect tax lifecycle, including:

+ Increased visibility due to real time validation leading to importance of correct VAT calculation at time of issue of invoice
+ Alignment of business process with tax reporting processes
+ Move from local and tactical solutions to a strategic global and scalable approach to E-Invoicing and tax processes
+ Harmonisation of e-invoicing requirements through wider adoption of Peppol, the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age initiative and hybrid PDF/A3 formats
+ Tax and compliance process benefits resulting from E-Invoicing and e-reporting including pre-populated VAT returns, incentives and digital archiving
+ Increased visibility due to real time validation leading to importance of correct VAT calculation at time of issue of invoice

In this presentation you will hear about the OECD report about Tax Administration 3.0 and learn more about services offered by LATAM tax administrations to taxpayers, other government agencies and for the society in general using information from E-Invoicing. Businesses, citizens, and public administrations receive additional benefits from the sharing of E-Invoicing data, and with this for example governments are able to better control their expenditures, reduce toll fares for unloaded trucks, and citizens will find better times - with less consumers - to go to a particular shop or gas station.
+ Key findings from the OECD report "Tax Administration 3.0 and Electronic Invoicing"
+ Benefits for companies of using information extracted from E-Invoicing
+ Benefits for other government agencies of using information extracted from E-Invoicing
+ Comments on the secrecy of the information gathered along the E-Invoicing process, and how to realize the full potential of interchanging information

+ How Fintech, Request-to-Pay, etc are giving new momentum to E-Invoicing 
+ Case studies from Europe and emerging economies
+ The business reasons – not just for compliance!
+ End-to-end … or is that too difficult ?
+ Benefits to banks and unlocking the SME market

All participants and speakers are invited to enjoy dinner and refreshments in a casual atmosphere. Use this perfect opportunity to intensify your business contacts and grow your network.

+ Rationale for E-Invoicing 
+ Opportunities for E-Invoicing in cash economies
+ Benefits of E-Invoicing for the tax administration 
+ E-Invoicing with service delivery

+ What are the prerequisites to introduce sustainable fiscalization projects in your country?
+ The reasons, requirements and benefits for governments to mandate fiscal invoicing
+ The flexibility of software security and why online invoicing is so widely accepted
+ What is the difference between fiscalization and E-Invoicing?
+ Main principles and best practices in Fiscalization
+ The case of Fiscalization in Rwanda (Ministerial Order No. 002/13/10/TC of 31 July 2013) and their way forward
+ Lessons learned and recommendations

+ AP automation
+ Paperless invoices
+ Data matching
+ Invoice data accuracy

+ Evolution of the tax background in the GCC: Radical changes in a very limited timeframe
+ Intensive use of technology by the GCC Tax Administrations
+ Lessons learnt from the European Union and the causes of the VIDA proposal
+ Implementation of E-Invoicing / Real-time Reporting in the GCC: The tax digitalization challenges for taxpayers and what´s next

I.    Value Added Services Provided by Tax Authorities Through E-Invoicing Data
Vinicius Pimentel de Freitas CTO, Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations, Panama

II.   The 4-Corner Model for E-Invoice Exchange
Ahti Allikas Member of Executive Commitee EESPA and Member of Management Committee OpenPeppol, Estonia

III.  E-Invoicing in MENA – Compliance and Challenges 
Ahmed Khalifa Localization Expert, Product Manager - SAP Globalization Services, SAP, UAE
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​IV.   E-Invoicing in Africa: Latest developments and plans ahead
Shamsher S. Dhiman CEO, Bluelight Systems, UAE
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+ The need for E-Invoicing: Controlling VAT gap and digital transformation
+ ZATCA´s approach to E-Invoicing: Collaborative and phased
+ Challenges: No plan is the plan to fail
   - Leadership / budgets / business case
   - Selection of solution
   - Critical ERP changes
   - Resource training
   - Anticipate challenges of reconciliation to returns

+ GST mechanisms with E-Invoicing
+ How to fight tax evasion
+ ITC matching and mismatching with E-Invoicing in GST
+ Real time processing of E-Invoice and data for GST compliances

The Global Interoperability Framework (GIF) is a set of recommended practices and standards for the operation of any ‘four-corner’ interoperability network organised within a participative governance framework. Such a network allows its dedicated access points, typically service providers, to easily interconnect their customers for the exchange of digital supply chain-related transactions.

As a state-of-the-art reference model, the GIF reflects well-accepted technologies and building blocks and seeks maximum alignment of interoperability frameworks operating in different settings. Following its deployment in the pioneering Peppol network, which has expanded from Europe into other markets in Asia-Pacific, other implementations are taking place in the European service provider community (EESPA) and in the USA within the Business Payments Coalition.

The GIF enables smoother implementation of end-user business connections and will be able to contribute to the rapidly evolving tax-reporting (CTC) environment in many countries. The GIF Working Group promotes and shares best practice seeking to constantly evolve the framework towards the objective of seamless interoperability between compliant networks.

This session brings together a panel of thought leaders to discuss how to build on the various successful regional and national initiatives and models for interoperability to create a truly global approach.
+ Managing diversity and commonality - where are the pressure points?
+ What is working consistently and why?
+ How to reconcile different business, fiscal and legal models?
+ Building consensus and an alliance of stakeholders