Software companies are not ready for the full implementation of e-invoices, which is why the Association of Software Manufacturers of Serbia (UPSS) requested that their implementation be postponed. Otherwise, if there are delays and inefficiencies in implementation, the entire economy will be blocked, the Association said.
According to that association, the main reasons for the delay are:
- The system has not been tested under full load and if there is an outage, there is no way to overcome the problem, the entire economy will be blocked . The system still has downtime, and it is realistic to expect that this will increase when the number of users increases several times.
- The e-invoice system is still changing, it takes much more than the available time to adapt the programs according to the latest changes. It is very likely that more corrections will be needed to finalize the system, which will further complicate the transition. We still get requests from large systems that require customizing the invoice format to their business. Such adaptation is not simple and requires serious commitment.
- Software companies do not have the capacity to react in such a short time to new legal changes, technical changes in the SEF , as well as changes in the flow of documentation between economic entities that are a direct consequence of the previous one. For all that, software companies should design and implement solutions, install them for all users and train users to use them.
- The new year is a very bad time to start a project of this size, because software companies and users are burdened with the transition to a new business year, annual censuses and the implementation of new regulations. Holidays, which reduce the number of available working days, are an additional problem.
- Users have failed to align their business procedures and habits with the record keeping principles required by the SEF. Additional time will be required for users to train, adopt the basic concepts and correct their operations.
- According to experiences from other countries, it is recommended that such large changes be made in stages: first, the system is introduced to the largest companies, then after a certain time to medium and finally small ones. This frees up resources and gives room for system corrections, which will certainly occur.
- Some of the important rules and regulations are not sufficiently clarified to ensure legally secure and procedurally clear implementation of business procedures.
From January 1, 2023, the use of the e-invoice system becomes mandatory for most companies.
“We believe that this is a strategic project of great importance for Serbia, and we are ready to help in its realization as much as we can.” However, we want to warn you that a sudden introduction without proper preparation can create a huge number of problems and cause irreparable damage to the economy”, UPSS assesses, Nova Ekonomija writes.
