About The Nationwide E-Invoicing Initiative
IMDA implemented the nationwide E-invoicing network in 2019 to help businesses improve efficiency, reduce cost, enjoy faster digital payment, and stay green at the same time. As one of the leading e-invoicing solution providers, this network is an extension of the International Peppol E-Delivery Network allowing businesses to transact internationally with other linked companies.
An Overview of Singapore’s E-invoicing Journey
| 2018 | IMDA adopted Peppol as the standard for the nationwide e-invoicing initiative and became the first Peppol Authority outside of Europe. |
| 2019 | The network was launched with 11 Access Point providers. |
| 2020 | The Government public procurement was connected to Peppol, providing an additional channel for Government vendors to issue invoices to Government. |
| 2021 | IMDA rebranded Peppol to InvoiceNow in Singapore, drawing on the public’s familiarity with PayNow, the widely adopted e-payment system in Singapore. |
| 2022 | IMDA introduced additional document types – purchase order and invoice response, on the InvoiceNow network, aiming to further streamline the procure-to-pay process for businesses. |
| 2023 | The Government announced the plan to make InvoiceNow the default channel for public procurement in the next few years. |
| 2024 | IRAS announced the GST InvoiceNow Requirement, which requires GST-registered businesses to transmit invoice data to IRAS via the InvoiceNow network. The requirement will be implemented progressively, starting from November 2025. |
Peppol Authority
Peppol Framework and OpenPeppol
IMDA's nationwide E-invoicing network is built on the established Peppol framework to support exchange of business documents electronically and is used in many countries. OpenPeppol is the non-profit international association in charge of development and maintenance of the Peppol specifications. OpenPeppol delegates the authority over the implementation and use of Peppol specifications to the local Peppol Authorities. For more information on Peppol, please visit https://www.peppol.org/.
IMDA as the Peppol Authority
IMDA became the Peppol Authority in Singapore in May 2018 and is responsible for approving and certifying Peppol Access Point Providers in Singapore.
As the Peppol Authority, IMDA takes the responsibility of specifying country specific rules and technical standards under the Peppol framework. To create a complete ecosystem of providers, IMDA started accrediting Peppol-Ready Solution Providers (PRSP) in 2019. PRSP evolved to InvoiceNow-Ready Solution Providers (IRSP) in 2024 to incorporate GST InvoiceNow Requirement.
IMDA also governs the compliance and promotes the adoption of Peppol framework in Singapore.
SMP in Singapore
IMDA has adopted a centralised Service Metadata Publisher (SMP) model in Singapore and has appointed SGNIC as the SMP provider in Singapore. For more information on the SMP in Singapore, please visit https://www.sgnic.sg/smp.html.
Peppol Framework
In Singapore today, most companies (sellers) issue invoices by extracting the data from their accounting or finance solutions/ in-house enterprise solutions and formatting it in human-readable form and sending it to the buyers via paper or email.
At the receiving end (buyer), manual effort is required to enter or scan the information into their systems which is a time-consuming and error-prone process.
The Nationwide E-Invoicing Network adopts the Peppol framework which allows direct transmission of e-invoices from one finance system to another without human intervention, speeding up invoice processing which results in faster digital payment. This greatly reduces the time spent verifying invoices and chasing for payment.
In the Peppol network, documents are exchanged using a common XML format known as the BIS (Business Interoperability Specifications) Billing 3.0 UBL. This common standard allows users to choose their preferred accounting and ERP platforms while being able to exchange invoices with their partners who may not be using the same platform. Documents are exchanged through Access Points, which serve as gateways into the Peppol network. Access Points take up the responsibility of mapping invoices of various formats into the standard format and sending them to the receiving Access Points through the Peppol network.
The Peppol network works based on a principle of a 4-corner model, illustrated above. In a transaction, the seller’s objective is to successfully send an invoice to the accounting or finance solution/ in-house enterprise solution of the buyer. Regardless of invoice format, documents that are sent out by the seller (corner 1) will be converted into the common standard at its Access Point (corner 2). The global directory will provide the necessary information to corner 2 to identify the receiving Access Point (corner 3) for the e-invoice to be sent through the network. Upon receiving the e-invoice, corner 3 will map the e-invoice into the preferred format of the buyer (corner 4).
This network allows businesses to use an accounting or finance solution/ in-house enterprise solution of their choice, connect once and connect to all.
Find Your Buyer/Supplier On The Network
You can search for other businesses on the SG Peppol Directory by visiting this site https://www.peppoldirectory.sg. This site provides online search capabilities, batch checking of businesses and API access for businesses who wish to automate their process. Watch the video guide below:
Note: The Peppol global directory is also available at https://directory.peppol.eu/
Become an InvoiceNow-Ready Service Provider
The InvoiceNow network is served by service providers that meet a variety of business needs. Service Providers who are interested to become an IMDA-accredited InvoiceNow-Ready Solution Provider (IRSP) or Access Point Provider (AP) can find out more about the pre-approval process below:
InvoiceNow Technical Playbook
A curated list of digital resources related to the Peppol E-Delivery Network. Click here to access the following resources:
- Invoice Data Submission Specifications for IRAS GST InvoiceNow Requirement (TX1 to TX3 documents)
- C5 Testing Resources
- Peppol International (PINT) Specifications
- SG BIS 3.0 Specifications
- SG Peppol Directory
- Important Notes on SG BIS 3.0
- How to send a test e-Invoice
- Transacting with Partners
- Sending E-Invoices to Government
- Validex Tool
Contact Us
For more information and clarification, please email us at einvoice@imda.gov.sg
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