Practice and problems of the use of electronic invoices

ENRapid advance of information technologies creates more possibilities for enterprises to achieve greater efficiency, reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution. The incorporation of the new 2010 European Union directive on the regulation of electronic invoices into local legislature enables to accelerate the process of applying electronic invoices to practice. The issue of electronic invoices is new to Lithuania: there are no scientific researches on this topic except for a few informational reports on the 2013 legal amendments. No information is publicly available on how to apply laws of electronic invoices into the practice of Lithuanian enterprises. The present article discusses the possibilities of practicing electronic invoices from technological and legal aspects; the attention is drawn to the regulation and use of electronic invoices practiced in the European Union and its member countries. The article analyzes regulations of electronic invoices in the legislation of Lithuania and other European countries, as well as the advantages of the use of electronic invoices and its influence on the results of enterprise activities. The research has shown an insufficient use of electronic invoices in Lithuania: only 14 percent of enterprises use electronic invoices and only 2 percent of all invoices are electronic.