Prishtina, 28 February 2014 – On 27 and 28 February, the Ministry of Economic Development, in cooperation with European Commission’s TAIEX technical assistance, organized a two day workshop in Prishtina on the topic: “e-Payment and e-Invoicing”, attended by over 40 representatives of managerial and professional level from various local institutions and TAIEX experts from France, Portugal and Estonia.

Presentations in the first session of the first day were conducted by representatives of national institutions. The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) presented the existing legal framework on electronic commerce (e-Commerce), electronic payments (e-Payments), electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) and electronic signature (e-Signature).

The following presentations was held by the Kosovo Tax Administration (KTA), which presented the current state of electronic services provided by this institution (EDI system); the Civil Registration Agency (CRA), which presented on the topic of electronic ID cards (e-ID), which are being issued already; Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) presented on electronic invoices and electronic payments in the Kosovo banking system; whereas the Kosovo Bank Association presented on the significance of electronic payments and electronic invoices for the development of Kosovo’s banking system.

The following sessions of day one and two were used by TAIEX experts, who presented on relevant topics.

The expert from the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, Lucien Gimenez, presented and elaborated on the European Union legal framework, respectively on relevant directives pertaining to e-Payments and e-Invoicing, as well as on the business effects of the utilization of these mechanisms.

On the other hand, the expert from the Portugal Tax and Customs Authority, Elza Sequeira, presented the e-Invoicing system implemented in her organization, as well as on the role of the state administration in the process of adopting electronic payments and invoices.

Further, experts from the Estonian Ministry of Economic Matters, Liivi Karpištšenko and Janek Rozov, had a presentation on the system of electronic payments and invoices in Estonian Tax Administration, and on the impact of value added tax in electronic commerce.

Noteworthy, discussion sessions were rather fruitful and adequately used to exchange ideas, experiences, opportunities and recommendations to address the current situation in this sphere in Kosovo.

The workshop was followed with great interest by state institutions, banking sector and private sector enterprises in the sphere of information technology. Over 40 participated in the workshop, including representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Finance, Kosovo Tax Administration, Kosovo Customs, Central Bank of Kosovo, Kosovo Bank Association, Information Society Agency, Civil Registration Agency, Kosovo Information Technology and Communication Society  – STIKK, as well as independent experts in the sphere of economy and information technology.