Migration plan

This document is the migration plan for the transition event from the Peppol BIS Billing 5a, (version 2.3) to the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, as well as the phase out of Peppol BIS Invoice 4a, (version 2.3).

1. Introduction

1.1. Principles

This migration plan is based on the following principles:

To allow a smooth and as friction free transition as possible, using two versions of the element subject to migration to enable new as well as existing end‐users to prepare for an updated element must be allowed.
To ensure non-disrupted operations and full interoperability of the messages exchanged in the Peppol network, the period during which two parallel versions are allowed should be as short as possible.
Any changes affecting the current (mandatory) Peppol element should be notified, communicated and agreed upon in the relevant coordinating community (CC) well in advance.
The migration is conducted in three steps at three different points in time, marked as “A”, “B” and “C” and defined as follows:

A – Phase-in

date at which the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is introduced as an optional element. At this date it should be possible to download any specification for this Peppol BIS. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is optional at this point in time.

B – Transition

the date at which the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 becomes the mandatory element. The previously mandatory Peppol BIS Billing 5a (version 2.3) and Peppol BIS Billing 4a (version 2.3) become optional.

C – Phase out

the date after which the Peppol BIS Billing 5a (version 2.3) which was mandatory at “A”, and became optional at “B”, is no longer supported or maintained by Peppol

The migration rules only apply to an end user’s individual Peppol BIS registered in the SMP.
The migration rules only apply for a new Peppol BIS that updates or replaces an existing one.
All Peppol participants shall adhere to the Migration Policy.

2. Detailed migration plan

This section describes how and when a Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 will be available for use.

A - Phase In

“Phase-in” is defined as the start date for the optional use of Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 corresponding to the publication date when it becomes available for download at www.peppol.eu.
The date is set to 2018-02-27

B - Transition

The Transition is defined as the period during which the Peppol BIS 5a and 4a (version 2.3) change status from mandatory to optional.
The Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, becomes mandatory, to align with the enforcement of the eInvoicing Directive.
The start date for the transition period is set to 2019-04-18

c - Phaseout

After the phase-out, the Peppol BIS 5a and 4a (version 2.3) will no longer be supported or maintained by Peppol.
Phase-out date of Peppol BIS 5a and 4a (version 2.3) is set to 2019-12-31.

The dates in the table below are start dates of the different phases. As an example, the date shown for A - Phase in, 2018-02-27 is the first date where the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is available as an optional element.

Table 1. Migration overview
Subject to migration	A - Phase-in	B - Transition	C - Phase-out
Subject to migration	2018-02-27	2019-04-18	2019-12-31
PEPPOL BIS Billing 5a, version 2.3	Mandatory	Optional	Discontinued
PEPPOL BIS Invoice 4a, version 2.3	Mandatory	Optional	Discontinued
Peppol BIS Billing, version 3.0	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory

3. Migration rules ‐ Peppol participants affected by the Migration Policy

This OpenPeppol BIS Billing Migration Policy affects all end-users registered in a SMP for invoice/billing according to the following rules:

End-users registered in a SMP before the phase-in date (2018-02-27)

Rule

It is mandatory to support the Peppol BIS Billing 5a (version 2.3) that are registered in the SMP for an individual end user, until the transition date (2019-04-18).
Supporting Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is optional until the transition date (2019-04-18).

End-users registered in a SMP after the phase-in date (2018-02-27)

Rule: It is optional to support the Peppol BIS Billing 5a (version 2.3) or the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 that are registered in the SMP for an individual end user until the transition date (2019-04-18).

For all end-users after the transition (2019-04-18)

Rule: After the transition, the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 becomes mandatory and the Peppol BIS Billing 5a (version 2.3) become optional.

For all end-users after the Phase Out (2019-12-31)

Rule: OpenPeppol will no longer support the use of Peppol BIS 5a and 4a (version 2.3 or their older versions) in any way. This includes maintenance of validation artefacts and service desk support. Any further use of Peppol BIS 5a and 4a is strongly discouraged and done at the Service Providers’ own risk.

4. Derivatives

Peppol Authorities that have developed invoice Document Types that were derived from the Peppol BIS 5a or 4a, and have had those listed as Document types in the relevant code list according to the Peppol policy for identifiers, can continue to exchange invoices based on those specifications after the phase-out date mentioned in this Migration Policy.

After the Phase Out date the relevant PA will, however, have to fully assume the responsibility for any support and maintenance of those Document Types including the part that has been inherited from the underlying Peppol BIS 5a or 4a. They are strongly recommended to migrate to versions compatible with BIS Billing 3.0.