For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

1. (1)

   ‘electronic invoice’ means an invoice that has been issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format which allows for its automatic and electronic processing;

2. (2)

   ‘core elements of an electronic invoice’ means a set of essential information components which an electronic invoice must contain in order to enable cross-border interoperability, including the necessary information to ensure legal compliance;

3. (3)

   ‘semantic data model’ means a structured and logically interrelated set of terms and their meanings that specify the core elements of an electronic invoice;

4. (4)

   ‘syntax’ means the machine readable language or dialect used to represent the data elements contained in an electronic invoice;

5. (5)

   ‘syntax bindings’ means guidelines on how a semantic data model for an electronic invoice could be represented in the various syntaxes;

6. (6)

   ‘contracting authorities’ means contracting authorities as defined in point 17 of Article 1 of Directive 2009/81/EC, Article 6(1) of Directive 2014/23/EU and point (1) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU;

7. (7)

   ‘sub-central contracting authorities’ means sub-central contracting authorities as defined in point (3) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU;

8. (8)

   ‘central purchasing body’ means central purchasing body as defined in point (16) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU;

9. (9)

   ‘contracting entities’ means contracting entities as defined in point 17 of Article 1 of Directive 2009/81/EC, Article 7(1) and (2) of Directive 2014/23/EU and Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU;

10. (10)

    ‘international standard’ means an international standard as defined in point (a) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012;

11. (11)

    ‘European standard’ means a European standard as defined in point (b) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012.