Tender identifier
The tender identifier (kilpailutustunniste) is a code generated in Hilma when a contract notice is published. It links a contracting authority's purchase invoice to the competition under which the purchase was made. The identifier is the core of Finland's procurement data repository: it lets the State Treasury connect actual purchases to Hilma notices and publish what a tender resulted in, from whom and for how much. Contracting authorities ask suppliers to add the identifier to invoices, and in an e-invoice it travels in the Finvoice 3.0 TenderReference field. The act does not oblige suppliers directly, but from 2027 contracting authorities' reporting depends on the identifier being on the invoice.
Definition
Under the proposed Act on the Procurement Data Repository (Bill HE 230/2026), the tender identifier is the code that a contracting authority's invoice data delivered to the State Treasury must include where the purchase is based on a contract tendered under the Public Procurement Act or the Utilities Procurement Act (section 4(2)). The identifier is generated in Hilma when the notice is published, without any action by the contracting authority. The State Treasury stores invoice header, accounting and product-line data together with tender identifier and confidentiality markings (section 3(3)(4)), and the identifier is among the data that may be published (section 8). In an e-invoice the identifier is placed in the Finvoice 3.0 TenderReference field, and Peppol BIS 3 invoices have an equivalent field. The contracting authority may also request a confidentiality marking on invoices containing information that is confidential under section 24 of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999).
Legal Reference
Bill HE 230/2026: Act on the Procurement Data Repository, sections 3(3)(4), 4(2) and 8; Act on Electronic Invoicing by Contracting Entities and Traders (241/2019)
View on FinlexPractical Example
An IT services company wins a wellbeing services county tender whose Hilma notice has received a tender identifier. The contract requires the identifier on every invoice. The company's accountant stores the identifier in the customer register with the contract, and the invoicing system fills the TenderReference field automatically. The county delivers the invoice header and accounting data to the State Treasury, and from 2028 Tutkihallintoa.fi shows that the tender generated a given amount of invoicing for the company. Invoice product lines and unit prices are not published.
Common Mistake
A common mistake is to leave the identifier off invoices because the act does not directly oblige the supplier. The key finding of the State Treasury's municipal pilot was that suppliers do not add identifiers when asked, so contracting authorities will write the requirement into contract terms and purchase orders. Another is to confuse the tender identifier with an order or contract number: the tender identifier refers to the Hilma notice, not to the authority's own contract register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the tender identifier come from?
It is generated in Hilma when the contracting authority publishes the contract notice. The authority communicates it to the supplier with the contract or purchase order, and it can be carried onto the invoice from the order message.
Must a supplier put the tender identifier on invoices?
The Act on the Procurement Data Repository obliges the contracting authority, not the supplier. In practice authorities require the identifier in contract terms and purchase orders because their own reporting duty to the State Treasury depends on it.
Which e-invoice field holds the tender identifier?
The TenderReference field in the Finvoice 3.0 format. For Peppol BIS 3 invoices the State Treasury has published an equivalent field mapping. Check with your e-invoice operator that the field can be populated per invoice.
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