E-Invoicing in Europe: Mandates and Dates by Country

E-invoicing means sending invoices as structured data that the buyer's system can read automatically, not as a PDF attached to an email. Several EU countries now make e-invoicing mandatory for domestic B2B sales, each with its own start dates, formats and exchange networks. This guide lists the mandates that matter most for European suppliers in 2026 and explains what they mean when you sell across borders.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change often, so confirm the details with your tax adviser or software provider.

What counts as e-invoicing?

A PDF is an electronic document, but it is not an e-invoice in the legal sense. An e-invoice is issued, sent and received in a structured format that allows automatic processing, in line with the European standard on electronic invoicing. Germany's chambers of commerce make the point clearly: since 1 January 2025 a PDF sent by email no longer counts as an e-invoice there, according to IHK Köln's summary of the BMF guidance.

• Structured format: XML-based data such as UBL or CII, or a hybrid file that combines a PDF with embedded XML.
• Exchange route: email, a network such as Peppol, a national platform, or an approved service provider.
• Reporting: some countries also want the invoice data sent to the tax authority, called continuous transaction control or e-reporting.

E-invoicing mandates in Europe by country

The table summarises the main domestic B2B e-invoicing mandates covered in this article, with the source for each line. It is not a complete list of every country.

Country notes on e-invoicing

Belgium: Peppol for every VAT-registered business

Belgium requires structured e-invoices between Belgian VAT-registered businesses from 1 January 2026. Invoices travel through the Peppol network, and a PDF by email is no longer enough, as the Walloon economy portal explains. The federal tax administration granted a three-month tolerance period, during which no penalties applied if businesses could show reasonable preparation, as summarised by KPMG Belgium. That period ended at the end of March 2026.

Peppol works a little like a telephone network: your invoicing or accounting software connects to it through a service provider, and so does your customer's. Once both sides are connected, invoices move directly between systems without anyone typing figures in again. For a small supplier, the simplest route is often an accounting package that already includes a Peppol connection.

Poland: KSeF in three steps

Poland's national e-invoicing system, KSeF, became mandatory on 1 February 2026 for taxpayers with 2024 turnover above PLN 200 million, on 1 April 2026 for most other VAT-registered businesses, and from 1 January 2027 for micro businesses, according to EY's alert on the signed law.

Germany: receive now, issue in stages

German businesses must be able to receive e-invoices from domestic suppliers since 1 January 2025. Paper and other formats remained possible in 2025 and 2026. In 2027 only businesses with prior-year turnover up to EUR 800,000 may still send other electronic invoices with the customer's consent, and from 2028 the full rules apply.

France: 1 September 2026 and 2027

The French government's business portal states that all companies must be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026. Large and mid-sized companies must issue them from the same date, and SMEs and micro businesses from 1 September 2027. Invoices pass through state-approved platforms, and e-reporting follows the same calendar (entreprendre.service-public.fr, updated February 2026).

Croatia: Fiscalisation 2.0

Croatia made domestic B2B e-invoicing mandatory for VAT-registered businesses on 1 January 2026, using UBL 2.1 and fiscalisation messages to the tax authority. Cross-border and B2C sales are outside the e-invoicing mandate, according to ecosio's guide to Fiscalisation 2.0.

Does e-invoicing apply to cross-border sales?

Most current mandates cover domestic transactions between businesses established in the same country. A supplier in Sweden selling printed cartons to a buyer in Belgium is usually outside the Belgian mandate, although the buyer may still prefer to receive invoices through Peppol. That changes with the EU's VAT in the Digital Age package: from 1 July 2030 cross-border B2B transactions become subject to digital reporting, with e-invoicing as the default method, according to the European Commission's 2026 ViDA work programme notice. You can read more about the package in our guide to ViDA.

How suppliers can prepare for e-invoicing

• Map your customers by country. List where your buyers are established and which mandates already apply to them.
• Ask your software provider whether it can send and receive Peppol, KSeF, or French platform formats, and at what cost.
• Clean your master data. E-invoicing rejects incomplete invoices, so VAT numbers, company IDs and addresses must be right. Our guide on how to check an EU VAT number helps here.
• Keep the cross-border rules in mind. E-invoicing changes the format, not the VAT treatment. Intra-community supplies stay exempt, as described in selling to business buyers in other EU countries.

What buyers should ask new suppliers

Purchasing teams in Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Germany and France should check during onboarding that a new domestic supplier can issue invoices in the required format. A supplier that cannot do so may create extra work in accounts payable or delay payment.

It also helps to agree early on the reference data the invoice must carry, such as your purchase order number or cost centre. Structured invoices are matched automatically, so a missing order number can send an otherwise correct invoice into a manual queue. Put these requirements in the request for quotation or the purchase order so the supplier knows them from the start.

Finding suppliers that fit your process

Flobid connects buyers with printing, packaging and signage suppliers across Europe. When you send a request for quotation, you can mention invoicing requirements such as Peppol in the request text so suppliers can confirm before quoting.

Sources

1. Electronic invoicing compulsory in Belgium from 1 January 2026, Wallonia Economy Portal (2025)
2. E-invoicing: Tolerance of three months announced by the Belgian Federal Public Service Finance, KPMG Belgium (2025)
3. Poland signs into law mandatory national e-invoicing system, EY (2025)
4. E-Rechnung: Einführungsschreiben und FAQs des BMF, IHK Köln
5. Facturation électronique : c'est pour bientôt !, Entreprendre Service-Public.fr (2026)
6. E-invoicing (and e-reporting) in Croatia: A Guide to Fiscalisation 2.0, ecosio (2025)
7. VAT in the Digital Age: 2026 Work Programme available, European Commission (2026)