ViDA Explained: What VAT in the Digital Age Means for B2B Suppliers

ViDA, short for VAT in the Digital Age, is the EU package that moves VAT reporting for cross-border B2B trade to e-invoices and near real-time data from 1 July 2030. It also changes VAT rules for online platforms and reduces the need for businesses to register for VAT in several countries. If you sell goods or services to businesses in other member states, ViDA will change how you invoice and report, even though the main deadline is still a few years away.

This article is general information, not tax or legal advice.

What is ViDA?

ViDA is a set of amendments to the EU VAT Directive adopted by the Council on 11 March 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 25 March 2025, according to the European Commission's adoption notice. The directive itself, Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, entered into force on 14 April 2025, and its measures apply in stages until 2035.

The ViDA package is made up of three parts:

• Digital reporting and e-invoicing for cross-border B2B transactions.
• The platform economy, where certain platforms become responsible for VAT on the services they facilitate.
• Single VAT registration, which aims to reduce the number of businesses that need a VAT number in several member states.

ViDA timeline: the key dates

The Commission's notice on the 2026 ViDA work programme (22 May 2026) sets out the phases:

• From entry into force (April 2025): member states may require e-invoicing for domestic supplies under conditions they set.
• 1 January 2027: the One Stop Shop covers B2C supplies for charging electric vehicles, and clarifications for OSS and IOSS users apply.
• 1 July 2028: deemed supplier rules for platforms in short-term accommodation rental and passenger transport, and the main single VAT registration reforms, including a mandatory reverse charge for non-established suppliers.
• 1 July 2030: digital reporting for cross-border B2B transactions, with e-invoicing as the default.
• By 1 January 2035: member states with domestic real-time reporting must align those systems with the EU model.

How ViDA changes cross-border invoicing

For most B2B suppliers the 2030 changes are the ones that matter. The directive text sets out several practical rules.

E-invoices become the default

Under the new rules, an electronic invoice is one issued, transmitted and received in a structured format that allows automatic processing, and it must comply with the European standard on electronic invoicing. Sending a compliant e-invoice will no longer depend on the customer agreeing to it, and a PDF will not meet the definition.

Shorter deadlines for intra-EU invoices

For intra-community supplies of goods and for services taxed under the reverse charge, the invoice must be issued no later than 10 days after the chargeable event. Summary invoices covering a calendar month stay possible but must be issued within 10 days after the end of that month. Suppliers who invoice in large monthly batches will need to check that their routines fit these deadlines.

Transaction data goes to the tax authority

Under ViDA, the supplier's data is transmitted when the invoice is issued, and the buyer's side reports within five days of receiving it. Member states then exchange the data with each other. This is what the EU calls digital reporting requirements.

What happens to the EC Sales List under ViDA?

Because the tax authorities will receive invoice-level data, the recapitulative statement is no longer needed. The directive deletes the articles on recapitulative statements with effect from 1 July 2030. Until then, the current monthly or quarterly EC Sales List stays mandatory and is still a condition for the VAT exemption on intra-community supplies of goods.

ViDA for platforms and single VAT registration

The other two parts of ViDA get less attention from B2B suppliers but can still matter, especially for companies that sell to consumers or hold stock in other countries.

Platform economy from July 2028

From 1 July 2028, platforms that facilitate short-term accommodation rental and passenger transport are treated as the supplier for VAT purposes in many cases. The platform then charges and pays the VAT instead of the individual host or driver. For printing and packaging suppliers this has little direct effect, but it shows the general direction: VAT collection moves to the party with the best data.

Fewer VAT registrations abroad

The main single VAT registration reforms also start on 1 July 2028 and include a mandatory reverse charge for non-established suppliers. The aim is that a business selling into another member state can more often handle VAT from home instead of registering locally. A supplier that today holds a foreign VAT number only because of a few local sales should review, closer to 2028, whether it still needs that registration.

Domestic e-invoicing before 2030

Since its entry into force, ViDA allows member states to require e-invoicing for domestic supplies under conditions they set. This is one reason why national mandates are spreading. France, for example, requires all businesses to be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026, according to the government portal entreprendre.service-public.fr. The overview in e-invoicing in Europe lists the main national dates.

How should suppliers prepare for ViDA?

• Check your invoicing software roadmap. Ask whether it will support EN 16931 based e-invoices and the 2030 reporting flow.
• Review invoicing timing. Plan for invoices within 10 days of delivery on cross-border sales.
• Keep customer data accurate. Valid VAT numbers become even more central when every invoice is reported. See how to check an EU VAT number.
• Understand the reverse charge. It remains the basis for most cross-border B2B sales and is extended in 2028. Our guide on reverse charge VAT in the EU covers the basics.

Will ViDA affect small suppliers?

Yes, if they sell to businesses in other member states. The 2030 rules apply to cross-border B2B transactions regardless of company size, so a small print shop that ships brochures to a customer in another EU country will need to issue a compliant e-invoice and have its data reported.

Cross-border buying on Flobid

Flobid is built for B2B trade between EU countries, and every supplier with a VAT-checked badge has a VAT number that is valid in VIES with a matching company name. Read how supplier checks work on the verification page.

Sources

1. Adoption of the VAT in the Digital Age package, European Commission (2025)
2. Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 of 11 March 2025 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age, EUR-Lex (2025)
3. VAT in the Digital Age: 2026 Work Programme available, European Commission (2026)
4. Facturation électronique : c'est pour bientôt !, Entreprendre Service-Public.fr (2026)