E-invoicing in Europe

Executive summary

Europe is the most diverse e-invoicing region in the world. While the EU provides a common legal and technical foundation through EN 16931 and EU Directive 2014/55/EU, each country has adopted a different compliance model — from Italy’s full clearance system to Belgium and Norway’s decentralized Peppol exchange, and France’s unique five-corner platform architecture. The Peppol network is the most widely adopted infrastructure, used for B2G invoicing in most EU countries and increasingly mandated for B2B transactions. EN 16931, the European Norm defining the semantic data model for electronic invoices, provides the interoperability backbone. On top of these shared foundations, countries layer their own formats (FatturaPA in Italy, XRechnung in Germany, Factur-X in France) and reporting requirements (SII in Spain, SAF-T in Norway and Portugal, myDATA in Greece). The period from 2026 to 2028 represents the most significant wave of B2B e-invoicing mandates in European history. France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Poland, and Norway all have major milestones in this window. Looking further ahead, the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) initiative is expected to introduce harmonized digital reporting requirements across all member states by approximately 2030.

Common standards and formats

EN 16931

EN 16931 is the European Norm that defines the semantic data model for electronic invoices. It acts as the interoperability backbone across all EU member states, ensuring that invoices can be understood regardless of the specific format used. EU Directive 2014/55/EU mandates that all public authorities in the EU must accept e-invoices conforming to EN 16931.

Peppol

The Peppol network provides the decentralized infrastructure for exchanging electronic documents. Businesses connect through certified Access Points that handle routing and delivery. Peppol is used for B2G invoicing in most EU countries and is becoming the default network for B2B transactions in France, Belgium, and the Nordic countries.

Country-specific formats

While EN 16931 provides the semantic foundation, countries implement it through different syntaxes and extensions:

Country	Primary format	Notes
Belgium	Peppol BIS 3.0	EN 16931 compliant
Croatia	Peppol / eRačun	EN 16931 compliant
Denmark	Peppol BIS 3.0	EN 16931 compliant
Finland	Peppol BIS 3.0	EN 16931 compliant
France	UBL, CII, Factur-X, Peppol BIS	Multiple accepted formats, all EN 16931 compliant
Germany	XRechnung / ZUGFeRD	XRechnung for B2G, ZUGFeRD (hybrid PDF+XML) for B2B
Greece	EN 16931 + CUIS (XML)	Greek-specific extensions via myDATA
Hungary	Peppol (XML)	Transitioning to Peppol
Italy	FatturaPA (XML)	Proprietary format, predates EN 16931
Norway	EHF 3.0 / Peppol BIS Billing 3.0	EN 16931 compliant
Poland	KSeF (XML)	National e-invoicing system
Portugal	CUIS-PT (XML) / ATCUD	Unique validation code system
Romania	Peppol (XML)	Transitioning to Peppol
Spain	VERI*FACTU (XML) / Facturae / TicketBAI	Multiple systems reflecting regional fiscal autonomy

Compliance models

Europe has the widest diversity of compliance models of any region. The same transaction type (B2B) can follow entirely different regulatory architectures depending on the country. Italy operates a full clearance model through the SDI (Sistema di Interscambio). Every invoice must be submitted to SDI, which validates it and routes it to the buyer. The invoice is only legally valid after SDI approval. This model has been mandatory for all businesses since 2019 and is the closest European equivalent to the Latin American approach. France is building a unique architecture where businesses connect through certified Plateformes Agréées (PAs). Each PA looks up the buyer in the state Annuaire directory and routes the invoice to the buyer’s PA over Peppol. In parallel, the PA submits the invoice data to a government data concentrator for VAT reporting. This creates a five-corner model that integrates e-invoicing and e-reporting into a single flow. Belgium, Norway, Denmark, and Finland use the Peppol network as their primary e-invoicing infrastructure. Invoices flow directly between business Access Points without passing through a government clearance hub. Tax authorities receive data through separate reporting mechanisms or plan to add a fifth-corner reporting layer. Germany requires XRechnung for B2G (via Peppol) but is transitioning B2B to mandatory structured e-invoice acceptance (January 2025) followed by mandatory issuance (2027-2028). Portugal uses the ATCUD validation code system alongside SAF-T reporting. Greece combines Peppol for B2G with the myDATA real-time reporting platform. Spain layers VERI*FACTU, TicketBAI, Facturae, and SII across different regions and company sizes.

Key dates

Country	Milestone
Belgium	B2B Peppol mandatory — January 1, 2026
France	B2B mandatory acceptance + large/medium issuance — September 2026
France	B2B mandatory issuance for all — September 2027
Germany	B2B mandatory e-invoice receipt — January 2025 (already effective)
Germany	B2B mandatory issuance (turnover more than €800k) — January 2027
Germany	B2B mandatory issuance for all — January 2028
Greece	Mandatory for companies with revenue more than €1M — February 2026
Greece	Mandatory for all businesses — October 2026
Norway	B2B mandatory e-invoice sending proposed — January 2028
Poland	KSeF mandatory for large taxpayers — February 2026
Poland	KSeF mandatory for others — April 2026; micro-enterprises — January 2027
Portugal	B2B ATCUD/QR mandatory — January 1, 2026
Spain	VERI*FACTU mandatory for businesses — January 1, 2027

The 2026-2028 window is the critical period for European e-invoicing. Nearly every country is implementing or expanding B2B mandates during this time.

VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA)

Looking beyond individual country mandates, the EU’s ViDA initiative aims to introduce harmonized Digital Reporting Requirements (DRRs) across all member states. Expected around 2030, ViDA will likely require real-time or near-real-time digital reporting based on EN 16931. Several countries — notably Germany — are explicitly designing their current systems with ViDA alignment in mind.