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Finland's e-invoicing regulation timeline

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Executive summary

Finland introduced mandatory B2G e-invoicing early relative to most EU member states. Public administration bodies have been required to receive electronic invoices since 2019, and voluntary B2B adoption is already high, supported by a statutory right to request e-invoices rather than a blanket transmission mandate. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (B2G) has been mandatory since April 2019 for central government and since April 2020 for all contracting authorities, under the Act on Electronic Invoicing to Public Procurers and Contracting Entities (241/2019), which implements EU Directive 2014/55/EU. Since April 2021, public bodies may only accept invoices compliant with the EN 16931 standard. Voluntary B2B e-invoicing: businesses with an annual turnover above EUR 10,000 have a statutory right to request e-invoices from their suppliers, but there is no domestic transmission mandate. The EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) initiative is expected to introduce a harmonized B2B digital reporting requirement from around July 2030. There is no B2C e-invoicing mandate in Finland. Three EN 16931-compliant format families coexist: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL 2.1), the channel routed via the Finnish State Treasury as the national Peppol Authority; Finvoice 3.0, the dominant proprietary domestic format delivered over the Finnish bank network; and TEAPPSXML 3.0, a proprietary operator format used mainly between larger enterprises and public administration. Finland applies standard VAT (ALV) at 25.5%, with reduced rates of 13.5% and 10%. There is no domestic real-time e-reporting obligation. Finland relies on a post-audit compliance model.

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Invoicing in Finland

Finland’s e-invoicing framework is administered by the Finnish Tax Administration (Verohallinto) and governed for e-invoicing purposes by the Act on Electronic Invoicing to Public Procurers and Contracting Entities (241/2019). The framework rests on the Peppol network as the shared backbone for both B2G and voluntary B2B exchange, with a local bank/operator fallback (Finvoice or TEAPPSXML) for domestic-only recipients not reachable on Peppol.
  • Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 mandatory since April 2019 (central government) and April 2020 (all contracting authorities).
  • Right to request e-invoicing lets B2B buyers above the EUR 10,000 turnover threshold compel suppliers to issue e-invoices, without a blanket mandate.
  • Finvoice and TEAPPSXML remain the dominant domestic formats for recipients outside the Peppol network.
The diagram below shows how an outbound invoice is routed depending on whether the recipient is reachable on Peppol:
1

Invoice creation

The supplier’s system sends the invoice to Invopop as a GOBL document.
2

Generate the e-invoice

Invopop produces the appropriate XML document (Peppol BIS 3, TEAPPSXML or Finvoice).
3

Send via Peppol

If the buyer is reachable on Peppol, Invopop sends the invoice through our Peppol Access Point.
4

Deliver to the buyer

The buyer receives the invoice at their Peppol Access Point.
5

Domestic-registered buyers

If the buyer is not on Peppol, Invopop routes the invoice through the Finnish bank network or an operator network, delivered as Finvoice or TEAPPSXML.
Suppliers invoicing Finnish public authorities must submit invoices via the Peppol network in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL 2.1) format. Paper and unstructured PDF invoices are not accepted. The Finnish State Treasury (Valtiokonttori) has been the national Peppol Authority since 2022, managing SMP registration for Finnish participants. Unlike clearance countries, Finland has no central government invoice-validation hub: contracting authorities receive invoices directly over Peppol or via their operator/bank channel, in a decentralized four-corner model. Peppol e-ordering has also applied to central government purchases since April 2024.

Peppol

Connect the app to send invoices to Finnish public authorities →
Finland has no B2B e-invoicing transmission mandate as of 2026. The EU’s ViDA initiative is expected to introduce a harmonized digital reporting requirement across member states from around July 2030.
B2B e-invoicing in Finland is voluntary, but businesses with an annual turnover exceeding EUR 10,000 have a statutory right to request that their suppliers issue e-invoices instead of paper or PDF. This right-to-request mechanism, rather than a blanket mandate, is one of the reasons Finland has a comparatively high voluntary e-invoicing adoption rate. Requested invoices typically flow over the same Peppol rails used for B2G, or via Finvoice for domestic-only trading partners.
Native support for Finvoice 3.0 and TEAPPSXML 3.0 is on the Invopop roadmap. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is the recommended channel today; contact support@invopop.com to confirm current availability before go-live.
For domestic recipients not reachable on Peppol, delivery happens through Finnish banks and invoicing operators (e.g. Maventa, Basware) acting as licensed intermediaries. Finvoice 3.0, maintained by Finance Finland, is the dominant proprietary domestic format, exchanged over the Finnish bank network. TEAPPSXML 3.0, a proprietary operator format from Tietoevry, is used mainly for inter-operator exchange and by larger enterprises and public administration. Both are EN 16931-compliant, so conversion to and from Peppol BIS is largely lossless for core invoice data.

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E-reporting

Finland has no real-time or periodic e-reporting requirement layered on top of e-invoicing today. VAT is declared through the standard periodic VAT return filed with Verohallinto. The EU’s ViDA initiative is expected to introduce harmonized Digital Reporting Requirements based on EN 16931 data across member states from around 2030, which would extend to Finland’s intra-EU B2B transactions in the first instance.

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Regulation

Finnish invoice content requirements implement EU VAT Directive Article 226 through the Arvonlisäverolaki (Finnish VAT Act).Full invoice
  • Supplier’s name and address, and Y-tunnus (Business ID) or VAT number.
  • Buyer’s name and address. For intra-EU B2B transactions, the buyer’s VAT number must also be included.
  • Sequential invoice number, unique and part of an ongoing series.
  • Invoice date (date of issue).
  • Delivery / supply date, if different from the invoice date.
  • Description of the goods delivered or services provided, including quantity and unit price excluding VAT.
  • Taxable base: total price excluding VAT, per VAT rate applied.
  • VAT rate(s) applied (25.5% / 13.5% / 10%) and the VAT amount in EUR.
  • Total amount including VAT.
  • For reverse charge transactions: a reference to the applicable provision and the customer’s VAT number.
  • For VAT-exempt or zero-rated supplies: a reference to the applicable exemption.
Simplified invoicePermitted for low-value transactions and certain retail/service situations under Arvonlisäverolaki:
  • Supplier’s name and Y-tunnus/VAT number.
  • Invoice date.
  • Description of goods or services.
  • Total amount including VAT and the VAT rate applied.
Invoice corrections are not restricted to specific document types. Any corrective document referencing the original invoice is accepted.
Finland applies standard EU VAT rules under the Arvonlisäverolaki (VAT Act), administered by Verohallinto.Businesses are identified by their Y-tunnus (Business ID: 7 digits plus a check digit, formatted 1234567-8). The Finnish VAT number is formed by prefixing FI and removing the hyphen (e.g. FI12345678).
Under the Kirjanpitolaki (Finnish Accounting Act), accounting records, including invoices and supporting documentation, must generally be retained for 6 years from the end of the financial year. Some categories of documentation may be subject to longer sector-specific retention rules; confirm exact figures with local counsel before relying on them for edge cases.

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FAQ

Compliance questions Finland
B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory since 1 April 2019 for central government and since 1 April 2020 for all contracting authorities, under Act 241/2019 (implementing EU Directive 2014/55/EU). Since 1 April 2021, public bodies may only accept invoices compliant with EN 16931. B2B e-invoicing remains voluntary. Businesses above the EUR 10,000 turnover threshold have a statutory right to request e-invoices from suppliers, but there is no blanket transmission mandate. There is no B2C mandate.
Businesses with an annual turnover exceeding EUR 10,000 can compel their suppliers to issue e-invoices instead of paper or PDF. It’s a statutory right rather than a default obligation to transmit electronically, and it is one of the reasons Finland has a comparatively high voluntary e-invoicing adoption rate without a blanket mandate.
Standard rate 25.5%, reduced rate 13.5% (food, restaurants, books, transport, accommodation, cultural events, from 2026), and super-reduced rate 10% (newspapers and magazines). Exports outside the EU and intra-EU supplies to VAT-registered buyers are zero-rated.
Under the Kirjanpitolaki (Finnish Accounting Act), accounting records, including invoices, must generally be retained for 6 years from the end of the financial year. Confirm any sector-specific extensions with local counsel before relying on them for edge cases.
Peppol
Mandatory dates vary by country. Belgium requires structured B2B e-invoicing — Peppol BIS by default — from January 2026. Germany is phasing in B2B e-invoicing between 2025 and 2028. France’s Factur-X via Peppol applies once the PA reform takes effect. Outside mandates, Peppol delivery is voluntary but increasingly expected for B2G and cross-border trade.
Yes. Every document exchanged on Peppol BIS uses a UBL or CII syntax that conforms to the EN16931 European e-invoicing standard, plus the relevant Peppol BIS specification. Invopop generates compliant XML automatically when you use the Peppol app.
Peppol is a federated network — anyone could otherwise register a Participant ID for a company they don’t represent. Proof of ownership ties the Participant ID to a verifiable contact at the company, which is what allows the registration to be published on the SML.
Requirements vary by Authority. In Belgium, for example, the supplier must provide a recent extract from the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (KBO/BCE) plus a signed mandate. Invopop walks the registering party through the local requirements during the registration wizard.
Yes — a Peppol BIS document delivered through a certified Access Point is treated as the legal e-invoice in any country that recognises Peppol. The signed UBL or CII XML is the authoritative record; archive it alongside any human-readable rendering you generate.
Retention is set by each country’s tax authority — typically 7 to 10 years in the EU. Invopop preserves the original XML and any generated PDF in the silo entry so you can satisfy local archival requirements wherever you operate.
More available in our Finland FAQ section

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