E-invoicing in the EU: where it is mandatory and how the systems differ

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and implementation dates checked on 22 October 2026. The country overview concerns ordinary business invoicing; establishment, transaction type and sector exceptions can change the result.

A supplier emails a perfectly readable PDF. The customer can open it, approve it and pay it. Yet the supplier may still have failed to issue the electronic invoice required by law. Elsewhere in Europe, the same delivery method may be acceptable—or the customer may already have a right to request a structured file even though there is no universal issuing mandate.

Europe is moving towards structured invoicing, but it does not yet operate one invoice portal or one domestic timetable. The useful questions are who must issue, who must receive, what must be reported, and through which channel. This guide answers those questions country by country. For the Romanian workflow and a worked deadline calculation, see RO e-Factura in practice. Read this article in Romanian.

1. What makes an invoice electronic?

In everyday language, a PDF sent by email is an electronic invoice. In the European structured-invoicing framework, the decisive feature is that software can read and process the invoice's fields automatically. A picture of an invoice does not provide that structure. Neither does an arbitrary XML file with the right filename.

• EN 16931 defines the meaning and business rules of a core electronic invoice: seller, buyer, invoice identifier, amounts, tax information and other fields.
• UBL and UN/CEFACT CII are structured syntaxes in which those fields can be expressed. A national implementation can add applicable requirements.
• Peppol provides a governed exchange network and interoperability specifications. It is not an EU tax authority or a universal replacement for national platforms.
• A hybrid invoice can combine a readable PDF with embedded structured data. A qualifying ZUGFeRD/Factur-X document is different from an ordinary PDF or a PDF with an unrelated attachment.

The European Commission's e-invoicing overview explains the structured approach; its technical guidance on EN 16931 covers conformance. National format and delivery requirements still need to be checked.

Download the one-page PDF comparison. It is an educational worksheet, with fictional amounts and an incomplete XML excerpt, rather than a specimen ready for tax submission.

A successful technical validation establishes neither that the goods arrived nor that the bank account is genuine. Those remain purchasing and payment controls.

2. Three duties that are often confused

B2B means business-to-business, B2G business-to-government, and B2C business-to-consumer. Each can have a different rule within the same country.

1. Issuing: the supplier creates and transmits the invoice in the prescribed form.
2. Receiving: the customer must be able to accept that form, sometimes before its own issuing deadline starts.
3. Reporting: invoice or transaction data goes to the tax authority. Reporting can accompany exchange or operate separately.

France and Germany illustrate why this matters: a business can need a working receiving process while still benefiting from an issuing transition. Hungary illustrates another distinction: invoice-data reporting includes paper invoices, so extensive reporting does not itself prove that every customer receives structured XML.

For public procurement, Directive 2014/55/EU, particularly Article 7, requires covered public buyers to receive and process compliant electronic invoices. National law determines additional supplier obligations and wider scope. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe the directive alone as a blanket EU-wide duty for every supplier to issue every invoice electronically.

3. The EU country comparison: what applies now?

The following tables cover all 27 Member States. Dates describe domestic B2B arrangements unless stated otherwise. “No general mandate identified” does not mean no rules: public procurement, a buyer's statutory request, a contract, or fiscal reporting may still require action. The country names link to the relevant authority or Commission profile.

Obligations already applying

Three transitions deserve particular attention:

• Germany: the extended issuing transition for smaller suppliers uses prior-year turnover of no more than EUR 800,000. A supplier's permission to use a transitional format does not remove its customer's receiving duty. The BMF FAQ also identifies exemptions and the treatment of EDI.
• Poland: the first issuing wave used 2024 gross sales above PLN 200 million; the low-volume transition uses invoiced monthly gross sales of no more than PLN 10,000. These are statutory thresholds, not interchangeable “large” and “small” business labels. Receipt began on 1 February 2026. KAS launch guidance.
• Greece: the first wave concerned businesses above EUR 1 million of 2023 revenue. For the second wave, check the conditions attached to the transition through 31 January 2027, rather than simply moving the start date to February. AADE decision A.1197/2026.

Adopted dates that are still ahead

Spain illustrates the importance of a precise trigger: the implementing order's entry into force on 6 October 2026 starts the one- and two-year periods for issuing and receiving. The subsequent invoice/payment-status obligations have their own timetable. A software supplier advertising readiness for Veri*Factu is not, for that reason alone, offering the whole forthcoming B2B exchange process.

Buyer rights, reporting and countries without a general current mandate

The Commission's country collection is useful for comparing national architecture. Its profiles have different update and validation dates. For an operational deadline, use the current national legislation and authority guidance linked above, rather than a map that labels each country simply “mandatory” or “voluntary”.

4. What changes under ViDA?

VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) has been adopted. It is not a pending proposal. From 1 July 2030, its cross-border B2B digital-reporting framework changes the way covered intra-EU transactions are invoiced and reported. It does not create a single European invoice website, and it does not mean businesses can ignore national mandates until 2030. European Commission: ViDA.

For a business operating in several countries, preparation begins with a matrix of the transaction types, customer identifiers and delivery routes it actually needs. One successful domestic connection does not demonstrate coverage of all those flows.

5. Three transactions, three different answers

A Belgian supplier invoices a Belgian business

A fictional consultancy invoices EUR 1,200 net for project support. If both parties and the transaction fall within the Belgian domestic B2B mandate, sending only a PDF does not complete the required process. The supplier needs compliant structured exchange; the buyer needs a receiving route and an internal owner who handles incoming documents. A PDF can accompany the invoice for convenience.

The operational test is straightforward: can the supplier identify the recipient, deliver through the agreed compliant route, see a failure if it occurs, and retain the structured record? A “send PDF” button answers only part of that question.

A German business invoices a French customer

The customer's French address does not automatically turn a cross-border invoice into a domestic French B2B invoice. Equally, German domestic rules should not simply be copied onto a transaction outside their domestic scope.

Before selecting a route, the parties must establish their relevant places of establishment, the nature and place of supply, whether an establishment participates in the supply, and any separate reporting duties. They should then agree the supported format and customer reference. The place-of-supply and VAT analysis comes before the file-format decision.

A Romanian supplier invoices a Romanian public institution

This is a public-sector workflow, not merely two companies emailing accounts departments. The supplier must determine the applicable B2G/public-institution requirements, include the required references, and use RO e-Factura when required. The institution still checks the contractual basis, delivery and payment approval. The Ministry of Finance's seal does not perform those checks for it. The Romanian companion article explains the original XML, corrections, CPV information and document retention.

6. A practical implementation checklist

A small company does not need an elaborate transformation programme. It does need an owner for each step and a way to notice failure.

When comparing software, ask for an actual demonstration using one ordinary invoice, one correction and one failed transmission. Check whether the advertised product creates, transmits, receives, reports, archives, or merely displays invoices. “E-invoicing support” can mean any combination of those functions.

A useful internal register includes the invoice identifier, supplier, buyer, date, payable amount, transmission status, recipient availability date where relevant, reviewer, dispute status, due date and recorded payments. Keep those statuses separate: downloaded is not approved, and approved is not paid.

7. Further reading and review date

This edition was checked on 22 October 2026. The country tables link directly to their supporting national sources or official country profiles; the EU timetable links to the adopted text. The next review should revisit the November Greek phase, January 2027 transitions and any enacted changes following national announcements.

For the Romanian obligations, exceptions and worked examples, continue with RO e-Factura in practice. Versiunea în limba română.

A note on organising the records

WorkStudio can bring invoices retrieved through an authorised Romanian RO e-Factura connection into a shared register with their original files and supporting documents. Teams can review and approve invoices, record payments, follow outstanding balances and export records for their accountant. Automatic retrieval can be enabled for a connected company. These functions concern that Romanian connection and the internal workflow. See WorkStudio packages for the available invoice services.

Legal and tax information notice. This article provides general educational information based on the sources and review date shown. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice for a particular business or transaction. National scope, exceptions, implementation measures and subsequent amendments may affect the answer. Before changing invoicing, tax reporting, payment or retention procedures, check the applicable current law and obtain appropriate professional advice. Illustrative businesses and amounts are fictional; the downloadable example is not a compliant invoice for submission.