the E-bill is no longer a niche topic in Europe. With Directive 2014/55/EU and the technical standard EN 16931, the EU has created a common framework - but in practice, the picture is much more complex. Companies that operate across borders are faced with a multitude of national platforms, formats and deadlines that differ considerably from one another despite having a common basis. This article provides a structured overview of the current status of the e-invoicing landscape in Europe.
Read more: E-Rechnung in Europa: Harmonisierter Standard und nationale FragmentierungEN 16931 as a common denominator - and its limits
The EN 16931 standard defines the semantic data model for e-invoices in Europe. It specifies what information an invoice must contain in order to be machine-readable and legally recognised across borders. It therefore forms the basis for interoperable systems and simplifies cross-border trade considerably - at least in theory.
In practice, however, the member states supplement this standard with national CIUS specifications (Core Invoice Usage Specifications). Portugal uses the CIUS-PT, Romania the RO_CIUS, Croatia its own national CIUS. Each of these specifications prescribes additional mandatory fields, specific syntaxes or different validation rules. As a result, for ERP systems considerable customisation effort, even if the underlying standard is the same. Technically speaking: EN 16931 harmonises the semantics, but not the operational implementation.
Two models, one goal: centralised platforms vs. decentralised networks
Looking at the implementation models in Europe, two basic approaches can be distinguished: the centralised platform approach and the decentralised network model.
The Italian SDI as a model for interoperability
Northern Europe and the Baltic States: Peppol as the backbone
Country-specific mandates at a glance - what companies need to know now
Already active B2B obligations
Mandates 2025-2028
ViDA: The next development step at EU level
Behind many of these national e-invoicing plans in Europe is an overarching EU project: the „package"VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA). ViDA will establish e-invoicing as the mandatory standard for cross-border transactions within the EU and simultaneously harmonise digital reporting obligations. This fundamentally shifts the nature of e-invoicing compliance: instead of reactive adaptation to individual national requirements, companies must build a strategic digital infrastructure that can seamlessly serve both centralised clearinghouse models and decentralised Peppol networks.
For companies that are active in several EU countries, this results in a clear priority for action: the question is no longer, whether e-invoicing obligations, but How fast provide its own ERP systems and processes with the necessary flexibility for a fragmented but increasingly networked European compliance landscape.
Comparison of e-invoicing regulations in EU member states
Status: 2024/2025 - All information without guarantee
| Country | Competent authority | B2G mandate | B2B mandate | B2C mandate | Standard & Formats | Platform / operating model | Real-time VAT reporting | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Ministry of Economy and Finance, Tax Authority | Yes since 2014/2015 |
Yes since 2019 |
Yes since 2019 |
EN 16931, FatturaPA (XML) | Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) | Yes | 1, 2 |
| Romania | Ministry of Transport and Communications | Yes since 2020 |
Yes since Jan 2024 |
Yes since Jan 2025 |
EN 16931, RO_CIUS (UBL 2.1, CII) | RO e-Factura | Yes Notification within 5 days |
3 |
| France | Ministry of Finance, AIFE, DGFiP | Yes since 2020 |
Planned Phase-in from Sept 2026 |
No | EN 16931, UBL 2.1, CII, Factur-X | Chorus Pro | Planned from Sept 2026 |
2, 4 |
| Germany | Federal Ministry of Finance | Yes | Partially Obligation to receive from Jan 2025, issue gradually from 2027 |
No | EN 16931, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD 2.x | Decentralised (ZRE, OZG-RE, route ID) | No | 2, 5 |
| Belgium | Federal Public Service Policy and Support (BOSA) | Yes | Planned from 01.01.2026 for VAT payers |
No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | Mercurius, Peppol network | Planned for 2028 |
2, 6 |
| Poland | Ministry of Finance | Yes | Planned Mandatory from 2026 |
No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | PEF, KSeF (integrated from 2026) | Planned from 2026 via KSeF |
7 |
| Croatia | Ministry of Economic Affairs | Yes since July 2019 |
Planned expected from Jan 2026 |
No | EN 16931, UBL 2.1, CII | Servis eRačun za državu (FINA) | Planned Fiscalisation 2.0 from 2026 |
2, 8 |
| Portugal | Ministry of Finance, Autoridade Tributária | Yes since 2021 for large companies, from 2025 for SMEs |
In development / ViDA | No | EN 16931, CIUS-PT (UBL 2.1, CII) | Portal BASE, FE-AP (eSPap) | Yes since 2013 |
2, 9 |
| Greece | Ministry of Finance, IAPR | Partially gradually from 2024/2025 |
Planned Legislation expected |
No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | KE.D (National Interoperability Centre), myDATA | Yes About myDATA |
2, 10 |
| Spain | Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, AEAT | Yes since Jan 2015 |
Planned Mandate on Law 18/2022 in preparation |
No | EN 16931, Facturae (XML, XAdES) | FACe, FACeB2B | Yes SII system |
11 |
| Denmark | Danish Business Authority | Yes | Planned Digital accounting obligation from 2026 |
No | EN 16931, OIOUBL, Peppol BIS 3.0 | NemTrade | Yes via certified accounting systems |
2, 12 |
| Hungary | National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since Nov 2019 |
Partially except energy supply from July 2025 |
No | EN 16931, XML | NAV Online Invoicing System | Yes RTIR system |
2, 13 |
| Estonia | Ministry of Finance | Yes Buyer's choice principle since July 2025 |
Yes Buyer's choice principle since July 2025 |
No | EN 16931, Estonian XML standard | Decentralised model (via private service providers) | No | 2, 14 |
| Finland | State Treasury | Yes | Partially Right to e-invoice from €10,000 turnover |
No | EN 16931, Finvoice 3.0, TEAPPSXML 3.0, Peppol BIS 3.0 | Centralised (via service provider and Handi-Service) | No | 2, 15 |
| Latvia | Ministry of Finance | Yes since Jan 2025 |
Planned Mandatory from Jan 2028 |
No | EN 16931 | eAddress (VDAA) | Planned from 2026/2028 |
16 |
| Austria | Federal Ministry of Finance | Yes since April 2020 for federal authorities |
In development / ViDA | No | EN 16931, ebInterface, UBL 2.1, CII | Company service portal (USP), e-Rechnung.gv.at | No | 2, 17 |
| Slovakia | Ministry of Finance | Yes since Aug 2019 |
Planned from Jan 2027 |
No | EN 16931, UBL 2.1, CII | IS EFA (will be replaced by Peppol solution) | Planned from Jan 2027 |
18 |
| Iceland | Ministry of Finance and Economy | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since Jan 2020 |
Yes | Yes | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, TS-236 | Peppol eDelivery Network | No | 19 |
| Sweden | Digital Administration Agency (Digg), Tax Authority | Yes since April 2019 |
No | No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | None (decentralised access points) | No | 20 |
| Luxembourg | Ministry for Digitalisation | Yes since March 2023 |
No | No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, UBL 2.1, CII | Peppol network, guichet.lu | No | 21 |
| Lithuania | Ministry of Economic Affairs | Yes since July 2017 |
Planned from 2028 |
No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS 3.0, CII | SABIS (formerly eSąskaita) | No | 22 |
| Norway | Ministry for Digitalisation, DFØ | Yes | No | No | EN 16931, EHF (Elektronisk Handelsformat), Peppol BIS 3.0 | Peppol eDelivery Network, ELMA register | No | 23 |
| Netherlands | Ministry of the Interior, Logius, RVO | Partially Mandate for central government |
No | No | EN 16931, NLCIUS, Peppol BIS 3.0, UBL-OHNL, SETU | Digipoort, Peppol network | No | 24 |
| Czech Republic | Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Interior | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since Oct 2016 |
In development / ViDA | No | EN 16931, ISDOC, UBL 2.1, EDIFACT | Národní elektronický nástroj (NEN) | No | 2, 25 |
| Bulgaria | Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since Nov 2019 |
In development / ViDA | No | EN 16931, UBL 2.1, CII | CAIS EPP | No | 2, 26 |
| Cyprus | Ministry of Finance | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since April 2019/2020 |
In development / ViDA | No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | Cyprus Government Gateway Portal (gov.cy) | No | 2, 27 |
| Ireland | OGP, Office of the Revenue Commissioners | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since June 2019 |
No | No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | Peppol eDelivery Network | No | 28 |
| Malta | Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration | Partially Obligation for authorities to receive since Nov 2018 |
No | No | EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | None (use of the Peppol network) | No | 29 |
| Liechtenstein | Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Finance | Partially Obligation to receive for authorities |
No | No | EN 16931, XML | None (submission by e-mail) | No | 30 |
Implementing e-invoice compliance in SAP Business One
SAP Business One offers several tools that build on each other for the variety of e-billing requirements in Europe described above - but with varying scope depending on the target country.
ZUGFeRD and EN 16931: the native basis
SAP Business One can process e-invoices in ZUGFeRD-format. The ZUGFeRD 2.4 EN 16931 profile corresponds directly to the European standard and therefore fulfils the basic technical requirements for the B2G area as well as for countries that do not prescribe any national specifications that go beyond this. This profile is therefore the sensible starting point for many Central European applications.
Peppol integration via the Versino Financial Suite
For decentralised networks and cross-border transactions – particularly for countries like Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, or the Baltic states – Peppol integration in SAP Business One covers the „Four-Corner Model“. The Versino Financial Suite connects SAP Business One to the Peppol network, supporting both inbound and outbound invoices, credit notes, and debit notes. The integrated „Electronic Document Monitor“ allows for central management and status tracking of all transferred documents.
National CIUS specifications: Add-ons and SDK
For countries with their own platforms and formats - such as FatturaPA in Italy or RO e-Factura in Romania - the native standard alone is not sufficient. SAP Business One offers the necessary flexibility via its SDK and partner solutions to transform the standardised SAP1 documents into the respective national format. However, this step usually requires country-specific add-ons or integration scenarios that go beyond the standard scope of delivery.
Master data as a foundation
Regardless of the target country, an e-invoicing implementation stands and falls with the quality of the master data. Correct tax numbers and tax codes in the business partner master data, consistent article data and properly configured account determination and VAT groups are the prerequisites for ensuring that incoming and outgoing e-invoices are processed automatically and without errors. Subsequent corrections due to inconsistent master data cause the very manual effort that e-invoicing is supposed to eliminate.
Archiving and reconciliation
In addition, audit-proof archiving of all transmitted and received e-invoice files is recommended - ideally with direct document reference in the respective SAP B1 document. In addition, the VAT-relevant transactions posted in SAP Business One should be regularly compared with the data reported via the e-invoicing platforms. This ensures consistency and compliance in the long term and considerably simplifies external audits.
E-Invoicing 2026: From Receipt to Mandatory Issuance — what SMEs must clarify now
E-invoicing in Europe: Harmonised standard and national fragmentation
E-invoicing in SMEs: The clock is ticking
France E-invoicing 2026: What companies with a French tax number need to know now
Service description in the e-invoice: How much detail really needs to be included?
Verifactu in Spain: the new invoicing obligation
The e-invoicing regulations in Europe
The advantages of the e-bill 2025
E-bill 2025 FAQs
