Across the EU, invoices between businesses are moving from paper and PDF to structured, machine-readable formats that tax administrations can process automatically. Each country runs its own schedule, but the direction is one-way. If you sell into Europe, here is the map.
Germany: already in force
Since January 2025, every German business must be able to receive structured e-invoices (EN 16931 formats such as XRechnung and ZUGFeRD). Issuing obligations phase in through transitional periods and become universal for domestic B2B invoices from 2028.
France: September 2026
From 1 September 2026, all French businesses must be able to receive e-invoices, with large and mid-size companies also required to issue them; small businesses follow in September 2027. B2C and cross-border sales fall under e-reporting: the periodic transmission of transaction data to the tax administration.
Belgium and Poland: the same wave
Belgium made structured e-invoicing via the Peppol network mandatory for domestic B2B from January 2026. Poland phases in its government platform, KSeF, through 2026. Spain and other member states have their own programs in preparation.
ViDA: where this converges
The EU's VAT in the Digital Age reform makes structured e-invoicing and digital reporting the default for cross-border B2B transactions by 2030, aligning national systems in the years after. Country mandates are not exceptions; they are the early chapters of an EU-wide standard.
What a merchant should take from this
Three capabilities cover you across every jurisdiction on this list: generating invoices in validated EN 16931 formats, keeping gapless legal invoice numbering, and archiving documents immutably. Transmission networks differ by country; the document standard underneath is shared. Build the documents right once, and each new mandate becomes a delivery detail rather than a rebuild.