E-invoicing in Europe means issuing, transmitting and receiving an invoice as structured data that software can process without human re-typing — a PDF alone does not qualify. There is no single European B2B mandate today: Directive 2014/55/EU obliges public bodies to accept structured invoices, ViDA (Directive (EU) 2025/516) makes structured e-invoices the basis for cross-border digital reporting from 1 July 2030, and Germany, France, Belgium and Poland each run their own domestic B2B mandate with different dates, formats and networks.
What counts as an e-invoice in Europe
An e-invoice is an invoice "issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format which allows for its automatic and electronic processing" — Article 2 of Directive 2014/55/EU. ViDA carries the same definition into the VAT Directive, aligned with the European standard EN 16931.
Structured invoices are XML documents such as XRechnung, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 or FA(3), and hybrid PDFs with embedded XML such as ZUGFeRD and Factur-X. Paper, scans and plain PDFs are not; German VAT law now calls them "other invoices". The page on structured invoices versus PDF explains the distinction country by country.
Three layers of rules: the B2G directive, ViDA and national mandates
European e-invoicing rules stack in three layers, and they should not be flattened into "the EU mandate".
Layer 1 — Directive 2014/55/EU (B2G)
The directive obliges contracting authorities and entities to receive and process e-invoices that comply with the European standard for invoices under the public procurement directives. The Commission published the reference of EN 16931-1:2017 in the Official Journal on 17 October 2017; the receiving obligation followed 18 months later for central authorities and up to 30 months later for sub-central bodies. The directive obliges no business to send e-invoices to another business.
Layer 2 — ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age)
Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 was adopted on 11 March 2025 and entered into force on 14 April 2025. According to the Commission, from entry into force Member States may introduce mandatory domestic e-invoicing under specific conditions without asking for a derogation. From 1 July 2030 digital reporting requirements apply to cross-border B2B transactions, based on structured e-invoices; by 1 January 2035 Member States with pre-existing domestic real-time reporting systems must align them with the EU model. Details are on the EU requirements page.
Layer 3 — national B2B mandates
Domestic B2B e-invoicing is decided nationally. Each mandate has its own scope, dates, format and transmission model, summarised in the next section.
National B2B mandates: Germany, France, Belgium and Poland
All four countries have a domestic B2B mandate in force or phasing in. The table gives the position as of 3 September 2026 from the national sources listed above.
| Country | Receive | Issue | Format | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Since 1 January 2025 every domestic business must be able to receive EN 16931 invoices | Transitional rules end 31 December 2026 (issue from 1 January 2027); businesses with prior-year turnover up to €800,000 may use other formats until 31 December 2027 | Any EN 16931 format: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, Peppol BIS | No central platform; e-mail, download or Peppol as agreed |
| France | 1 September 2026 for all VAT-registered businesses | 1 September 2026 for large and mid-sized companies; 1 September 2027 for SMEs and micro-enterprises | Factur-X, UBL or CII ("socle minimal") | Only through a plateforme agréée (PA) |
| Belgium | 1 January 2026 | 1 January 2026 for domestic B2B between Belgian VAT-registered businesses | Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 by default | Peppol network; alternatives only by mutual agreement |
| Poland | 1 February 2026 (KSeF 2.0) | 1 February 2026 for taxpayers whose 2024 sales exceeded PLN 200 million; 1 April 2026 for all others; 1 January 2027 for the smallest (monthly sales up to PLN 10,000) | FA(3) XML (national schema, not EN 16931) | Central platform KSeF |
Whether a given company falls under a threshold, an exemption or a transitional rule requires professional confirmation — the national rules contain exclusions the table cannot capture. The country hubs go deeper: Germany, France, Belgium and Poland. The timeline page lists every date in one place.
The formats behind the mandates
Most European formats are profiles of one semantic model, EN 16931; Poland's FA(3) is the exception.
- EN 16931
- The European semantic model: which fields an invoice contains and what they mean. Two syntaxes are listed: UBL 2.1 and UN/CEFACT CII. See EN 16931 explained.
- XRechnung
- Germany's national specification (CIUS) of EN 16931, maintained by KoSIT, in UBL or CII.
- ZUGFeRD / Factur-X
- The technically identical German-French hybrid: a PDF/A-3 with an embedded CII XML. Profiles from MINIMUM to EXTENDED.
- Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
- OpenPeppol's CIUS of EN 16931 in UBL, the default in Belgium and usable in Germany.
- FA(3)
- Poland's national XML schema for KSeF, mandatory from 1 February 2026, replacing FA(2).
The format guide compares them by country, syntax, hybrid and network.
Transmission: networks and platforms
The format answers "what is in the file"; transmission answers "how does it reach the buyer". Germany leaves the channel to the parties. Belgium prescribes the Peppol four-corner network. France routes invoices through approved platforms, Poland through the central KSeF, which assigns each invoice its official number. The pages on Peppol and Peppol versus national networks compare the models; cross-border e-invoicing covers what happens when seller and buyer sit in different countries.
How to prepare
Preparation is the same in every country: be able to receive first, then issue, then connect to the required channel.
- Receive. Read incoming XML and hybrid PDFs into your bookkeeping rather than printing them.
- Clean master data. Validation fails on missing VAT identifiers, addresses, payment details or buyer references; Peppol also needs the buyer's participant identifier.
- Issue in the buyer's format and validate before sending — the free e-invoice checker runs a file against a country's rules.
- Connect the channel: a Peppol access point, a French approved platform or KSeF authentication.
- Archive the XML, not only the rendered image.
See also e-invoicing software and B2B versus B2G.
How KRONENWERK handles this
KRONENWERK generates and validates structured e-invoices at issuance for the four European countries it covers and reads incoming structured invoices into bills.
- Germany — XRechnung and ZUGFeRD, validated with the KoSIT Schematron rules and cross-checked with the Mustang library: SUPPORTED
- France — Factur-X (PDF/A-3 with embedded CII): generation SUPPORTED; transmission through an approved platform is planned through Storecove's approved-platform capability and is NOT YET READY. KRONENWERK is not itself a plateforme agréée.
- Belgium — Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 UBL: SUPPORTED WITH LIMITATIONS. KRONENWERK sends and receives over Peppol through an accredited access point provider (Storecove) once the company is connected in Settings → Delivery; it is not itself a Peppol access point.
- Poland — FA(3) XML generation SUPPORTED WITH LIMITATIONS; the KSeF 2.0 module has not been used against the production KSeF and transmission is NOT YET READY. Subscriptions are not currently sold to Polish companies.
- Receiving — XRechnung, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X and UBL files are read into bills: SUPPORTED.
Each invoice carries a tax verdict derived from the transaction's facts, with the buyer's VAT ID checked against VIES at issuance. Developers can create invoice drafts through the e-invoicing API. Product details are on the e-invoicing product page and the country overview.
Frequently asked questions
Is e-invoicing mandatory in Europe?
Not by one EU-wide B2B rule. Public bodies must accept EN 16931 invoices under Directive 2014/55/EU, and ViDA sets 1 July 2030 for structured e-invoices in cross-border B2B reporting. Domestic B2B mandates exist country by country — Germany, France, Belgium and Poland all have one.
Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?
No. A plain PDF has no structured data. A hybrid PDF such as ZUGFeRD or Factur-X is an e-invoice because it embeds an XML file that carries the invoice data.
Do I need Peppol to send e-invoices in Germany?
No. Germany prescribes the format (EN 16931), not the channel; an XRechnung sent by e-mail is valid. Peppol is one option, and it is the default channel in Belgium.
What changes with ViDA in 2030?
From 1 July 2030 cross-border B2B transactions within the EU fall under digital reporting based on structured e-invoices. Domestic systems that predate ViDA must align with the EU model by 1 January 2035.
The pages in this guide
- EU e-invoicing requirements: Directive 2014/55/EU, EN 16931 and ViDA What the EU itself requires for e-invoicing — the B2G directive, the EN 16931 standard and the ViDA timeline to 2030 — and what remains a national decision.
- EN 16931: the European e-invoice standard explained EN 16931 is the semantic model behind XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X and Peppol BIS: core elements, UBL and CII syntaxes, CIUS, business rules and versions.
- Structured invoice vs PDF: what counts as an e-invoice in Europe A PDF is not an e-invoice. What Germany, France, Belgium and Poland accept as a structured invoice, how hybrids fit, and when PDF-only stops being compliant.
- E-invoice formats: UBL, CII, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, Peppol BIS, FA(3) The European e-invoice formats — UBL, CII, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 and FA(3) — compared by country, syntax, hybrid and network.
- Cross-border e-invoicing in the EU: which rules apply and how to send Which country's rules apply between two EU businesses, how reverse charge and the VAT ID fit in, why Peppol is the cross-border rail, what ViDA changes in 2030.
- B2B vs B2G e-invoicing: the EU directive, national mandates and B2C Directive 2014/55/EU obliges public buyers to accept e-invoices; B2B mandates are national and phased; B2C is not covered. Tables for DE, FR, BE and PL.
- Peppol vs national e-invoicing networks: KSeF, French platforms, Germany How Peppol's four-corner model differs from Poland's central KSeF, France's approved platforms and Germany's no-network model, and why Belgium chose Peppol.
- E-invoicing mandate timeline 2014–2035: EU, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland All e-invoicing dates from Directive 2014/55/EU to ViDA 2030 in one sorted table for the EU, Germany, France, Belgium and Poland, marked in force or adopted.
- E-invoicing software for Europe: what to check before you choose A neutral checklist for e-invoicing software in Germany, France, Belgium and Poland: formats, validation, transport, receiving, archiving, tax verdicts, API.
Sources
- Directive 2014/55/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement — read on
- Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 (VAT in the Digital Age) — read on
- European Commission — VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) — read on
- European Commission — What is eInvoicing — read on
- European Commission — Obtaining a copy of the European standard on eInvoicing — read on
- BMF — Einführung der obligatorischen elektronischen Rechnung (UStAE amendment, 15 October 2025) — read on
- European Commission — 2025 Germany eInvoicing Country Sheet — read on
- impots.gouv.fr — Je passe à la facturation électronique — read on
- economie.gouv.fr — Tout savoir sur la facturation électronique — read on
- European Commission — eInvoicing in Belgium — read on
- Ministry of Finance (Poland) — Etapy wdrożenia KSeF — read on
- Ministry of Finance (Poland) — Zakres obowiązkowego KSeF — read on