The short answer
- An e-invoice is a structured data file that software can read automatically. A PDF sent by email or by link is not an e-invoice in the legal sense.
- Already in force (September 2026): Belgium (all domestic B2B invoices since 1 January 2026), Poland (KSeF since 1 February and 1 April 2026), France (every business must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 September 2026; large and mid-sized companies must also issue them) and Germany (every business must be able to receive them since 1 January 2025).
- Coming next: Poland’s smallest taxpayers and KSeF penalties from 1 January 2027; Germany’s issuing obligation in 2027 and 2028; France’s small businesses from 1 September 2027; the UK has announced a mandate for 2029.
- EU-wide: the ViDA package makes e-invoicing and near real-time reporting mandatory for cross-border B2B sales inside the EU from 1 July 2030.
- Mandates cover invoices between businesses. Invoices to consumers are generally out of scope, though France will collect summary data on them.
What counts as an e-invoice
In everyday language, an “electronic invoice” is any invoice that isn’t on paper. For tax authorities, it means something narrower: an invoice issued, sent and received in a structured format that the buyer’s system can process without anyone retyping it.
The common reference in Europe is the standard EN 16931, implemented in two XML syntaxes:
- UBL (Universal Business Language), the default on the Peppol network;
- CII (Cross Industry Invoice, UN/CEFACT).
Hybrid formats combine a human-readable PDF with the same data embedded as XML: Factur-X in France and ZUGFeRD in Germany. Germany’s finance ministry states plainly that a simple PDF doesn’t qualify as an e-invoice. France’s tax authority says the same thing in its own words: an e-invoice “is not a PDF sent by email”.
Why do governments want this? France’s tax authority lists two aims: cutting processing costs for businesses and catching VAT fraud earlier. Structured data also lets the tax office pre-fill VAT returns over time.
The EU: what ViDA changes, and when
The EU adopted its VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package on 11 March 2025: Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, Regulation 2025/517 and Implementing Regulation 2025/518. It was published on 25 March 2025 and entered into force on 14 April 2025. The European Commission sums up the dates:
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 14 April 2025 | EU countries can introduce mandatory domestic e-invoicing under the conditions set by the directive, without asking for a special EU authorisation |
| 1 July 2028 | Platform economy rules for short-term accommodation and passenger transport; single VAT registration measures begin |
| 1 July 2030 | Digital reporting requirements, with mandatory e-invoicing, for cross-border B2B transactions within the EU |
| 1 January 2035 | Countries with their own real-time reporting systems must align them with the EU model |
14 April 2025
What changesEU countries can introduce mandatory domestic e-invoicing under the conditions set by the directive, without asking for a special EU authorisation
1 July 2028
What changesPlatform economy rules for short-term accommodation and passenger transport; single VAT registration measures begin
1 July 2030
What changesDigital reporting requirements, with mandatory e-invoicing, for cross-border B2B transactions within the EU
1 January 2035
What changesCountries with their own real-time reporting systems must align them with the EU model
For a small business, the 2030 date matters only if you sell to businesses in other EU countries. Before then, what counts is the rule in your own country.
France: receive now, issue in 2027
France’s reform covers transactions between VAT-registered businesses established in France, and it explicitly includes micro-businesses that don’t charge VAT under the franchise en base scheme.
| Obligation | Large and mid-sized companies | SMEs and micro-businesses |
|---|---|---|
| Receive e-invoices | Since 1 September 2026 | Since 1 September 2026 |
| Issue e-invoices to business clients | Since 1 September 2026 | From 1 September 2027 |
| E-reporting (sales to consumers, international sales, payment data) | Since 1 September 2026 | From 1 September 2027 |
Receive e-invoices
Large and mid-sized companiesSince 1 September 2026
SMEs and micro-businessesSince 1 September 2026
Issue e-invoices to business clients
Large and mid-sized companiesSince 1 September 2026
SMEs and micro-businessesFrom 1 September 2027
E-reporting (sales to consumers, international sales, payment data)
Large and mid-sized companiesSince 1 September 2026
SMEs and micro-businessesFrom 1 September 2027
Invoices travel only through approved platforms (plateformes agréées, formerly called PDPs), private companies registered by the tax authority. There’s no free state portal: France chose a network of private platforms, and a national directory, run by the state IT agency AIFE, tells each platform where a client receives its invoices. On 1 August 2026, more than ten of the 150 approved platforms offered a free or no-extra-cost plan for small businesses.
Penalties, as raised by France’s 2026 Finance Act: €50 per invoice not issued electronically (capped at €15,000 a year), €500 per missing e-reporting transmission (same cap), and, for a business with no platform to receive invoices, a three-month formal notice followed by €500, then €1,000 every three months. The tax authority says there will be no automatic sanctions in 2026 for businesses that document genuine difficulties and fix them.
Belgium, Germany and Poland
Belgium was the first of these four countries to require both sending and receiving for all domestic B2B invoices. Since 1 January 2026, VAT-registered Belgian businesses must send and receive structured e-invoices to and from each other, including small businesses under the VAT exemption scheme for turnover up to €25,000. The Peppol network is the official channel. The authorities announced a three-month grace period at the start of 2026; fines now run from €1,500 for a first infringement to €3,000 for a second and €5,000 after that, under a Royal Decree of 8 July 2025. France’s tax authority reports that about 65% of Belgian businesses were ready on the start date.
Germany phases in by turnover:
- since 1 January 2025, every business must be able to receive e-invoices from other domestic businesses (an email inbox is enough to receive them);
- until 31 December 2026, businesses may still send paper invoices, and other electronic formats such as PDF with the recipient’s consent;
- from 1 January 2027, businesses with prior-year turnover above €800,000 must issue e-invoices;
- from 1 January 2028, all businesses must.
Small businesses under Germany’s Kleinunternehmer scheme, invoices of €250 or less, and sales to consumers are outside the issuing obligation. Accepted formats include XRechnung and ZUGFeRD 2.0.1 or later (excluding its MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles).
Poland routes invoices through a central government system, KSeF, rather than private platforms. It became mandatory on 1 February 2026 for taxpayers with 2024 sales above PLN 200 million, and on 1 April 2026 for everyone else. The smallest taxpayers, with monthly invoiced sales up to PLN 10,000, have until 1 January 2027. The finance ministry has said penalties will apply only from 1 January 2027.
The UK and the US
UK: there’s no mandate yet. The government confirmed in November 2025 that it will require e-invoicing for all VAT invoices from 2029, with details still to come. Until then, PDF invoices remain fine for UK businesses.
US: there’s no federal e-invoicing mandate for private businesses. Invoicing rules for freelancers and small businesses are covered in our guide to self-employed invoices.
If you’re a UK or US freelancer with clients in France, Belgium, Germany or Poland, the mandate applies to your client’s domestic purchases, not to you directly. Ask the client how they want to receive your invoice.
What a small business should do now
- 1Find your country’s datesCheck what applies to you today and what starts next, on your tax authority’s website.
- 2Make sure you can receiveIn France and Germany the receiving obligation is already in force. In France, that means choosing an approved platform.
- 3Ask your current toolsYour bank, accounting software or invoicing app may already connect to an approved platform or to Peppol.
- 4Clean up client dataCollect each business client’s registration number (SIREN, VAT number) and invoicing address.
- 5Test before your deadlineSend a few invoices through the new channel months before it becomes mandatory.
Where Binome360 fits, and where it doesn’t
Let’s be clear: Binome360 isn’t a certified e-invoicing platform and isn’t an approved platform in France, a Peppol access point in Belgium or a KSeF integration in Poland. It prepares quotes and invoices from one sentence, with automatic numbering, your business details and legal notes in the footer, your tax rate, four templates and a public link your client can open, download as a PDF and, for quotes, accept online. That’s a valid invoice for consumers and, wherever no mandate applies to you yet, for business clients. But a PDF or a link isn’t an e-invoice in the legal sense.
If you’re subject to a mandate, send your business invoices through an approved provider. Binome360 still helps around that: marking invoices as paid, flagging late ones and preparing a polite reminder. For the mandate itself, check with your accountant.
- I know my country’s receiving and issuing dates
- I can receive e-invoices where that’s already required
- I’ve asked my bank or software whether it connects to an approved platform
- I have each business client’s registration and VAT numbers
- I’ve planned a test run at least three months before my issuing date
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?
No, not for mandate purposes. Tax authorities in France and Germany are explicit: an e-invoice carries structured data a system can process automatically. A hybrid format like Factur-X or ZUGFeRD looks like a PDF but contains the XML data inside; a PDF made in a word processor doesn’t.
Do e-invoicing mandates apply to freelancers and sole traders?
Often, yes. France includes micro-businesses under the VAT exemption scheme, and Belgium includes its small-business exemption scheme. Germany exempts Kleinunternehmer from issuing but still expects them to be able to receive. Check your own country’s scope rather than assuming small means exempt.
Does ViDA mean all EU invoices must be electronic in 2030?
Not all of them. From 1 July 2030, the EU requirement covers cross-border B2B transactions within the EU. Domestic invoices follow each country’s own rules, which may already be stricter.
Is e-invoicing free?
It depends on the country. Poland’s KSeF is run by the government. France has no state platform, but more than ten approved platforms offered free or no-extra-cost plans for small businesses on 1 August 2026. In Belgium and Germany, costs depend on the software or network provider you choose.
In short
E-invoicing is already live in Belgium, Poland and France, and Germany’s issuing phases start in 2027. The EU adds cross-border reporting in 2030. What matters most today is whether you can receive e-invoices and when you must start issuing them. Your first step: look up your country’s issuing date on your tax authority’s website, and put a reminder three months before it.
Sources
- European Commission, “VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA)” and “Adoption of the VAT in the Digital Age package”, 11 March 2025: taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu.
- Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 of 11 March 2025 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules for the digital age: eur-lex.europa.eu.
- impots.gouv.fr (DGFiP), “Je découvre la facturation électronique”, updated 26 May 2026, and “Tout savoir sur la facturation électronique” (FAQ, August 2026): impots.gouv.fr/professionnel/je-decouvre-la-facturation-electronique.
- DGFiP, “Facturation électronique : guide pratique de démarrage au 1er septembre 2026”, July 2026: impots.gouv.fr.
- Service-Public Entreprendre, “Facturation électronique : les sanctions évoluent” (2026 Finance Act, article 123), 20 February 2026: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A18802.
- FPS Finance (Belgium), “Pour qui la facturation électronique deviendra-t-elle obligatoire ?”: efacture.belgium.be; penalties under the Royal Decree of 8 July 2025, as summarised by the Union des Classes Moyennes (UCM): ucm.be.
- Bundesministerium der Finanzen, “Fragen und Antworten zur Einführung der obligatorischen (verpflichtenden) E-Rechnung zum 1. Januar 2025”: bundesfinanzministerium.de.
- Ministry of Finance of Poland, “Zasady obowiązywania KSeF i przepisy prawne” and “Krajowy System e-Faktur – plan wdrożenia”: ksef.podatki.gov.pl, gov.pl/web/finanse.
- HM Treasury and HMRC, “Promoting electronic invoicing across UK businesses and the public sector: consultation response”, updated 26 November 2025: gov.uk.
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