EU e-invoicing timeline: the dates country by country (2026-2030)
PDF invoices between businesses are being replaced by structured e-invoices across the EU. Here are the dates for each country that has set them, from Italy (2019) to the EU-wide rule for cross-border sales (1 July 2030), each with its official source.
An e-invoice in the legal sense is not a PDF sent by e-mail: it is a structured file, usually in the European standard EN 16931, that the buyer’s software can read without retyping. The EU reform “VAT in the Digital Age” (Directive (EU) 2025/516) lets every member state make it compulsory at home, and makes it compulsory for business sales between EU countries from 1 July 2030. Many countries are not waiting. This page lists the dates set so far, checked on 5 November 2026.
The timetable, country by country
| Country | What becomes mandatory | From | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | E-invoices through the SdI exchange system for domestic business sales | In force since 1 January 2019 | Agenzia delle Entrate |
| Romania | Domestic business invoices through RO e-Factura | In force since 2024 | ANAF |
| Germany | Every business must be able to receive structured e-invoices; issuing them becomes mandatory in two steps | Receiving: 1 January 2025. Issuing: 1 January 2027 above €800,000 turnover, 1 January 2028 for all | Federal Ministry of Finance |
| Belgium | Structured e-invoices, generally through Peppol, between Belgian VAT businesses | 1 January 2026 | efacture.belgium.be · our guide |
| Croatia | Structured e-invoices between businesses (Fiscalization 2.0) | 1 January 2026 for VAT-registered businesses, 1 January 2027 for the others | Porezna uprava |
| Poland | Invoices through the national KSeF system | 1 February 2026 above PLN 200 million in sales, 1 April 2026 for the others (up to PLN 10,000 of invoices a month: end of 2026) | KSeF, Ministry of Finance |
| Greece | E-invoices for domestic business sales, reported through myDATA | 2 March 2026 above €1 million turnover, 1 October 2026 for the others | AADE |
| France | Receiving e-invoices through an approved platform, then issuing them, plus e-reporting | Receiving, and issuing for large and mid-sized companies: 1 September 2026. Issuing for SMEs and micro-enterprises: 1 September 2027 | impots.gouv.fr · our guide |
| Spain | E-invoices between businesses (“Crea y Crece” law) | 6 October 2027 above €8 million turnover, 6 October 2028 for the others | BOE, Order HAC/1028/2026 |
| Spain | Verifactu: invoicing software that records every invoice for the tax agency (not e-invoicing) | 1 January 2027 for companies, 1 July 2027 for the self-employed and others | Agencia Tributaria |
| Luxembourg | Structured e-invoices between businesses (bill 8815, not yet voted) | Receiving from 2028. Issuing: 1 July 2028 for large companies, 1 January 2029 for the others | Chamber of Deputies · our guide |
| Netherlands | Structured e-invoices between businesses (announced plan) | 1 July 2030 (planned) | our guide |
| Whole EU | Structured e-invoices (EN 16931) and digital reporting for business sales between EU countries | 1 July 2030 | Directive (EU) 2025/516 |
Dates move: Greece and Poland postponed their start once, and Spain has announced a further delay for Verifactu that is not law yet. Always check the official source before you plan.
What the rules have in common
- A PDF is no longer the invoice. The legal invoice is the structured file; a PDF can travel with it for people to read.
- Receiving comes first or at the same time. Even a small business that does not have to issue e-invoices yet must often be able to receive them from its suppliers.
- The file goes through a network or platform: Peppol in Belgium and Luxembourg, approved platforms in France, KSeF in Poland, SdI in Italy, myDATA in Greece.
- The rules cover sales between businesses established in that country. Sales to private customers, and to other EU countries until 2030, usually follow other rules, sometimes digital reporting.
What to do now
- List the countries of your customers and suppliers, and find each one’s date in the table above.
- Check that your invoicing software can both send and receive structured invoices, not only create a PDF.
- Clean your customer data: VAT numbers, legal names and, where it applies, Peppol identifiers.
- Decide who checks incoming e-invoices and how they reach your accounting.
- Ask your accountant which date applies to your company size, and plan a test before it.
How Tavalle helps
In Tavalle an invoice is created from the order, with the right VAT for each customer’s country, and each invoice can be downloaded as a Peppol e-invoice file (UBL, EN 16931), ready for your e-invoicing provider. See invoicing and VAT and business software for SMEs selling across the EU.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Dates were checked on 5 November 2026 against the official sources linked above; check them again, or ask your accountant, before you rely on them.
