E-Invoicing Mandates in Europe and the UK: Every Deadline from 2026 to 2030
Short answer: Europe is not switching to e-invoicing on one date. It is going country by country. Belgium and Poland are already live in 2026, France started on 1 September 2026, Germany requires issuing from 1 January 2027 for businesses above EUR 800,000 turnover, Spain follows in 2027 and 2028, and the UK makes B2B e-invoicing mandatory on 1 April 2029 over Peppol. From 1 July 2030, EU rules extend it to cross-border B2B trade.
Two things are true everywhere. A PDF stops counting as an e-invoice, because the invoice has to be structured data. And your ERP creates that data, but in most countries a network or approved platform carries it. You usually need both.
The deadlines, country by country
Dates below were checked on 16 September 2026. Several of these mandates have already moved at least once, so treat the table as the current plan, not a promise.
| Country | What applies | Who | Date | Format and channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Domestic B2B e-invoicing | All VAT-registered businesses | 1 January 2026, with a three-month tolerance period | Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 over the Peppol network |
| Poland | Invoices issued through KSeF | Turnover above PLN 200 million | 1 February 2026 | FA(3) XML through the national KSeF system |
| Poland | Invoices issued through KSeF | All other taxpayers | 1 April 2026 (smallest invoicers: 1 January 2027) | FA(3) XML through KSeF |
| France | Receiving e-invoices | Every business subject to French VAT | 1 September 2026 | Through an approved platform (plateforme agréée) |
| France | Issuing e-invoices and e-reporting | Large and mid-sized companies | 1 September 2026 | Factur-X, UBL or CII through an approved platform |
| France | Issuing e-invoices and e-reporting | SMEs and micro-businesses | 1 September 2027 | Same |
| Germany | Receiving e-invoices | All businesses | Since 1 January 2025 | EN 16931, typically XRechnung or ZUGFeRD |
| Germany | Issuing e-invoices | Prior-year turnover above EUR 800,000 | 1 January 2027 | EN 16931; no central platform |
| Germany | Issuing e-invoices | All remaining businesses | 1 January 2028 | Same |
| Spain | Verifactu certified invoicing software | Corporate income tax payers | 1 January 2027 (others 1 July 2027) | Records sent to or kept for the tax agency |
| Spain | B2B e-invoicing | Turnover above EUR 8 million | Expected October 2027 (others October 2028) | Pending the final ministerial order |
| United Kingdom | B2B and B2G e-invoicing for VAT invoices | VAT-registered businesses | 1 April 2029 | Peppol as the interoperability framework |
| EU (ViDA) | Cross-border B2B e-invoicing and digital reporting | Intra-EU B2B transactions | 1 July 2030 | EN 16931 structured invoices |
Why "compliant in Germany" does not mean compliant in France
The mandates share a European data standard, EN 16931, but they use three different delivery models. That difference decides how much integration work your ERP needs.
- Open exchange (Germany). There is no central government platform. You send a valid structured invoice to your customer by any channel you agree, including email, and you must be able to receive and process one.
- Network exchange (Belgium, and the UK from 2029). Invoices travel over Peppol, a four-corner network. Your ERP creates the invoice, and a certified Peppol access point delivers it.
- Platform or clearance (France and Poland). Invoices pass through an approved platform in France or through the government system in Poland, which also gives the tax authority the data. Your ERP has to talk to that platform, not just produce a file.
A company trading in several of these countries therefore needs one clean set of invoice data and several outputs. That is an ERP design question more than a software purchase.
Country notes that change what you do
Germany
Every German business has had to accept e-invoices since 1 January 2025. The issuing obligation phases in from 2027, and paper or plain PDF invoices remain allowed only with the buyer's consent during the transition. Watch the ZUGFeRD profile you use: the finance ministry's guidance accepts ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 but excludes the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles, because they lack required VAT data. XRechnung and the EN 16931 profiles qualify.
France
France went live on 1 September 2026 after two postponements. Receiving applies to everyone from day one, and large and mid-sized companies must also issue. Exchange runs through platforms registered by the tax authority, called plateformes agréées. France adds e-reporting on top, so B2C and international sales data also reaches the authority. Choosing the platform is part of the project, because your ERP has to integrate with it.
Belgium
Since 1 January 2026, domestic B2B invoices between Belgian VAT-registered businesses must be structured e-invoices, with Peppol BIS as the default format. A PDF attached to an email no longer qualifies. The first three months were a tolerance period for penalties, which has now ended.
Poland
Poland uses clearance. Invoices go through the national system, KSeF, which validates them and assigns a KSeF number. Large taxpayers started on 1 February 2026 and everyone else on 1 April 2026, with the smallest invoicers following on 1 January 2027. The invoice legally exists in KSeF, and the buyer retrieves it there.
Spain
Spain runs two separate projects. Verifactu sets rules for certified invoicing software and applies from 1 January 2027 for corporate income tax payers and 1 July 2027 for everyone else. B2B e-invoicing under the Crea y Crece law was set out in Royal Decree 238/2026. It applies 12 months after the final ministerial order for companies above EUR 8 million turnover and 24 months after for the rest, which currently points to October 2027 and October 2028.
United Kingdom
The government confirmed at the November 2025 Budget that VAT invoices between businesses, and to the public sector, must be electronic from 1 April 2029. On 23 June 2026 it confirmed Peppol as the interoperability framework. There is no real-time reporting to HMRC in the first phase, and a detailed roadmap is expected at the November 2026 Budget. UK businesses also face Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2026, which our UK implementation page covers. For what is confirmed and still open, read the UK e-invoicing 2029 guide.
Cross-border EU trade (ViDA)
The EU adopted the VAT in the Digital Age package in March 2025. From 1 July 2030, intra-EU B2B transactions need structured e-invoices and transaction-level digital reporting. It also lets member states introduce domestic mandates without asking Brussels first, which is why more national dates will appear before 2030.
What your ERP has to get right, whichever system you run
Most e-invoicing projects fail on data, not on the file format. These are the checks we run first.
| Requirement | Where it usually breaks |
|---|---|
| Buyer and seller VAT IDs on every invoice | Customer records created years ago with no VAT number, or with the country prefix missing |
| Tax category codes per line | One generic tax template covering standard, zero-rated, exempt and reverse-charge lines |
| Units of measure in the standard code list | Free-text units such as "box" or "pcs" that do not map to UN/ECE codes |
| Credit notes that reference the original invoice | Returns booked as negative invoices with no link to what they correct |
| Receiving and importing supplier e-invoices | Accounts payable still keys invoices from PDFs, so the structured data is thrown away |
| A connection to the network or platform | Assuming the ERP itself delivers the invoice in Peppol, KSeF or French platform countries |
| Archiving the structured original | Keeping only the printed PDF, when the XML is the legal invoice |
Can ERPNext handle European e-invoicing?
Yes, through apps built by European ERPNext partners rather than in ERPNext core. That is normal for open-source ERP, but it means you should know exactly which app covers which country.
- Germany and France (CII formats). The European e-Invoice app from ALYF GmbH creates and imports invoices in the BASIC, EN 16931, EXTENDED and XRECHNUNG profiles. It embeds ZUGFeRD and Factur-X data in the PDF and validates the XML. Its own documentation says UBL and Peppol transport are out of scope.
- Peppol countries (UBL). The EDocument app from Prilk Consulting generates and imports UBL 2.1 invoices and credit notes in the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format, with schema and business-rule validation, on ERPNext 15 and 16. Delivery still needs a Peppol access point connected through a separate integration.
- Poland. A Polish ERPNext provider publishes a KSeF integration that sends sales invoices to KSeF and pulls purchase invoices back into ERPNext.
- France. No app makes ERPNext an approved platform. You choose a plateforme agréée and connect ERPNext to it through the platform's API.
These are community and partner apps under open-source licences. Test them on your ERPNext version with your own invoices before go-live, and check who maintains them. We do that assessment before recommending any of them.
Working with us from Europe or the UK
Our interest, declared: TABSYST implements ERPNext, so we benefit if you choose it. We are an official ERPNext (Frappe) partner with offices in Dubai and Calicut, India, and no office in Europe or the UK. We say that plainly rather than implying otherwise.
What European clients get instead is remote delivery on their working day. India is 3.5 to 4.5 hours ahead of Central European Time, and we schedule working sessions inside your business day. Engagements are fixed-scope, with a named delivery lead and a written configuration record. See how we run international implementations, compare ERP options in our UK ERP buyer's guide, or tell us which countries you invoice in. If you also trade in the Gulf, the UAE e-invoicing guide covers the 2027 UAE deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in Germany?
Every German business has had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. Issuing becomes mandatory on 1 January 2027 for businesses with prior-year turnover above EUR 800,000, and on 1 January 2028 for everyone else. The invoice must follow EN 16931, which in practice means XRechnung or a conformant ZUGFeRD profile.
Is e-invoicing mandatory in France from September 2026?
Yes. Since 1 September 2026 every business subject to French VAT must be able to receive e-invoices, and large and mid-sized companies must also issue them and send e-reporting data. SMEs and micro-businesses must issue from 1 September 2027. Invoices are exchanged through approved platforms registered by the tax authority.
When is e-invoicing mandatory in the UK?
From 1 April 2029, VAT invoices between businesses and to the public sector must be electronic. The government confirmed Peppol as the interoperability framework on 23 June 2026. The first phase does not include real-time reporting to HMRC, and a detailed roadmap is expected at the November 2026 Budget.
Does a PDF invoice still count once these mandates apply?
No. A PDF is an image of an invoice, not structured data, so it does not satisfy an e-invoicing mandate on its own. A hybrid format such as ZUGFeRD or Factur-X works because it embeds the structured XML inside the PDF, and the XML is what counts.
Can ERPNext create XRechnung and ZUGFeRD invoices?
Yes, with the European e-Invoice app from ALYF GmbH. It creates and imports invoices in the BASIC, EN 16931, EXTENDED and XRECHNUNG profiles and can embed ZUGFeRD or Factur-X data in the PDF. It does not cover UBL or Peppol delivery, which need a separate app and an access point.
Does ERPNext support Peppol?
ERPNext can generate and import Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 invoices in UBL format through the EDocument app from Prilk Consulting, which supports ERPNext 15 and 16. Sending and receiving over the network still requires a certified Peppol access point connected through an integration.
What is ViDA and when does it apply?
VAT in the Digital Age is an EU package adopted in March 2025. From 1 July 2030 it requires structured e-invoices and digital reporting for B2B transactions between EU member states. It also allows member states to introduce domestic e-invoicing mandates without prior EU approval.
Sources include the European Commission's eInvoicing country pages and ViDA overview, plus national announcements summarised by tax advisers. Last reviewed 16 September 2026.