Belgium confirms mandatory B2B e-Invoicing from January 1, 2026
Official clarification by SPF Finances published October 7, 2025
Key update
On October 7, 2025, the Belgian government updated its official e-invoicing FAQ — adding and modifying questions in the “General” and “B2B obligation” sections. (eInvoice Belgium – FAQ) Starting January 1, 2026, all VAT-registered businesses in Belgium must issue and receive structured electronic invoices only.
Main requirements
| Effective date: | January 1, 2026 |
| Trigger: | the invoice issue date defines the obligation, not the delivery or payment date |
| Format: | Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL 3.0) fully aligned with EN 16931 |
| Transmission: | exclusively via the Peppol network |
Penalties:
- €1,500 – first infringement
- €3,000 – second
- €5,000 – each subsequent
Next phase: real-time e-Reporting planned for January 2028
What it means for businesses
The Belgian mandate marks a significant step in Europe’s move toward digital VAT compliance and standardized e-invoicing. Companies must ensure their ERP or billing systems can communicate through Peppol and validate invoices according to UBL 3.0 rules.
Key actions for businesses:
Inform your customers and suppliers about the new requirements
Verify that your ERP / accounting software supports Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
Connect to an accredited Peppol Access Point (such as Invoice-Portal)
Automate invoice generation and transmission
Inform your customers and suppliers about the new requirements
E-invoice decisions of the Ministry of Finance from 15/10/2024
/in eInvoice NewsInvoice transmission: The contracting parties must agree between themselves under civil law which permissible electronic invoice format and which permissible transmission channel is to be used.
Receipt channels: An e-mail inbox is sufficient for the legally compliant receipt of electronic invoices. Alternatively, interfaces or portals are also permitted.
In the long term, the transmission channels will be reviewed as part of the VIDA implementation, with more specific requirements being defined if necessary.
Sanctions: From the start of the obligation (2027 or 2028), ‘other invoices’ (e.g. paper or PDF) will no longer be eligible for input tax deduction. Additional penalties for refusing to accept an e-invoice are currently not envisaged. However, if the recipient refuses to accept the e-invoice even though the sender has demonstrably endeavoured to transmit it correctly, the recipient will be in default.
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/in eInvoice NewsWhat is behind Peppol? Peppol is a network that can be used to transmit electronic documents from suppliers to public authorities. In the future, every European company should be able to exchange messages with every public sector customer, for example invoices or other business documents. How Peppol works, how you can become a Peppol user […]