Electronic invoice in Slovakia
Everything you need to know about Slovak e-invoicing requirements, formats, and compliance
Overview
Slovakia is moving its VAT system onto a fully digital footing. Parliament passed the enabling legislation on 9 December 2025: from 1 January 2027, domestic B2B and B2G transactions must be settled through structured electronic invoices, with the invoice data reported to the tax administration in near real time.
Technically, Slovakia has opted for a decentralised five-corner model built on Peppol. Exchange runs through accredited access points known locally as digitálny poštár — the digital postman. The existing central IS EFA system will be replaced by this new infrastructure.
All taxable persons
VAT-registered businesses established in Slovakia
5-corner model
Peppol exchange plus reporting to the tax administration
10 years
retention period for invoices and accounting records
Timeline
The reform is settled. The remaining time before the deadline is designed as a preparation and testing window.
Already happened
1 August 2019
Act No. 215/2019 – guaranteed electronic invoicing
Transposition of EU Directive 2014/55/EU. Public contracting authorities must accept and process compliant e-invoices, and the central IS EFA system is introduced.
9 December 2025
Parliament adopts the B2B legislation
The National Council approves the amendment to VAT Act No. 222/2004: structured e-invoices and data reporting for domestic transactions from 2027.
2026
Voluntary transition period
Since May 2026 taxable persons have been able to register voluntarily for data reporting, test integrations and select an accredited digital postman.
Upcoming deadlines
1 January 2027
Mandatory e-invoicing and data reporting for domestic transactions
Structured e-invoices compliant with EN 16931 become binding for domestic B2B and B2G transactions. Near real-time reporting of invoice data to the tax administration starts in parallel.
January – March 2027
Penalty soft landing
The Ministry of Finance has proposed a three-month grace period: taxpayers demonstrably making best efforts to comply would not initially face sanctions.
July 2030
Extension to cross-border transactions
The ViDA requirements for intra-community B2B transactions take effect. Domestic Control Statements and EC Sales Lists are withdrawn.
The legal framework is in place, but implementing details are still being refined. In May 2026, for example, the Ministry of Finance proposed removing the buyer-side reporting obligation. Keep reviewing the technical specifications right up to go-live.
B2G today
The legal basis is Act No. 215/2019 on guaranteed electronic invoicing and the central economic system, in force since 1 August 2019. It requires central and sub-central public bodies to accept and process e-invoices compliant with EN 16931.
—The obligation on public authorities to accept e-invoices has applied since 2019
—The supplier-side sending obligation via IS EFA so far covers only certain contracts above €5,000
—The originally planned full rollout of IS EFA was postponed several times
—From 2027 IS EFA is replaced by the new Peppol-based infrastructure
In practical terms: if you invoice Slovak public bodies today, do not build towards IS EFA. Build towards the Peppol model that will apply to B2G and B2B alike from 2027.
B2B mandate from 2027
Under the amendment to VAT Act No. 222/2004, from 1 January 2027 a document only qualifies as an invoice if it contains the statutory particulars and is issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format permitting automatic processing.
E-invoicing
Structured exchange between businesses through accredited access points on the Peppol network.
Data reporting
Tax-relevant invoice data goes to the tax administration in near real time — unlike Luxembourg, a core part of the reform here.
Who is in scope
—VAT-registered taxable persons established in Slovakia
—Domestic supplies of goods and services, including advance payments
—Imports — both from within the EU and from third countries
—B2G transactions fall under the same regime from 2027
Invoices must be exchanged within 15 days of the tax point, as today. That deadline is unchanged — only the route is different.
Scope
B2G
Public authorities already accept e-invoices; the sending obligation via IS EFA so far applies to contracts above €5,000. From 2027 a single regime applies.
B2B
Mandatory from 1 January 2027 for domestic supplies of goods and services, including advance payments. Paper and PDF invoices will no longer be acceptable.
B2C
Out of scope. Sales to consumers are not covered by the e-invoicing mandate. Retail transactions continue to be reported through the e-Kasa system.
The five-corner model
Slovakia combines decentralised Peppol exchange with reporting to the tax administration. To the classic four corners — issuer, issuer's access point, recipient's access point, recipient — a fifth corner is added: the tax administration, which receives the invoice data in parallel. No government platform sits in the transmission path of the invoice itself.
Digitálny poštár — the digital postman
Exchange runs exclusively through accredited access points, known locally as the digitálny poštár. Three variants are permitted:
01
Accredited e-invoicing service provider
A certified Peppol Access Point accredited by the Slovak financial administration. The usual route for businesses with regular invoice volumes.
02
Accounting software with API connectivity
Systems that bring the connection with them and hold the necessary accreditation.
03
The free mobile app from the financial administration
Intended as a low-barrier option for very small invoice volumes.
Peppol Authority
The Peppol Authority for Slovakia is the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic (Finančné riaditeľstvo SR). It accredits digital postmen, owns the national rules for implementing the Peppol standard and promotes e-invoicing across the private and public sectors.
Formats and standards
The governing standard is EN 16931, adopted in Slovakia as STN EN 16931. There is no separate national CIUS — the CIUS used sits within Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.
UBL 2.1 / Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
The default route. No separate agreement between trading partners is required.
UN/CEFACT CII
Also permitted, provided supplier and customer expressly agree on it. Without such an agreement the UBL route applies.
A PDF is not an electronic invoice — not as an email attachment and not with a digital signature. A PDF rendering may accompany the invoice, but only the structured XML file has legal effect.
Real-time reporting
Invoice data reporting to the tax administration starts at the same time as the e-invoicing obligation. Transmission is automated through the digital postman — no separate manual step is envisaged.
What is reported is the data from invoices issued for domestic transactions
The originally planned buyer-side reporting obligation is set to be dropped under the May 2026 proposal
The domestic Control Statement and the EC Sales List disappear as the reform is fully implemented by 2030
For businesses this means duplicate reporting routes fall away over time: what is filed separately today will follow directly from the invoice itself.
Retention
Invoices and accounting records must be kept in Slovakia for ten years, counted from the end of the financial year to which they relate. Throughout that period authenticity of origin, integrity of content and legibility must be assured.
The structured XML file is the original and must be archived unchanged
Responsibility stays with the business even where a service provider handles storage technically
Data must be made available in readable form at short notice during an audit
Because the invoice is created electronically in the first place, the detour through paper or scanned archives disappears. What should be settled up front is who takes on storage — the digital postman, your own DMS or a specialist archiving service.
How we help
As a certified Peppol Access Point we support businesses connecting to the Slovak model — and to the other European mandates through the same link:
Sending and receiving through a certified Peppol Access Point
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL 2.1) and UN/CEFACT CII
Validation against EN 16931 before transmission
Format conversion from ERP, CSV and IDoc data
Integration via API, SFTP and CSV
Traceable status and error feedback
Support through the testing phase ahead of the 2027 deadline
One connection for several countries — Slovakia, France, Belgium, Germany
Frequently asked questions
Do PDF or Word files count as electronic invoices?
No. From 2027 an electronic invoice is only a document in a structured format that permits automatic processing and complies with EN 16931. PDF, Word and Excel do not qualify — not even when digitally signed or sent by email. A PDF may accompany the invoice as a rendering, but it does not replace the XML file.
What deadlines apply for issuing and reporting?
For the invoice itself, the existing 15 days from the tax point remain. Reporting of invoice data to the tax administration happens close to the exchange itself and is automated through the digital postman — it does not create an additional filing date.
What are the consequences of non-compliance?
An invoice not issued in the prescribed format does not qualify as a proper invoice for VAT purposes — with consequences for the customer's input VAT deduction and for your own evidence. For the first three months of 2027 the Ministry of Finance has proposed a penalty soft landing where a business is demonstrably making best efforts to comply. The specific penalty provisions will be set out in the implementing rules.
Is the buyer's consent required?
Not for the mandatory e-invoice from 2027 — the obligation follows from the law, not from an agreement. Agreement between the parties matters only for the choice of format: UBL is the default, while using UN/CEFACT CII requires an express agreement. Until the deadline, during the voluntary phase, the recipient's consent is still required.
Are foreign businesses affected?
As things stand, the obligation targets taxable persons established in Slovakia. A VAT registration alone, without establishment, does not trigger it. If you supply Slovak trading partners, however, you should be prepared on the receiving side — and separate rules already apply for the public sector.
What happens to the Control Statement and the EC Sales List?
Both fall away as the reform is fully implemented by 2030. The domestic Control Statement is replaced by ongoing data reporting, and the EC Sales List by the cross-border ViDA reporting from July 2030. For a transitional period the systems run in parallel.
Summary
From 2027 Slovakia takes one of the more far-reaching steps in Europe: structured e-invoicing and near real-time data reporting, both on the same date and for B2B as well as B2G. Paper and PDF invoices will no longer be acceptable in domestic trade.
The underlying technical choice is a positive one: rather than building its own clearing portal, the country relies on the decentralised Peppol network and the unmodified European standard. Businesses already working over Peppol need not build a country-specific solution — mainly they need to settle the reporting path and the accreditation of their provider.
Use the remaining time to check ERP data at field level, select an accredited digital postman and test the exchange for real during the voluntary phase. The penalty-free first months are a buffer — not a substitute for preparation.
Resources
Financial Administration – eFaktúra
The official e-invoicing section: obligations, deadlines and procedures (in Slovak)
Register of certified delivery services (digitálny poštár)
The official application for choosing an accredited provider
Slov-lex – Act No. 215/2019 Coll.
Guaranteed electronic invoicing and the central economic system (in Slovak)
Slov-lex – VAT Act No. 222/2004 Coll.
Consolidated version including the e-invoicing and reporting provisions (in Slovak)
Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Press releases and legislative proposals on the VAT reform
European Commission – eInvoicing in Slovakia
Country factsheet covering the legal position, operating model and implementation status
OpenPeppol
Network, specifications and certified access points
