E-Invoicing in Belgium 2026: Peppol Rules, Scope and Fines
Short answer: yes, e-invoicing is mandatory in Belgium. Since 1 January 2026, invoices between Belgian VAT-registered businesses must be structured e-invoices, normally sent over Peppol in the Peppol BIS format. A PDF by email no longer counts. Fines of €1,500, €3,000 and €5,000 have applied since 1 April 2026. Foreign businesses without a fixed establishment in Belgium are outside the rule, even with a Belgian VAT number.
This guide is for small businesses selling to Belgian businesses: Belgian shops, studios and freelancers, and foreign sellers with Belgian customers. For the EU picture, see the EU e-invoicing overview.
Belgium e-invoicing at a glance
Section titled “Belgium e-invoicing at a glance”| Mandate status | Live since 1 January 2026 |
| Who’s in scope | B2B sales between VAT-registered businesses established in Belgium (including foreign businesses with a Belgian fixed establishment) |
| Key dates | 1 January 2026: mandatory. 1 January to 31 March 2026: tolerance period. 1 April 2026: fines apply. 1 January 2028: e-reporting planned |
| Required format | Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL), or another EN 16931 format if both parties agree |
| Network | Peppol, through an access point (service provider) of your choice |
| Penalties | €1,500 (first), €3,000 (second), €5,000 (each further finding), at least three months apart |
| Non-residents | Without a Belgian fixed establishment: out of scope for sending and receiving |
| Legal basis | Law of 6 February 2024, Royal Decree of 8 July 2025 |
Does the Belgian rule apply to you?
Section titled “Does the Belgian rule apply to you?”| Your situation | Must you send e-invoices? | Must you receive them? |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian VAT-registered business selling to Belgian businesses | Yes | Yes |
| Belgian small business under the small enterprise exemption (turnover up to €25,000) | Yes | Yes |
| Belgian business selling only to consumers | No | Yes, from Belgian suppliers |
| Belgian business making only VAT-exempt sales (Article 44 of the VAT Code) | No | No |
| Foreign business with a Belgian fixed establishment | Yes | Yes |
| Foreign business without a Belgian fixed establishment, with or without a Belgian VAT number | No | No |
| Selling to Belgian public bodies | Yes (see B2G) | n/a |
You can check whether a Belgian customer is VAT-registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO/BCE), which shows “subject to VAT” and a start date.
What the law requires
Section titled “What the law requires”The obligation comes from the Law of 6 February 2024, with the technical rules and fines in the Royal Decree of 8 July 2025 (published 14 July 2025). The official site is einvoice.belgium.be.
An invoice between two Belgian VAT businesses must now be:
- Structured: a data file following the European standard EN 16931. PDF, Word, scans and paper don’t qualify.
- Sent over Peppol in the Peppol BIS format, using UBL. Both sides can agree on a different channel, as long as the invoice still follows EN 16931.
- Authentic and intact: you must be able to show where it came from and that it wasn’t changed.
The rule applies to every invoice drawn up, issued or sent from 1 January 2026, whenever the sale took place. Since that date the structured e-invoice is the only legal invoice. Adding a PDF copy is optional, and a customer can’t reject an e-invoice because it has no PDF.
Who’s in scope, and who isn’t
Section titled “Who’s in scope, and who isn’t”In practice, any business with an active Belgian VAT number and an establishment in Belgium is in. The official scope page lists the exceptions:
| Who | Send? | Receive? |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses that are bankrupt | No | Yes |
| Businesses making only Article 44 VAT-exempt sales (for example many medical and financial services) | No | No |
| Flat-rate taxpayers (Article 56 scheme, which ends by 1 January 2028 at the latest) | No | Yes |
| Farmers under the special agricultural scheme | Depends on the scheme | Yes |
| Non-established businesses without a Belgian fixed establishment | No | No |
If either party isn’t VAT-liable, the obligation doesn’t apply.
Foreign businesses
Section titled “Foreign businesses”A foreign business without a fixed establishment in Belgium is outside the mandate for sending and receiving, even if it is registered for Belgian VAT. The Belgian authorities’ B2B FAQ adds that “the law is still being amended on this point”, so this may change. Reports on the draft e-reporting law suggest non-established businesses will at least have to be able to receive structured invoices from 2028. That is not law yet.
A foreign business with a Belgian fixed establishment is in scope like a Belgian company. Whether you have one depends on staff and equipment in Belgium, not just a VAT number. The authorities expect a foreign business to tell its Belgian counterparties whether it has a fixed establishment.
Selling to Belgian businesses from abroad: your Belgian customer is in the mandate, but you aren’t, because you’re not established in Belgium. A PDF invoice under the reverse charge is still valid. Your customer can’t force you onto Peppol, but may ask, because its accounting software now expects it.
The tolerance period and the fines
Section titled “The tolerance period and the fines”January to March 2026 tolerance
Section titled “January to March 2026 tolerance”The tax authority (FPS Finance) announced a three-month tolerance period for January to March 2026. No fines were imposed for breaching the new e-invoicing rules, as long as the business could show it had acted “in a timely and reasonable manner” and still issued its invoices in another way. The go-live date itself didn’t move, and the authorities said they would not grant a general postponement. Businesses whose software couldn’t yet handle self-billing over Peppol had flexibility until 30 June 2026.
Fines since 1 April 2026
Section titled “Fines since 1 April 2026”The Royal Decree of 8 July 2025 added a fixed fine for not having the technical means to send and receive structured e-invoices:
| Finding | Fine |
|---|---|
| First | €1,500 |
| Second | €3,000 |
| Third and each after | €5,000 |
A finding only counts as a second or later one if it comes at least three months after the previous fine, which gives you time to fix the problem. The usual Belgian fines for not issuing an invoice, or for an incorrect one, still apply on top.
If your supplier isn’t ready and sends a PDF, the official FAQ says you keep your right to deduct VAT on it. The supplier is the one at risk of a fine.
Peppol in practice
Section titled “Peppol in practice”- You need an access point. This is a Peppol service provider, often built into your invoicing or accounting software. Belgium publishes a list of compatible software on einvoice.belgium.be.
- Your Peppol ID is normally your Belgian enterprise number. You don’t need to ask customers for theirs: your software looks them up in the Peppol Directory.
- Being listed in the Peppol Directory counts as agreeing to receive structured e-invoices.
- Hermes is gone. The government’s Hermes platform used to forward Peppol invoices to businesses that weren’t on Peppol yet, by email. BOSA has taken it out of service. A Belgian business that hasn’t picked a Peppol provider can’t receive e-invoices at all.
- Attachments (delivery notes, timesheets) must travel inside the Peppol message, not by separate email.
E-reporting from 2028
Section titled “E-reporting from 2028”Today, Belgian e-invoices go only from seller to buyer. The tax authority doesn’t see them. The next step is e-reporting: invoice data sent to the tax authority automatically, through Peppol, as each invoice is issued. This is called the “5-corner” model, with the tax authority as the fifth corner. It would replace the annual customer listing.
- Target date: 1 January 2028, from the 2025 to 2029 federal coalition agreement.
- Status: the official FAQ says it “has yet to be transposed into Belgian law”. The cabinet approved a preliminary draft law in July 2026. It hasn’t passed parliament yet.
- Cross-border sales: reporting of intra-EU B2B sales will follow the EU’s ViDA rules, by 1 July 2030 at the latest.
Tax breaks for e-invoicing costs
Section titled “Tax breaks for e-invoicing costs”The government offers two income tax measures for small businesses moving to e-invoicing, described on einvoice.belgium.be:
| Measure | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| 120% cost deduction | Small SMEs and self-employed people using subscription-based invoicing software | Deduct 120% of e-invoicing subscription costs and related advice, for the 2024 to 2027 tax years. Only the extra costs linked to e-invoicing qualify |
| 20% investment deduction | Businesses that buy and capitalise software or systems | Increased investment deduction for digital investments, since 1 January 2025 |
Worked example: a Belgian shop selling to a café
Section titled “Worked example: a Belgian shop selling to a café”A small homeware shop in Ghent sells online to consumers and wholesale to a few cafés. It sells 40 mugs at €14.00 each to a café in Brussels:
- Net: 40 × €14.00 = €560.00
- VAT at 21%: €117.60
- Total: €677.60
The invoice must be a Peppol e-invoice. The shop’s invoicing software looks up the café’s enterprise number in the Peppol Directory and sends a Peppol BIS invoice through its access point. The café’s software imports it automatically. Its online orders from consumers carry on with normal receipts or PDF invoices.
If the shop hadn’t set up Peppol: an inspection in May 2026 finds it can’t send or receive e-invoices: €1,500 fine. If a second inspection at least three months later, say in October 2026, finds the same, the fine is €3,000. A third finding after that costs €5,000.
The software cost: the shop pays €480 a year for an invoicing subscription with Peppol included, which it started in 2025 for e-invoicing. If it qualifies for the 120% cost deduction, it deducts €576 instead of €480. The extra €96 of deduction saves €24 at Belgium’s 25% standard corporate tax rate.
The same café buying from a UK supplier
Section titled “The same café buying from a UK supplier”The café also hires a London design studio, with no Belgian establishment, to redo its menus and branding for €900.00. The studio isn’t in the Belgian mandate, so its PDF invoice is valid. It shows no VAT and a reverse-charge note. The café accounts for 21% Belgian VAT itself, €189.00, and deducts the same amount on its VAT return. Had the studio been established in Belgium, the invoice would have to come through Peppol.
Invoicing Belgian public bodies (B2G)
Section titled “Invoicing Belgian public bodies (B2G)”E-invoicing to public authorities was mandatory before the B2B rule. For public contracts published after 1 March 2024, suppliers must generally send e-invoices for contracts from €3,000 excluding VAT, and contracting authorities can set a lower threshold. Invoices go through Peppol, using the same Peppol BIS format. See e-invoicing to the government.
How GoodVat helps
Section titled “How GoodVat helps”E-invoicing decides how your invoice travels. The VAT on it still has to be right: whether you need a Belgian VAT number, whether the reverse charge applies, which rate to use. GoodVat Global Tax Compliance handles that side:
- Maps your obligations in Belgium and the rest of the EU, including whether the e-invoicing rule applies to you
- Registers you for Belgian VAT, OSS or IOSS where you need it
- Calculates the right VAT at checkout, including the reverse charge for business customers
- Files your returns in Belgium, the rest of the EU, the UK and US states
GoodVat is not a Peppol access point. You’ll send Peppol invoices through your invoicing software’s provider.
Is e-invoicing mandatory in Belgium?
Section titled “Is e-invoicing mandatory in Belgium?”Yes. Since 1 January 2026, invoices between Belgian VAT-registered businesses must be structured e-invoices, normally sent over the Peppol network in the Peppol BIS format. A PDF by email is no longer a valid invoice for these sales. Sales to consumers are not covered.
What are the fines for not e-invoicing in Belgium?
Section titled “What are the fines for not e-invoicing in Belgium?”A business that doesn’t have the technical means to send and receive structured e-invoices faces a fine of €1,500 for a first finding, €3,000 for a second and €5,000 for each one after that. At least three months must pass between findings. The fines have applied since 1 April 2026, after a three-month tolerance period.
Do foreign companies have to use Peppol in Belgium?
Section titled “Do foreign companies have to use Peppol in Belgium?”Not if they have no fixed establishment in Belgium. Foreign businesses without a Belgian fixed establishment are outside the obligation to send and to receive e-invoices, even if they are registered for Belgian VAT. A foreign business with a Belgian fixed establishment is in scope like a Belgian one.
Is a PDF invoice still valid in Belgium?
Section titled “Is a PDF invoice still valid in Belgium?”Not for sales between two Belgian VAT-registered businesses. Since 1 January 2026 the structured e-invoice is the only legal invoice for those sales, and a PDF copy is optional. PDFs and paper remain fine for sales to consumers and for invoices from or to businesses outside the mandate.
Does Belgian e-invoicing apply to sales to consumers?
Section titled “Does Belgian e-invoicing apply to sales to consumers?”No. Invoices to private customers are outside the obligation, and you can keep using paper or PDF for them. A Belgian business that sells only to consumers must still be able to receive e-invoices from its own Belgian suppliers.
What is e-reporting in Belgium?
Section titled “What is e-reporting in Belgium?”E-reporting is the planned next step: invoice data would be sent automatically to the tax authority through Peppol as each invoice is issued, replacing the annual customer listing. The government is aiming for 1 January 2028. As of October 2026 a draft law has been approved by the cabinet but has not yet passed parliament.
Is there a tax benefit for e-invoicing software in Belgium?
Section titled “Is there a tax benefit for e-invoicing software in Belgium?”Yes. Small SMEs and self-employed people can deduct 120% of what they spend on e-invoicing software subscriptions and related advice in the 2024 to 2027 tax years. Businesses that buy and capitalise software can use a 20% investment deduction for digital investments, in force since 1 January 2025.
Related guides
Section titled “Related guides”- E-invoicing in Europe: every EU mandate, formats and the ViDA timeline
- Selling to Belgium: rates, rules and compliance: Belgian VAT rates, invoicing and IOSS
- E-invoicing in the Netherlands: why Dutch businesses already get Peppol invoices from Belgium
- E-invoicing in Germany: the 2025 to 2028 rollout
- Selling to EU businesses: reverse charge and VAT number checks
- VAT refunds in Belgium: reclaiming Belgian VAT on business costs