E-Invoicing in the Netherlands: Current Rules and the 2030 Plan

Short answer: e-invoicing is not mandatory for sales between businesses in the Netherlands, as of October 2026. You can invoice by PDF if your customer agrees. E-invoices are already required for new contracts with the central government (since 2017). The cabinet announced on 11 September 2026 that it plans to make B2B e-invoicing mandatory from 1 July 2030, with reporting to the Belastingdienst from 1 July 2031. That plan is not law yet.

This guide is for small businesses in the Netherlands and foreign sellers with Dutch customers. For how e-invoicing works across the EU, see the EU e-invoicing overview.

Netherlands e-invoicing at a glance


Mandate status	No B2B mandate. B2G mandatory for central government suppliers. B2B mandate planned
Who’s in scope today	Suppliers with new central government contracts (since 1 January 2017)
Planned dates	B2B e-invoicing (domestic and cross-border): 1 July 2030. Domestic reporting: 1 July 2031
Formats	Government: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 or SI-UBL 2.0, both based on EN 16931. B2B today: anything the customer accepts
Network / platform	Government: Peppol, Digipoort or the Supplier Portal. B2B today: free choice
Penalties	No e-invoicing penalties for B2B. Normal invoicing rules apply
Non-residents	No Dutch e-invoicing obligation for B2B. Scope of the 2030 law not yet published
Small business exemption (planned)	KOR businesses (turnover up to €20,000) exempt from the 2030 rules

What Dutch VAT law requires today

For now, the normal Dutch invoicing rules apply, as set out by the Belastingdienst:

Paper or digital, your choice. You can send invoices on paper or electronically.
Digital invoices need your customer’s agreement. The Belastingdienst says your customer must agree that you invoice digitally. That covers a PDF by email as well as structured formats like Peppol BIS.
Origin, integrity and legibility. You must be able to show where the invoice came from, that it hasn’t been changed, and that it can be read, for as long as you keep it. How you do that is up to you.
Timing. Send the invoice by the 15th day of the month after the month of supply.

A structured e-invoice is simply one form of digital invoice under current law. Nothing requires it for B2B sales.

Invoicing the Dutch government (B2G)

Central government: since 1 January 2017, suppliers with new contracts with the central government (ministries and their agencies) must invoice electronically. A PDF doesn’t count. There are three ways to send, described on business.gov.nl:

Route	Best for
Peppol, through your software or a service provider	Regular suppliers. The preferred route
Digipoort, the government’s own data exchange gateway	Larger suppliers with a direct connection
Supplier Portal (Leveranciersportaal)	Occasional invoices, typed in by hand. Central government only

Invoices follow EN 16931, in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 or the Dutch SI-UBL 2.0 format. Government buyers usually require their order number on the invoice and reject invoices without it.

Other public bodies: municipalities, provinces, water boards and other public bodies are legally required to be able to receive and process e-invoices, under the EU’s public procurement e-invoicing directive. They don’t all require you to send them, but many put it in their procurement terms. If it’s in your contract, you must.

The 2030 plan: what the government has announced

On 11 September 2026, State Secretary for Finance Eelco Eerenberg sent the House of Representatives the Contourenbrief elektronisch factureren en rapporteren (parliamentary letter, Kamerstuk 31066-1576). The government’s announcement sets out the main choices:

Element	Planned rule
B2B e-invoicing	Mandatory from 1 July 2030, for both domestic and cross-border sales between businesses
Cross-border reporting	Digital, per-transaction reporting of intra-EU B2B sales from 1 July 2030, as required by the EU’s ViDA rules
Domestic reporting	Domestic invoice data reported to the Belastingdienst from 1 July 2031
Small businesses	Businesses using the KOR small business scheme (turnover up to €20,000 a year) exempt from e-invoicing and reporting, also after July 2030
Data	Role-based, need-to-know access, logged. The Belastingdienst would keep the data for up to ten years
Next steps	Draft bill to public consultation (internetconsultatie) in autumn 2026, then to parliament before summer 2027

Dutch tax press reports that the letter limits domestic e-invoices to the European standard EN 16931 and recommends Peppol without making it compulsory. The final network choice and the technical details are still being worked out.

Why 2030? ViDA lets each EU country decide whether to apply e-invoicing to domestic sales, and from when. ViDA requires it for cross-border B2B sales from 1 July 2030 anyway. The Netherlands chose to start domestic e-invoicing on the same day, rather than run two systems, and to add domestic reporting a year later. France, Germany, Belgium, Poland and Italy have also opted in for domestic sales, but much earlier.

Status as of October 2026: this is government policy, not law. We found no published consultation draft yet. The scope for foreign businesses, penalties and the exact formats will only be known once the bill is published.

Why Dutch businesses already get Peppol invoices from Belgium

Since 1 January 2026, Belgian businesses must send structured e-invoices over Peppol to other Belgian businesses (see E-invoicing in Belgium). That obligation stops at the border: a Belgian supplier doesn’t have to use Peppol for a Dutch customer. But in practice:

Belgian billing systems now default to Peppol. Once a Belgian supplier’s software sends everything over Peppol, it often does the same for foreign customers it can find in the Peppol Directory.
Many Dutch businesses are already on Peppol, through accounting software used for government invoicing or by choice, so Belgian invoices reach them that way.
It still counts as an electronic invoice under Dutch rules. If you’d rather receive PDFs, tell the supplier. If you’re happy to receive Peppol invoices, check your software imports the structured file and keeps it, because that file is the invoice.

The same is starting to happen with German suppliers sending XRechnung or ZUGFeRD files, and French suppliers sending invoices from accredited platforms.

Worked example: a Dutch web shop selling to Belgium

A Rotterdam homeware brand sells through its own Shopify store and wholesales to boutiques. Turnover last year was €180,000, so it’s well above the KOR limit.

Selling to an Antwerp boutique: 80 vases at €30.00 = €2,400.00. This is an intra-EU supply of goods to a VAT-registered business, so the invoice shows 0% VAT and a reverse-charge note. The boutique accounts for Belgian VAT on the purchase: 21% × €2,400 = €504.00, and deducts the same amount. See Selling to EU businesses.

Does the Belgian mandate apply to the Dutch brand? No. It isn’t established in Belgium. A PDF invoice is valid if the boutique agrees to digital invoices.
Will the boutique ask for Peppol? Quite possibly, because its software now runs on Peppol. Sending one is optional for the Dutch brand.

Buying from a Ghent design studio: the studio designs new packaging for €3,000.00 and sends its invoice over Peppol, with no VAT and a reverse-charge note. The Dutch brand accounts for 21% Dutch VAT itself, €630.00, and deducts it on the same return.

From 1 July 2030, under the EU’s ViDA rules, both invoices become cross-border B2B transactions that must be EN 16931 e-invoices, issued within 10 days of the supply and reported to the tax authorities. Under the Dutch plan, the brand’s sales to Dutch businesses need e-invoices from the same date.

What to do now

Nothing is required for B2B today. Keep invoicing as you do, with your customers’ agreement for digital invoices.
If you supply central government, make sure you can send Peppol BIS or SI-UBL invoices, or use the Supplier Portal.
If you sell to Belgium, Germany or France, ask whether your invoicing software can send a structured EN 16931 invoice. Your customers there are already set up to receive them.
Plan for 2030. If you’re above the KOR limit, choose invoicing software with EN 16931 and Peppol support when you next switch.
Watch for the consultation. The draft bill will show the rules for foreign businesses, formats and penalties.

How GoodVat helps

The Dutch e-invoicing rules are years away, but the VAT rules on cross-border sales apply now. GoodVat Global Tax Compliance handles that side:

Maps your obligations in the Netherlands and the rest of the EU, including which e-invoicing rules apply to you
Registers you for Dutch 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 the Netherlands, the rest of the EU, the UK and US states

GoodVat is not a Peppol access point. Peppol invoices go through your invoicing software’s provider.

FAQ

Is e-invoicing mandatory in the Netherlands?

Not for sales between businesses, as of October 2026. You can invoice on paper or by PDF, and an electronic invoice needs your customer’s agreement. E-invoicing is already mandatory for suppliers to the Dutch central government, and the cabinet plans a B2B mandate from 1 July 2030.

When will e-invoicing become mandatory in the Netherlands?

The cabinet’s plan, announced on 11 September 2026, is mandatory e-invoicing for domestic and cross-border B2B sales from 1 July 2030, with reporting of domestic invoices to the tax authority from 1 July 2031. It is a plan, not yet law. A draft bill is due for public consultation in autumn 2026 and in parliament before summer 2027.

Do I need Peppol in the Netherlands?

Not by law. Dutch businesses can choose how they invoice other businesses. Peppol is one of the main ways to send e-invoices to the Dutch central government, and many Belgian suppliers now send Peppol invoices to Dutch customers because Belgium requires Peppol at home. The 2030 plan has not made Peppol compulsory.

Can I send PDF invoices in the Netherlands?

Yes, if your customer agrees to receive invoices electronically. The Belastingdienst requires that agreement for any digital invoice, and you must be able to guarantee the invoice’s origin, integrity and legibility. For new contracts with the central government, a PDF is not enough: you need a structured e-invoice.

Do I have to send e-invoices to the Dutch government?

For new contracts with the central government (ministries and their agencies), yes, since 1 January 2017. You can send through Peppol, Digipoort or the government’s Supplier Portal. Municipalities, provinces and water boards must be able to receive e-invoices and may require them in their contract terms.

Will small businesses be exempt from Dutch e-invoicing?

Under the cabinet’s plan, businesses using the small business scheme (KOR), which applies to turnover of up to €20,000 a year, will be exempt from both e-invoicing and reporting, also after July 2030. Everyone else would be in scope, subject to the final law.

E-invoicing in Europe: every EU mandate, formats and the ViDA timeline
Selling to the Netherlands: rates, rules and compliance: Dutch VAT rates, invoicing and IOSS
E-invoicing in Belgium: the Peppol mandate in force since 2026
E-invoicing in Germany: the 2025 to 2028 rollout
Selling to EU businesses: reverse charge and VAT number checks
VAT refunds in the Netherlands: reclaiming Dutch VAT on business costs