E-invoicing mandates in the EU: Germany, France and Belgium compared
As of:
Three of the EU’s major economies have made structured e-invoicing mandatory between businesses — each with its own timetable and technical model. Belgium has required Peppol e-invoices since January 2026, France started its reform on 1 September 2026, and Germany completes its phase-in by 2028. This overview shows who must do what and when (as of October 2026).
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Overview table
| Country | Receiving | Issuing | Formats / channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | all domestic businesses since 1 Jan 2025 | transition until end of 2026 (end of 2027 for turnover ≤ €800,000); generally mandatory from 1 Jan 2028 | EN 16931 formats, mainly XRechnung and ZUGFeRD; exchange e.g. by email |
| France | all VAT-subject companies from 1 Sept 2026 | large and intermediate-size companies from 1 Sept 2026; SMEs and micro-enterprises from 1 Sept 2027 | Factur-X, UBL, CII via certified platforms (plateformes agréées) |
| Belgium | Belgian VAT-registered businesses since 1 Jan 2026 | mandatory for B2B between Belgian VAT-registered businesses since 1 Jan 2026 | Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 as default standard |
Germany
Since 1 January 2025 every business established in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. Issuing becomes mandatory step by step: paper and PDF invoices remain allowed until the end of 2026, for smaller businesses (prior-year turnover up to €800,000) until the end of 2027. From 1 January 2028, domestic B2B invoices must generally be e-invoices. There is no central platform — invoices can be exchanged by email, via portals or Peppol. Details: E-invoicing in Germany.
France
France’s reform started on 1 September 2026: from that date all companies subject to VAT in France must be able to receive e-invoices, and large and intermediate-size companies must issue them. SMEs and micro-enterprises must issue e-invoices from 1 September 2027. E-reporting — transmitting transaction and payment data not covered by e-invoicing — follows the same calendar.
E-invoices are exchanged through certified platforms (plateformes agréées, formerly called PDP). The public portal no longer offers free invoicing; it acts as the central directory and data concentrator. The base formats are Factur-X, UBL and CII. Official sources: economie.gouv.fr and impots.gouv.fr.
Belgium
Since 1 January 2026, structured B2B e-invoicing between Belgian VAT-registered businesses is mandatory. The default standard is Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, sent over the Peppol network. E-reporting is planned from 2028. Official source: FPS Finance Belgium. Background on the network: What is Peppol?.
What this means for cross-border businesses
- The formats are compatible: all are based on EN 16931. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are the same format; UBL and CII can be converted into each other with the e-invoice converter.
- The channels differ: email in Germany, certified platforms in France, Peppol in Belgium.
- Check each customer’s preferred format and channel and keep their identifiers (Leitweg-ID, SIREN, Peppol ID) in your master data.