belgium-einvoice

Section 1 -- Quick Reference

Quick Reference

Field	Value
Country	Belgium (Koninkrijk België / Royaume de Belgique)
Currency	EUR
E-invoicing system name	Peppol network (B2B); Mercurius platform (B2G); Hermes bridge (transitional)
Governing body	FPS Finance (Federale Overheidsdienst Financiën / Service Public Fédéral Finances)
Key legislation	Law of 6 February 2024 amending the Belgian VAT Code (Art. 53 §1/1); Royal Decree of 8 July 2025 on structured e-invoicing (technical standards and penalties); EU Directive 2014/55/EU (B2G); Belgian VAT Code Art. 44 (exemptions)
Implementation timeline	B2G via Mercurius since 2015+; B2B mandate 1 Jan 2026; Grace period ended 31 Mar 2026; Full enforcement from 1 Apr 2026; Self-billing tolerance until 30 Jun 2026
Current status (2026)	Fully enforced -- all Belgian VAT-registered businesses must send and receive Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 invoices for domestic B2B transactions; progressive penalties in effect
Skill version	1.0

Section 2 -- Mandate Scope

Who Must Comply

• B2G compliance requirement — All suppliers to Belgian contracting authorities must issue structured e-invoices via the Mercurius platform (aligned with Peppol). In effect since the transposition of EU Directive 2014/55/EU. All federal, regional, and local public entities receive through Mercurius. (EU Directive 2014/55/EU)
• B2B compliance requirement — From 1 January 2026, all Belgian enterprises liable to VAT must use structured e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions. A PDF sent by email or paper invoice no longer satisfies the legal invoicing requirement for in-scope transactions.
• Suppliers in scope — All Belgian VAT taxpayers including: Taxable entities established in Belgium; Belgian permanent establishments of foreign entities; Members of Belgian VAT groups; Taxable Belgian entities with special VAT schemes in agriculture
• Suppliers excluded — Foreign entities solely registered for VAT in Belgium (without establishment); Belgian entities conducting only VAT-exempt activities (Art. 44 VAT Code); Bankrupt entities; Entities under the special flat-rate scheme (to be abolished in 2028) (Art. 44 VAT Code)
• Customers in scope — Taxable entities providing their Belgian VAT number for local transactions.
• Customers excluded — VAT-exempt entities and foreign taxpayers with a Belgian VAT number.
• B2C treatment — Remains voluntary. No mandatory e-invoicing obligation for B2C transactions.

Transaction Scope

• In scope transactions — E-invoicing applies to all domestic B2B VAT transactions in Belgium, including: Supplies of goods and services with Belgian place of supply; Supplies under local reverse charge
• Not in scope transactions — Intra-community supplies; Services taxed in another EU country; Transactions exempt under Art. 44 of the Belgian VAT Code (Art. 44 of the Belgian VAT Code)

Timeline

Timeline

Date	Milestone
2015+	Mercurius platform deployed for B2G e-invoicing
1 February 2024	Parliament approves law for mandatory B2B e-invoicing from 2026
8 July 2025	Royal Decree published with technical standards and penalty regime
1 January 2026	B2B e-invoicing mandate takes effect; 3-month tolerance period begins
31 March 2026	Tolerance period ends; full enforcement begins
30 June 2026	Self-billing tolerance period ends
1 January 2028	Peppol five-corner e-reporting model anticipated (near real-time VAT e-reporting)

Section 3 -- Technical Format

Standard and Syntax

Standard and Syntax

Component	Value
Semantic standard	EN 16931 (European standard for electronic invoicing)
Default syntax	UBL 2.1 XML (OASIS Universal Business Language)
Business specification	Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
Self-billing specification	Peppol BIS Self-Billing 3.0.1 (hotfix March 2026)
CIUS	No separate Belgian CIUS beyond Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
CII syntax	Accepted via Mercurius but rarely used in practice; UBL is the default

Key Peppol Identifiers

Key Peppol Identifiers

Field	Value
CustomizationID	urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0
ProfileID	urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0
Document type (Invoice)	urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2::Invoice##urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0::2.1
Document type (Credit Note)	urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CreditNote-2::CreditNote##urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0::2.1

Namespaces

Namespaces

Namespace	URI
UBL Invoice	urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2
UBL CreditNote	urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CreditNote-2
Common Basic Components	urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2
Common Aggregate Components	urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonAggregateComponents-2

Section 4 -- Mandatory Fields

Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 Required Fields

Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 Required Fields

Field	UBL Path	Notes
Invoice number	cbc:ID	Unique, sequential
Issue date	cbc:IssueDate	ISO 8601
Invoice type code	cbc:InvoiceTypeCode	380 (invoice), 381 (credit note)
Currency code	cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode	EUR for domestic
Buyer reference	cbc:BuyerReference	Mandatory in Peppol BIS; can be PO number or free text
Supplier name	cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyLegalEntity/cbc:RegistrationName
Supplier VAT number	cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyTaxScheme/cbc:CompanyID	Belgian VAT number format: BE0XXX.XXX.XXX
Supplier address	cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress	Including country code
Supplier Peppol endpoint	cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cbc:EndpointID	With @schemeID (e.g., 0208 for Belgian enterprise number)
Buyer name	cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyLegalEntity/cbc:RegistrationName
Buyer VAT number	cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyTaxScheme/cbc:CompanyID	Belgian VAT number
Buyer address	cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress	Including country code
Buyer Peppol endpoint	cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cbc:EndpointID	Must be registered in Peppol SMP
Line item description	cac:InvoiceLine/cac:Item/cbc:Name
Line quantity	cac:InvoiceLine/cbc:InvoicedQuantity	With @unitCode (UN/ECE Rec. 20)
Line net amount	cac:InvoiceLine/cbc:LineExtensionAmount
Line VAT category	cac:InvoiceLine/cac:Item/cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory/cbc:ID	S, Z, E, AE, K, G, O, L, M
Line VAT rate	cac:InvoiceLine/cac:Item/cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory/cbc:Percent
Tax subtotals	cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal	Per VAT category
Total tax amount	cac:TaxTotal/cbc:TaxAmount
Payable amount	cac:LegalMonetaryTotal/cbc:PayableAmount
Payment means	cac:PaymentMeans/cbc:PaymentMeansCode	30 (credit transfer), 58 (SEPA), etc.
Payment account (IBAN)	cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PayeeFinancialAccount/cbc:ID

Peppol VAT Category Codes (Belgian Relevance)

Peppol VAT Category Codes (Belgian Relevance)

Code	Meaning
S	Standard rate (21%), reduced (12%, 6%)
Z	Zero rated
E	Exempt from VAT
AE	VAT Reverse Charge
K	Intra-community supply
G	Export outside the EU
O	Not subject to VAT

Section 5 -- Transmission Method

B2B: Peppol Network

B2B: Peppol Network

Component	Detail
Network	Peppol eDelivery Network (4-corner model)
Sender Access Point	Certified Peppol Access Point used by the supplier
Receiver Access Point	Certified Peppol Access Point used by the buyer
Endpoint lookup	Peppol SMP (Service Metadata Publisher) directory
Participant ID	Belgian enterprise number (KBO/BCE) with scheme 0208, or VAT number with scheme 9925
Protocol	Peppol AS4 profile
Authentication	Peppol PKI certificates issued by OpenPeppol CA

B2G: Mercurius Platform

B2G: Mercurius Platform

Component	Detail
Platform	Mercurius -- central mailroom for all Belgian public entities
Alignment	Fully integrated into the Peppol ecosystem
Web portal	Manual invoice submission available via Mercurius web portal
Automated submission	Via Peppol Access Point to the Mercurius endpoint
Track and trace	Mercurius portal provides delivery tracking for senders and receivers
Alternative	Hermes platform (transitional bridge for entities not yet able to process structured invoices; converts to PDF)

Hermes Bridge (Transitional)

Hermes is a temporary platform that converts structured Peppol e-invoices into human-readable formats (PDF) for recipients not yet technically equipped. Hermes is designed to be phased out as digital maturity increases. It also includes a web portal with tracking features.

Section 6 -- Validation Rules

Peppol Validation Layers

• Validation layers — 1. XML schema validation against UBL 2.1 XSD. 2. EN 16931 business rules (CEN/TC 434 schematrons). 3. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 rules (OpenPeppol schematrons). 4. Access Point validation (transport-level checks: endpoint existence in SMP, document type support)

Pre-Submission Checks

• Pre-submission checks — Validate XML against UBL 2.1 schema and Peppol BIS 3.0 schematron before sending; Verify buyer Peppol endpoint is registered in the SMP directory; Confirm VAT category codes match the correct Belgian VAT treatment; Ensure BuyerReference is populated (mandatory in Peppol BIS); Verify Belgian VAT number format (BE + 10 digits, check digit valid)

Common Rejection Reasons

Common Rejection Reasons

Reason	Detail
Endpoint not found	Buyer is not registered in the Peppol SMP directory
Schema violation	XML does not conform to UBL 2.1 XSD
Business rule failure	Peppol BIS or EN 16931 schematron rule violated
Missing BuyerReference	cbc:BuyerReference is empty or absent
Invalid VAT category	Tax category code does not match the VAT rate or transaction type
Invalid VAT number	Belgian VAT number fails format or check-digit validation
Unsupported document type	Document type ID not registered for the receiver in SMP
Duplicate invoice	Invoice number already sent to the same buyer

Section 7 -- Tax Computation Rules

Belgian VAT Rates (2026)

Belgian VAT Rates (2026)

Rate	Percentage	Application
Standard	21%	Most goods and services
Reduced (parking)	12%	Certain social housing, restaurant meals (food portion), margarine, tyres
Reduced	6%	Basic necessities, water, pharmaceuticals, books, cultural events, renovations (conditions apply), passenger transport
Zero	0%	Intra-community supplies, exports, newspapers/periodicals (from 2023)

Rounding Rules

• Rounding rules — VAT calculated per line, rounded to 2 decimal places (EUR cents). Totals are the algebraic sum of rounded line-level amounts. cac:TaxTotal/cbc:TaxAmount must equal the sum of all cac:TaxSubtotal/cbc:TaxAmount values. Peppol BIS enforces rounding tolerance: ±0.01 per tax subtotal.

Multi-Rate Invoice Handling

• Multi-rate invoice handling — Each VAT rate requires a separate cac:TaxSubtotal element. Each invoice line must reference exactly one cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory. Mixed-rate invoices must not combine rates within a single line.

Self-Billing

• Self-billing rule — Under Peppol BIS Self-Billing 3.0.1, the buyer issues the invoice on behalf of the supplier. The AccountingSupplierParty is still the supplier (the entity providing goods/services), and the AccountingCustomerParty is the buyer who created the document. The InvoiceTypeCode must indicate self-billing (389).

Section 8 -- Archiving Requirements

Archiving Requirements (Belgian VAT Code Art. 60)

Requirement	Detail
Retention period	7 years from the end of the year in which the VAT return was due (Belgian VAT Code Art. 60)
Extended retention	10 years for immovable property adjustments; 15 years for new buildings
Format	Structured XML (original Peppol BIS format) must be retained; a human-readable rendering should also be stored
Integrity	Tamper-proof audit trail required; no modification to the original XML permitted
Accessibility	Must be available for tax inspection within Belgium or with immediate electronic access if stored elsewhere in the EU
Audit trail	Both sender and receiver must maintain records of transmission, receipt, and processing
Mercurius/Hermes	B2G invoices routed through Mercurius are archived by the platform; businesses should maintain their own copy

Section 9 -- Penalties for Non-Compliance

E-Invoicing Specific Penalties (Royal Decree, July 2025)

E-Invoicing Specific Penalties (Royal Decree, July 2025) (Royal Decree, July 2025)

Infringement	Penalty (EUR)
First infringement	1,500
Second infringement	3,000
Third infringement (within 3 months of previous)	5,000

E-Invoicing Specific Penalties (Royal Decree, July 2025)

Penalties are per infringement, not per invoice. A "subsequent" infringement is only classified as new if identified at least 3 months after the previous penalty, giving businesses a remediation window.

Existing VAT Penalties (Unchanged)

Existing VAT Penalties (Unchanged)

Violation	Penalty
Late issuance of invoice	Administrative fine under Belgian VAT Code
Incorrect VAT treatment on invoice	Administrative fine + potential VAT reassessment
Failure to archive	Administrative fine
Fraud	Criminal penalties under Belgian VAT Code

Practical Consequences

Inability to send/receive Peppol invoices blocks the legal invoicing flow for domestic B2B; Suppliers who cannot issue structured invoices risk losing business relationships; Buyers who cannot receive structured invoices violate the mandate by accepting non-compliant documents

Section 10 -- Interaction with Tax Skills

E-Invoice → VAT Return (BTW-aangifte / Déclaration TVA)

Structured e-invoice data is the primary source for VAT return preparation. From 2028, Belgium anticipates a Peppol five-corner e-reporting model enabling near real-time VAT reporting. This aligns with the EU ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) initiative.

Automated Bookkeeping

Peppol BIS invoices in UBL 2.1 XML are machine-readable and can be automatically booked into accounting systems. This enables straight-through processing for accounts payable and accounts receivable.

Purchase Order Matching

Peppol supports the full procure-to-pay chain. Invoices can reference Peppol order documents (cac:OrderReference), enabling automated 3-way matching (order → receipt → invoice).

Cross-Border Interoperability

Belgium's Peppol-based framework is inherently interoperable with other Peppol-connected countries (Italy, France, Netherlands, Germany, Nordics, etc.). Cross-border invoices between Peppol participants follow the same technical specification.

Corporate Tax (Vennootschapsbelasting / Impôt des sociétés)

Invoice data from Peppol invoices feeds into corporate tax computations. FPS Finance can cross-reference e-invoice data against reported revenue and deduction claims.

Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a CPA, tax attorney, or equivalent licensed practitioner in your jurisdiction) before filing or acting upon.

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