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Do you, as a company from the Netherlands, have to send a Peppol invoice to a Belgian customer? Not without an establishment in Belgium: the Belgian e-invoicing mandate of 1 January 2026 applies to companies established in Belgium, and a foreign company without a permanent establishment falls outside it, even with a Belgian VAT number. Yet Belgian customers ask for it more and more, because their own accounting has run fully on Peppol since this year. A PDF remains a valid invoice for you, but your customer then has to process it separately.
This guide is written from Ghent for a supplier in the Netherlands: why your customer asks for Peppol, what you need, how to send your first invoice, which number you use on Peppol, and what belongs on an invoice to a Belgian company. The Belgian rule works the same for a German, French or other EU supplier; only the tax details on your side differ. What the Belgian mandate means for Belgian companies is in e-invoicing in Belgium. What is planned in the Netherlands itself is in e-invoicing in the Netherlands.
Why your Belgian customer asks for Peppol
Since 1 January 2026, Belgian companies send and receive their invoices to each other as structured e-invoices. Their accounting package is set up for it: invoices come in via Peppol and are booked and paid automatically. A PDF by email falls outside that flow. Someone has to retype it or scan it in, which is exactly what the Belgian customer wanted to get rid of with Peppol.
So there are three reasons a Belgian customer asks you, and none of them is a law that applies to you:
- Their package expects itMany Belgian accountants only process what arrives via Peppol, and charge extra for the rest.
- Their purchasing process requires itLarger customers put Peppol in their purchasing terms, foreign suppliers included.
- It gets paid fasterAn invoice that lands automatically in your customer's books does not wait for someone to retype it.
If you are established in Belgium, with a branch or a permanent establishment, the mandate does apply to what that establishment invoices. That is outside the scope of this guide.
Your package, your customer's package
- Your packagecreates the invoice as a UBL file
- Your Peppol providerlooks the customer up in the Peppol Directory
- The customer's providerreceives the file
- Your customer's packagebooks the invoice without retyping
- Peppol-ID afzender
- 0106:12345678 or 9944:NL001234567B01
- Peppol-ID klant
- 0208:0123456789
A Dutch company without an establishment in Belgium does not have to do this. A Belgian customer often asks anyway, because their own accounts run on Peppol.
- From
- Atelier Noord B.V., VAT NL001234567B01
- To
- Client BV, VAT BE0123.456.789
- Service
- Website design, September 2026
- Amount
- 4,000.00 euros
- VAT
- 0.00 euros
What you need to invoice via Peppol
| What | Why | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| A Peppol service provider | you never go onto the network directly; an accredited provider (an access point) sends and receives for you | often it already sits behind your accounting package |
| A Peppol ID | your address on the network: your KVK number or your VAT number | the provider registers it |
| Your customer's Peppol ID | their Belgian enterprise number with scheme 0208 | on their invoice, or look it up |
| Software that produces UBL | Peppol carries a structured file, not a PDF | your accounting package, or a link from your own system |
| A test customer | the only real test is an invoice that arrives | a Belgian customer you know well |
Most Dutch accounting packages that serve Belgian customers can already send via Peppol. Ask your own supplier first, before you take a new package or a separate service. If your package cannot, there are providers that take your invoices as a file and put them on Peppol for you; the Dutch Peppol Authority supervises the providers in the Netherlands.
Which Peppol number you use
| Who | Scheme | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch company, on KVK number | 0106 | 0106:12345678 |
| Dutch company, on VAT number | 9944 | 9944:NL001234567B01 |
| Dutch government, on OIN | 0190 | 0190 followed by the OIN |
| Belgian company, on enterprise number | 0208 | 0208:0123456789 |
| Belgian company, on VAT number | 9925 | 9925:BE0123456789 |
In Belgium, companies are nearly always listed under 0208, their enterprise number without dots. Whether your customer is on Peppol already shows in the Peppol Directory, or in our Peppol check, which looks up a Belgian enterprise number. More on what a Peppol ID is in what is Peppol.
Your first Peppol invoice to Belgium
- Ask your package about PeppolIs it built in, and can it receive too? Switch it on for your KVK or VAT number.
- Look up your customerTheir Peppol ID is 0208 with their enterprise number. If they are not listed, you still send a PDF.
- Fill in the customer details in fullName, address, Belgian VAT number and their Peppol ID. A missing VAT number is the most common mistake.
- Send and follow the statusYour package sees whether the invoice arrived. A rejection comes back with a reason.
- Ask your customer whether they saw itOnly once the first invoice is booked cleanly do you switch your other Belgian customers over.
What goes on an invoice to a Belgian company
Peppol changes the form of your invoice, not the VAT rules. In outline, as the Dutch Tax Administration explains them:
| You supply a Belgian company with | VAT on your invoice | What you state | Where you declare it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A service, such as advice, design or software | no Dutch VAT, the VAT is reverse-charged to your customer | "VAT reverse charged" (btw verlegd), your VAT number and your customer's | VAT return and the EC sales list (opgaaf ICP) |
| Goods shipped to Belgium | usually 0 percent as an intra-community supply, if you meet the conditions | your customer's VAT number and the intra-community supply statement | VAT return and EC sales list |
| An invoice to a private person | Dutch VAT, or Belgian VAT above the EU threshold for distance sales | normal invoice details | VAT return or the OSS scheme |
In a Peppol invoice those details sit in fixed fields: every line gets a VAT category, and for reverse charge that is the code for "reverse charge" with free text next to it. A good package fills that in as soon as you set the customer to reverse charge. For the statement itself you may use English, German or French as well as Dutch.
What applies in your situation, for instance for work you carry out in Belgium yourself or with an establishment there, you discuss with your accountant. We handle the technical part: making sure the right field sits in the right place in the file.
Three Dutch suppliers
- A freelancer building websites for Belgian clientsTheir accounting package speaks Peppol; they switch it on for their VAT number and invoice their services with reverse charge. An afternoon's work, test invoice included.
- A wholesaler in Brabant with two hundred Belgian customersInvoices come out of an ERP that does not speak Peppol. A link sends them as UBL to a service provider; for customers who are not on Peppol, a PDF remains the route.
- A software company with its own invoicing moduleIt builds the export to UBL itself or has it built, and takes a service provider for the network. What it builds for Belgium it will soon use for Dutch customers.
Pitfalls
- Putting a PDF inside the UBL and thinking that is enoughThe invoice itself is the fields in the file; the PDF is only a readable copy.
- The wrong ID for your customerA Belgian company is usually under 0208; look it up before you send.
- Only sending, not receivingBelgian suppliers will invoice you via Peppol too. Switch receiving on straight away, or their invoices will not arrive.
- Waiting for the NetherlandsThe Dutch plan only starts on 1 July 2030, but if you are on Peppol for Belgium now, you will have nothing left to do then.
What is in the file itself
A Peppol invoice is a UBL file with fixed fields. On an invoice to a Belgian company, Belgian accountants look mainly at these:
| Field | What goes in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sender's electronic address | your Peppol ID, such as 0106 with your KVK number | so the network knows who is sending |
| Recipient's electronic address | 0208 with your customer's enterprise number | without this address the invoice arrives nowhere |
| VAT numbers | NL001234567B01 and BE0123456789 | needed for the reverse charge and the EC sales list |
| VAT category per line | AE for reverse-charged VAT, K for an intra-community supply | your customer's package books the line on it |
| Free text with the VAT | "VAT reverse charged" or "btw verlegd" | the legal statement |
| Payment details | your IBAN and a payment reference | so your customer pays without retyping |
| Attachment | a PDF as a readable copy, or a timesheet | travels in the same file |
A good accounting package fills all of that in. If you build the invoice yourself from your own system, the VAT category and the two electronic addresses are the fields that most often go wrong.
Questions from Dutch suppliers
Do I have to send Peppol invoices to Belgium as a Dutch company?
Not without an establishment or permanent establishment in Belgium. Your customer may ask for it, and often does because their accounts run on Peppol.
Can I still send a PDF to a Belgian customer?
Yes, for you that remains a valid invoice. Your customer then has to process it outside their Peppol flow.
Do I charge VAT on an invoice to a Belgian company?
For services to a Belgian company usually not: the VAT is reverse-charged and you state both VAT numbers. For goods the zero rate for intra-community supplies usually applies. Your accountant confirms what applies to you.
What Peppol ID does a Belgian company have?
Usually 0208 followed by the enterprise number without dots, for example 0208:0123456789.
Can I also receive Peppol invoices from Belgium?
Yes, if your registration includes receiving. Switch that on straight away: Belgian suppliers increasingly send only via Peppol.