On this page
How Belgium's mandate works
Belgium made structured e-invoicing mandatory between VAT-registered businesses established in the country from 1 January 2026. A PDF by email is no longer a valid invoice between two such businesses. The invoice travels over the Peppol network, the open European standard, through a certified service provider that usually sits inside your invoicing or accounting software. You cannot register directly; the provider puts you on the network under your Belgian company number, prefixed with the code 0208. Step by step it is in the guide to Peppol registration, and the wider picture in e-invoicing in Belgium.
For a company abroad the question is whether you have a fixed establishment in Belgium: staff and premises that make and deliver the invoiced supplies. A Belgian VAT number on its own, for instance for distance sales or a warehouse stock, does not bring you in. Your Belgian client still needs to be able to receive, so expect to be asked for your Peppol address once you can provide one. Check any business on the network with the Peppol check.
What it costs to be late
The tolerance for the first quarter of 2026 is over, as our news on Belgian e-invoicing penalties explains. A Belgian business without the technical means to send or receive now risks a fixed series of fines, set by royal decree of 8 July 2025:
| Finding | Fine | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| First | 1,500 euro | no means to send or receive |
| Second | 3,000 euro | at least three months after the first fine |
| Every next one | 5,000 euro | each time at least three months later |
A year without Peppol, or a subscription
A year without Peppol, or a subscriptionThree findings against a subscription of 20 euro a month after the extra deduction
- Fines, three findings1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 euro9,500 euro
- Subscription, net240 euro minus the tax saving125 euro
When the other side is not ready
May I still send a PDF if my client is not on Peppol?
Temporarily, yes: if your client cannot receive yet, send a PDF, but they must get ready without delay. The fine risk lies with whoever lacks the means, not with you. A credit note as PDF is allowed if your client accepts it.
Does Peppol apply to invoices from a Dutch or French supplier?
No. The mandate covers invoices between businesses established in Belgium. A supplier abroad without a Belgian establishment may keep sending PDFs.
The deduction that shrinks the bill
Small Belgian businesses and self-employed people deduct subscriptions and advice for e-invoicing at 120 percent for the tax years 2024 to 2027. On a 240 euro subscription that is a 288 euro deduction, and at a 40 percent marginal rate about 115 euro less tax. Building the link as your own software can earn a 20 percent investment deduction since 2025. Which packages offer Peppol and what they cost is in which software for Peppol.
Choosing now means looking at 2028 too: Belgium plans near real-time reporting of invoice data to the tax authority from then, with the preliminary draft approved on 18 July 2026; see Belgium's e-reporting in 2028. Small firms read do small businesses in Belgium need Peppol; associations do non-profits in Belgium need Peppol; and those without a VAT number do you need Peppol without a VAT number.