E-invoicing mandatory in 2030: what changes for your BV?

An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured digital format under the European standard EN 16931, which software can read in automatically. An emailed PDF does not count.

What is already fixed, and what is not?

This is where many articles go wrong, so precisely. There are three layers: European law, a Dutch cabinet plan, and matters that are still being studied.

The European ViDA directive was adopted on 11 March 2025 and published on 25 March 2025. The Dutch choices are in the outline letter on electronic invoicing and reporting of 11 September 2026. According to that letter, the draft bill goes into internet consultation this autumn and the bill goes to the House of Representatives before the summer of 2027. The cabinet wants parliament to finish the debate before 1 July 2028, so businesses have two years to prepare.

Honestly: details can still change. The direction is clear, and neighbours such as Belgium, Germany and France are choosing similar rules.

What changes in practice for your BV?

Your invoices have to become machine-readable

You no longer send a PDF, but a structured file that lands directly in your customer's administration. For domestic invoices the cabinet uses no standard other than the European EN 16931. That is good news: one standard for everything.

You report per invoice instead of per quarter

If you do business with companies in other EU countries, from July 2030 you pass the data of each invoice digitally to the Dutch tax authority, at the moment you issue it. The current EC sales list, the overview of intra-Community supplies, disappears for those transactions. For domestic invoices the cabinet wants that reporting a year later, from July 2031.

You invoice faster

For EU trade a period of 10 days after supply or service will apply. Anyone who now invoices only at the end of the quarter has to change that process.

Your VAT is checked earlier

The Dutch tax authority wants to use the reported data to flag errors before you file your VAT return, such as a wrong VAT rate. That can be useful, but it also means sloppiness shows up sooner. More on that in Peppol vs a PDF invoice: cost, errors and VAT checks.

Does it also apply to invoices you receive?

Yes, indirectly. If all your suppliers send e-invoices, your BV must be able to receive and process them. For EU purchases you as the customer must also report: the Netherlands chooses to have intra-Community acquisitions reported from 1 July 2030. Receiving is therefore just as important as sending.

Who does not have to join?

Under the cabinet plan, businesses in the small-business scheme (KOR) are exempt from domestic e-invoicing and reporting. The KOR is for businesses with at most €20,000 turnover per calendar year. An ordinary BV with staff or substantial turnover rarely falls under that. There will be no separate threshold for micro-businesses, and existing exceptions to the invoice obligation stay in place as far as possible.

Note: a KOR business can still face the European rules if it buys from businesses in other EU countries.

Where does Peppol fit?

Whether Peppol becomes the mandatory network has not been decided. EY advised the cabinet to prescribe Peppol for invoices between businesses, because it is already used as a requirement for invoices to the central government. The cabinet is also weighing the European Business Wallet, a digital business identity that is still in development. If you want to know what Peppol is, read What is Peppol?.

What can you do now? A plan for your BV

1. Map how many invoices you send and receive each month, and to whom (the Netherlands, the EU, outside the EU).
2. Ask your accounting software whether it can create and receive e-invoices under EN 16931, for example via Peppol.
3. Clean up your customer file: correct KVK numbers, VAT numbers and invoice addresses.
4. Check that the VAT codes per product or service are right, because errors will show up sooner.
5. Shorten your invoice period, especially for EU customers (at most 10 days after supply).
6. Start with receiving: ask suppliers for e-invoices, so purchases land in your administration on their own.
7. Send a first e-invoice as a test. How that works is in How to send your first Peppol invoice.

What does DT Admin do for your BV?

DT Admin handles the administration, VAT returns and financial steering for BVs and holdings in every sector. We follow the legislation for you, look with you at your invoice process and make sure the switch happens calmly and on time, instead of in the spring of 2030.

Not sure how far along you are? Take the free Are you 2030-ready? check and get your score with concrete next steps.

This is a general explanation, not advice for your situation. DT Admin’s fees are indications excluding VAT.

Last checked: 28 October 2026. The Dutch rules are not final yet; we will update this article once the internet consultation or the bill appears. This is general information, not tax advice.