E-invoicing via Peppol becomes mandatory in Belgium from January 1, 2026. Companies see this requirement as an opportunity to organize their digital invoicing workflow more efficiently.
Do you have a Belgian VAT-liable company? Then hopefully, you’re familiar with mandatory e-invoicing via Peppol. This new legislation requires all VAT-liable Belgian companies to use electronic invoices from January 1, 2026. The obligation has been in effect for government tenders (B2G) since 2024. The basis for these structured invoices is Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online), a European organization headquartered in Belgium.
In Belgium, most companies seem to be well on their way to meeting this new requirement. Our country has set the deadline for January 1, 2026. This is early compared to other European countries, but it gives us a significant head start on the European regulations that will come into effect in 2030.
We talk with Philippe Kimpe, Head of Product at Lucy, and Roel Verbeeck, founder and CEO of Dokapi, specialized in AI-driven financial document processing and a certified Peppol Access Point. What that exactly entails will become clear in this article.
Preparation phase over
From January 1, 2026, all Belgian VAT-liable companies must send and receive invoices through the Peppol e-invoicing system. From 2030, this will also apply to international invoicing. “It’s an advantage that our government is mandating this from 2026. That gives us four years to adopt the regulations,” says Kimpe. In many other European countries, this requirement is not yet on the agenda, giving Belgium a significant head start.
The information phase is clearly behind us: companies know what they need to do and are now taking concrete steps.
Roel Verbeeck, founder and CEO of Dokapi
And this Belgian adoption seems to be getting off to a quick start. “The latest figures show that a fifth of Belgian companies are already connected to Peppol. This is a clear sign that companies are no longer in the exploratory phase but are actually taking steps towards compliance,” states Verbeeck.
Cost savings
“It has been proven that Peppol saves costs in the long run, both when transitioning from paper versions or PDF invoices to e-invoicing.” Kimpe explains: “All invoices will have the same format and be delivered to the same mailbox. It’s de facto no longer possible for invoices to get lost. This means that the entire flow up to the accountant represents a saving.”
Additionally, in Belgium, we have a so-called VAT gap. This is the difference between expected and actual VAT revenues. “The VAT deficit is approximately 3.5 billion euros and is mainly a combination of fraud and misinterpretation of VAT rules. Once e-invoicing is in full swing, the government will also be able to benefit enormously from this,” says Kimpe.
Simplicity itself
During his career at various companies, Kimpe discovered that there was a need for simplicity in e-invoicing. Peppol is the result of that simplicity. “We’ve all registered on Facebook or LinkedIn at some point, today it will be on Peppol. That registration flow is very simple, you only need your company number to register on the Peppol network.”
The connection between your company and the Peppol network is established thanks to a so-called Access Point. This forms the link between your internal software system and the Peppol network. You can compare it to a post office that converts your documents into the right format, sends them to the network, and receives documents from others.
Verbeeck also emphasizes the advantages and simplicity of the Peppol system. “Since the beginning of this year, we’ve noticed a strong increase in the number of implementations. So we’re really in a phase where most companies understand well what they need to do and who can help them with it.”
Processes
Consequently, many companies see this requirement as an opportunity to digitize their processes and organize their invoicing workflow more efficiently. For software developers, this regulation creates an extra lever to help their customers accelerate their digitalization journey.
In the corporate market, the story is a bit more complex. “There, it’s not merely about a compliance requirement, but about an intervention that needs to be deeply integrated into existing processes and workflows,” states Verbeeck.
Nevertheless, he also observes positive signals there. “Companies that are already well advanced in their digital transformation often have a solid framework in which e-invoicing can be relatively smoothly integrated. For them, this is a logical next step. For others, it requires a bit more preparation, but we don’t feel any structural resistance there either – rather a healthy alertness.”
Creature of habit
While e-invoicing via Peppol may exude simplicity, adoption won’t be equally smooth for every company. According to Kimpe, it’s just a matter of habit. “Not even ten years ago, everyone was handing over their brown envelope with personal income tax. Meanwhile, we’ve forgotten about that and everyone works with Tax on Web. I expect the same story will unfold with Peppol.”