E-invoicing (electronic invoice)

What it is

An e-invoice is not a PDF attached to an email. It is a data file with a fixed structure, so the customer’s software can read and book it without anyone retyping figures. The European standard EN 16931 defines a shared semantic model and two permitted syntaxes, UBL and CII. Each country then layers its own rules, networks and dates on top.

How it works

The issuer generates the file and sends it over whatever channel the country prescribes: a public platform, a network such as Peppol, or an accredited intermediary. The recipient gets data that is already structured. In hybrid formats such as ZUGFeRD, a readable PDF carries the XML inside it, and the XML is what counts for tax purposes.

Country map

Country	System	Position according to the official source
Spain, public sector	Facturae and the FACe entry point	Mandatory for the entity types listed in article 4 of Law 25/2013; administrations may exempt invoices up to 5,000 euros
Spain, between businesses	Public solution and formats under Orden HAC/1028/2026	In force since 6 October 2026. Turnover above 8 million: from 6 October 2027. Everyone else: from 6 October 2028
Spain, software integrity	VeriFactu	A different thing: it regulates the invoicing program, not the format. See its entry
Basque Country	TicketBAI	Each foral tax authority sets its own dates
Poland	KSeF	Large businesses from 1 February 2026, other issuers from 1 April 2026, except those invoicing up to PLN 10,000 a month, who join on 1 January 2027. According to the Ministry of Finance, KSeF 2.0 becomes available on 1 February 2026 to large taxpayers and to those who receive invoices
Germany	XRechnung and ZUGFeRD	Receiving E-Rechnung is mandatory since 1 January 2025; issuing follows after a transition to the end of 2026 (end of 2027 if prior-year turnover is at most 800,000 euros)
Italy	FatturaPA through the Sistema di Interscambio	Mandatory since 1 January 2019 between residents, B2B and B2C
France	Accredited platforms	Since 1 September 2026 large and mid-size companies issue through a platform, and every company must be able to receive
Belgium	Structured electronic invoice	Since 1 January 2026, all Belgian VAT-liable enterprises must use it between themselves (einvoice.belgium.be)

At EU level the ViDA package was adopted on 11 March 2025 and makes e-invoicing compulsory for cross-border B2B transactions from 1 July 2030.

Common mistakes

• Emailing a PDF and assuming the duty is met.
• Mixing up the invoice format with the VeriFactu record-keeping system.
• Assuming one file works in every country: national profiles and validation rules differ.
• Forgetting that a company trading in several countries may fall under more than one regime.

How Frihet handles it

From an invoice, Frihet exports EN 16931 XML as UBL, CII, XRechnung, Factur-X, FatturaPA or Facturae, with a dialog that suggests a format based on the customer’s country. It is a download: the files are not certified against national validators, and Frihet does not deliver them to Peppol, KSeF, SDI or Chorus Pro. The KSeF connection exists as infrastructure with production disabled. For Spanish flows, the invoice shows its status.