Mandatory B2B e-invoicing published in the Belgian Official Journal - entry into force 1 January 2026

On 8 December 2022, the European Commission adopted and published its “VAT in the Digital Age” proposal, defining the core areas where European VAT will be modernised in the coming years. Alongside the changes made to the platform economy, e-commerce, and the single VAT registration in the EU, (see our tax alert of 11 December 2022), the proposal highlights the European Commission’s ambitious vision for how VAT reporting should embrace digital opportunities, with an implementation timeline set to commence at the beginning of 2028. At the EU level, there would be an obligation to issue structured e-invoices for all intra-EU supplies of goods and services, and to transmit data from these invoices to the relevant national VAT authorities’ electronic portal, in near real-time. This would require significant systems and process changes, and investment from all businesses engaged in cross-border trade within the EU, but would be expected to reduce VAT fraud losses for member states by up to EUR 11 billion per year. In a further positive development for businesses, the European Commission has also proposed that future domestic e-reporting changes would be based on the EU model.