E-invoicing
Is your organisation ready for the regulatory requirements related to e-invoicing and e-reporting?
We help companies ensure that their transition to e-invoicing and e-reporting is fully compliant, while guiding them through the entire process to ensure that all key steps are completed on time and the transition runs smoothly.
What is e‑invoicing?
The digitalization of tax and accounting processes has been one of the key trends in recent years, fundamentally transforming how companies issue invoices, report transactions, and interact with public authorities. As part of this shift, the terms e-invoicing and e-reporting are becoming increasingly common. While closely related, they serve different purposes and have distinct implications for business operations.
E-invoicing refers to the process of issuing, transmitting, and receiving invoices in a structured electronic format that enables automated processing between the systems of suppliers and customers. Its main objective is to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and minimize manual intervention.
E-reporting, on the other hand, involves the obligation to submit selected invoice or transaction data electronically to public authorities – typically tax administrations – for monitoring and compliance purposes. While e‑invoicing governs how companies exchange invoices with each other, e‑reporting determines how and when information about those invoices is reported to authorities. Together, both mechanisms support the digitalization of tax administration, each playing a distinct role.
These developments are not isolated – they form part of a broader European initiative aimed at further harmonizing and digitalizing VAT. In this context, the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) directive is particularly important. It elevates e-invoicing and e-reporting to a new level and will have a significant impact on future corporate obligations across the European Union.
ViDA – The European Framework
The ViDA directive represents a comprehensive reform of the VAT system in the European Union. Its objective is to increase the level of digitalization in VAT reporting, enabling more efficient VAT collection, simplifying tax compliance, and reducing fraud – particularly in the area of cross-border transactions. The proposal responds to the growing importance of digital business models and the need to modernize VAT rules so they reflect today’s economic reality and technological developments within the EU.
The ViDA legislative framework consists of three key legal acts:
- Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax.
- Council Regulation (EU) 2025/517, amending Regulation (EU) No. 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and the fight against VAT fraud, with a particular focus on strengthening administrative cooperation between Member States and introducing a centralized VIES system.
- Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/518, amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 282/2011, which governs information obligations under selected VAT regimes.
Together, these measures establish a unified EU framework for the digital reporting of selected VAT data.
ViDA is built around three main pillars. The first of these – Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) – forms the foundation of the EU framework for mandatory digital reporting and the use of structured e-invoicing for cross-border transactions between EU Member States.
The EU, through the ViDA initiative, is establishing a common framework for e-reporting and the handling of invoicing data in the context of cross-border transactions. For organizations, this means a clear distinction must be made between local e‑invoicing requirements and the obligations arising from the Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) under ViDA, which apply exclusively to intra‑EU transactions. Whereas local e‑invoicing currently remains fully within the jurisdiction of individual Member States.
Local E-invoicing
Across a growing number of EU Member States, mandatory B2B e‑invoicing systems are being gradually introduced. These systems apply exclusively to domestic transactions and are governed by national legislation (e.g., in Italy, Hungary, Poland, France, and Slovakia). They are not harmonized – some take the form of centrally managed government platforms, while others rely on decentralized models based on networks of certified service providers. Each Member State independently defines the scope, required data structures, as well as the technical and process parameters.
Slovakia is an example of a country developing its own national B2B e‑invoicing system independently of the ViDA initiative. At this stage, it represents a local measure aimed at digitalizing domestic invoicing and related reporting to the Slovak tax authorities, and it remains separate from the future obligations arising from ViDA in the area of cross-border transactions. For companies, it will therefore be essential to clearly distinguish between local Slovak requirements and the separate, harmonized EU framework introduced by ViDA. More detailed information on the upcoming e‑invoicing framework in Slovakia is available on the Deloitte Slovakia website.
E-invoicing in the Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, there is currently no general obligation to implement B2B e‑invoicing. However, given developments in neighboring countries and the adoption of the EU’s ViDA legislative framework, it is clear that preparations should begin as early as possible. E-invoicing and the use of structured data are gradually expanding beyond national boundaries and are becoming an integral part of the broader digital transformation of tax systems across the European Union.
This development is particularly relevant for Czech companies managing operations in multiple countries, most notably in Slovakia, where a mandatory e‑invoicing regime for domestic transactions is being introduced. In practice, this means businesses will need to manage multiple parallel approaches: local e‑invoicing requirements in individual countries alongside the separate EU‑wide ViDA framework for cross-border transactions. Without timely and structured preparation, this complexity can significantly increase process challenges and demands on IT systems.
At the same time, companies should keep in mind the 2030 timeline, from which digital reporting and e-invoicing for intra-EU cross-border transactions will become mandatory. Although such obligations are not yet in place in the Czech Republic, this interim period should be used strategically, to define the target architecture, harmonize process approaches, and prepare for the upcoming unified European e‑invoicing framework.
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