Peppol in Belgium: the 2026 B2B mandate, explained

Belgium is one of the first EU countries to make structured B2B e-invoicing mandatory — from 1 January 2026, most VAT-registered businesses must send and receive invoices as structured Peppol documents for domestic B2B transactions. A PDF emailed as an attachment no longer counts.

Who is affected

• B2B, domestic, between Belgian VAT-registered businesses — in scope.
• B2C (private individuals) — not in scope for structured e-invoicing.
• B2G (public sector) — already required Peppol/Mercurius before this.
• Businesses under specific exemptions (e.g. certain flat-rate or exempt regimes)

should confirm their status with an accountant.

If you invoice other Belgian companies, assume you're in scope.

What actually changes

Instead of creating a PDF and emailing it, your software sends a structured invoice over the Peppol network. Your customer's software receives it directly. Both sides need to be able to receive as well as send.

The format is Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, and your Belgian company is identified by its enterprise number under Peppol scheme 0208 (10 digits, no BE prefix).

What you need to do

□ Get a Peppol-capable tool (or Access Point) that can send AND receive
□ Register your company as a Peppol participant (enterprise number, scheme 0208)
□ Make sure your invoices carry the mandatory fields (VAT numbers, IDs, totals)
□ Test receiving — many businesses forget the inbound side
□ Add the structured payment communication (OGM/VCS) so payments reconcile

The payment-reference detail Belgians care about

Belgian invoices use a structured communication (+++123/4567/89012+++) so a transfer reconciles automatically. A good Peppol tool generates it and carries it in the invoice's payment fields — see SEPA QR getting paid faster.

Don't leave receiving until last

The most common mistake is preparing to send but not to receive. From day one your suppliers may send you Peppol invoices, and you're expected to accept them. Pick a tool with a proper inbound inbox, not just outbound.

A practical countdown

We kept a short checklist here: Belgium B2B e-invoicing 2026 countdown.

Where Eurobillr fits

Eurobillr registers your Belgian company on Peppol (scheme 0208), sends every invoice as a structured Peppol BIS 3.0 document, and receives supplier invoices into an inbox you can convert to expenses in one click. It builds the structured communication automatically and validates the mandatory fields before sending, so you meet the January 2026 mandate with one tool.

See how to send a Peppol invoice to see the flow end to end.