E-invoicing in the Netherlands: no B2B mandate yet, but what about customers abroad?

By evoicely · Last checked 29 October 2026

Dutch businesses don't have to send each other e-invoices yet. The cabinet plans to make e-invoicing mandatory for domestic B2B invoices from 1 July 2030, with reporting to the Belastingdienst from 1 July 2031, but that is a plan, not law. Today, e-invoices are required only when you supply central government. If you bill through Stripe, the more pressing question is your customers abroad: Germany, Belgium and France have their own mandates, and from 1 July 2030 the EU's ViDA rules cover cross-border B2B invoices too.

Where things stand

The cabinet's plan for 2030

On 11 September 2026, the state secretary for Finance sent parliament the cabinet's outline for e-invoicing and digital reporting (Contourenbrief elektronisch factureren en rapporteren, Kamerstuk 31066-1576; summary in the Rijksoverheid news item). The EU's ViDA directive already requires e-invoices and per-transaction reporting for cross-border B2B from July 2030, and lets each country extend this to domestic invoices. The cabinet chose to do so:

• 1 July 2030: e-invoicing becomes mandatory for invoices between businesses within the Netherlands, alongside the EU rules for cross-border ones. Reporting of intra-EU acquisitions starts on the same date.
• 1 July 2031: businesses report a selection of data fields from the domestic e-invoices they send to the Belastingdienst.
• Format: the European standard (EN 16931) only; no other standards for domestic invoices.
• Small businesses: businesses using the small business scheme (kleineondernemersregeling, KOR), with turnover up to €20,000 a year, are exempt, also after July 2030. There is no separate threshold for micro-businesses.
• Network: not decided. The EY study the cabinet commissioned advised prescribing Peppol between businesses; the letter says the infrastructure question needed further research until October 2026.

What's still open: the draft bill was due for public internet consultation in autumn 2026 and is to go to the Tweede Kamer before the 2027 summer recess. The aim is to finish the parliamentary process before 1 July 2028, two years before the start date. Until a law is passed, dates and details can change. We update this page when they do.

Invoicing central government: e-invoices since 2017

Suppliers to central government (Rijksoverheid: the ministries and their agencies) must send e-invoices. "Invoices sent by email, for example as a PDF, are not e-invoices" (Logius, our translation). The requirement applies to contracts concluded from 1 January 2017 onwards (invoicing requirements of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management).

• Channels: usually through a Peppol service provider; with high volumes, a direct connection to Digipoort (run by Logius); or by typing the invoice into the government's Leveranciersportaal.
• Formats: the Dutch Peppol Authority (NPa) names SI-UBL 2.0 (the Dutch CIUS, NLCIUS) and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 as the message formats; SI-UBL 1.2 is no longer used (NPa FAQ). Both are EN 16931 in UBL.
• Addressing: government organisations are identified by their OIN (Peppol scheme 0190), and an e-invoice to central government must carry it (Helpdesk e-factureren). Dutch companies on Peppol commonly use their KVK number (scheme 0106) (Peppol EAS code list).

The NPa also notes that no concrete agreements have been made yet to make e-invoicing over Peppol mandatory between Dutch businesses. How Peppol IDs work and where to keep them in Stripe: Finding and storing your customers' Peppol IDs in Stripe.

Is a PDF from Stripe a valid invoice today?

Yes, for Dutch business customers. The Belastingdienst lets you choose between paper and digital invoices, with one extra condition for digital ones: your customer must agree to receive them digitally. You must also be able to vouch for the authenticity of origin, the integrity of the content and the legibility of the invoice (Belastingdienst, Facturen maken). The government's business portal calls a PDF sent by email a digital invoice, and keeps the term e-invoice for one that goes from your system straight into your customer's system; both must meet the same legal requirements as a paper invoice (Ondernemersplein). The Stripe PDF still has to carry the mandatory invoice details, and the usual deadline applies: no later than the 15th day of the month after the supply.

The real question for Dutch Stripe sellers: customers abroad

Most national mandates cover sellers established in that country. As a Dutch business without an establishment there, you're usually outside them, but your customers are inside them, and that shapes what they ask of you.

Germany

Every German business must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025, and German sellers must issue them from 2027 or 2028, depending on turnover. The duty to issue applies only when both businesses are established in Germany: "if at least one of the businesses involved isn't established in Germany, there's no obligation to issue an e-invoice" (Abschnitt 14.1 (6) UStAE as amended by the BMF letter of 15 October 2025, our translation). Your PDF stays valid. German customers whose bookkeeping now runs on XRechnung or ZUGFeRD may still ask for one, and sending it is a choice you agree on with them. More in Germany's e-invoicing mandate for Stripe users.

Belgium

Since 1 January 2026, Belgian businesses must exchange structured e-invoices, in practice over Peppol. Foreign businesses that are only VAT-registered in Belgium, without a permanent establishment there, are excluded as suppliers (European Commission, eInvoicing in Belgium). So a Dutch seller isn't obliged. Your Belgian business customers, though, must be able to receive structured e-invoices now, and many of them may prefer to get yours over Peppol too. See Belgium's Peppol mandate for Stripe users.

France

France's reform runs through approved platforms (plateformes agréées) between businesses established in France. Sales by a seller not established in France to a French business aren't e-invoices under the reform; the French buyer reports the transaction data instead (e-reporting) (impots.gouv.fr, e-reporting fact sheet).

From 1 July 2030: ViDA for every cross-border B2B invoice

Under the EU's "VAT in the Digital Age" directive, invoices for B2B supplies to other EU countries must be EN 16931 e-invoices from 1 July 2030, issued within 10 days of the supply, with the data reported per invoice at the moment it's issued. That replaces today's monthly or quarterly EC Sales List (ICP-opgaaf) for those transactions (European Commission; the Contourenbrief sums up the same changes for Dutch businesses). For a Dutch SaaS company selling to businesses across the EU under reverse charge, this is the date that matters most.

What to do now

1. Check whether you invoice central government. If so, you need e-invoices already, through Peppol, Digipoort or the Leveranciersportaal. That's the only Dutch requirement in force today.
2. List your business customers by country. German, Belgian and French customers live under mandates now; expect questions about formats from them first.
3. Get your Stripe data in shape. Each business customer's VAT ID in tax_ids, full addresses, reverse charge made explicit, service periods and VAT that adds up. Every e-invoice format, and ViDA in 2030, builds on this. Mapping a Stripe invoice to EN 16931 shows the fields.
4. Answer requests as they come. If a German customer asks for an XRechnung or ZUGFeRD, or a Belgian one for Peppol, it's a commercial choice for now, and a cheap way to be ready.
5. Follow the Dutch bill. The internet consultation and the bill in 2027 will settle the network, the exemptions and the reporting details. Don't buy a domestic solution based on guesses about them.

Common questions

Is e-invoicing mandatory in the Netherlands in 2027 or 2028?

No, except for invoices to central government. The cabinet's plan starts domestic B2B e-invoicing on 1 July 2030, and the law still has to pass parliament.

Am I exempt if I use the KOR?

Under the cabinet's plan, businesses in the small business scheme (turnover up to €20,000 a year) are exempt from domestic e-invoicing and reporting, also after July 2030. The bill will set the exact rules.

Will Peppol become mandatory between Dutch businesses?

Not decided. EY advised it, Peppol is already the usual route to central government, and the cabinet is still studying the infrastructure. Your Stripe PDF to a Dutch customer remains valid until a law says otherwise.

Can I send e-invoices to customers now, voluntarily?

Yes, with their agreement, as for any digital invoice. An EN 16931 file also satisfies a customer abroad who asks for one.

Where evoicely fits

evoicely turns each Stripe invoice and credit note into ZUGFeRD (EN 16931) and XRechnung, each checked with the official validators. You can download the files or let evoicely email them to your customers. That serves German customers, or any customer who asks for an EN 16931 file. Peppol delivery is available for sellers established in Belgium only, not for Dutch sellers. Get started, free for 10 e-invoices a month, or tell us if you need Peppol in the Netherlands.

Received or produced an e-invoice already? Check it with the free e-invoice validator (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Peppol BIS 3.0). It doesn't check the Dutch NLCIUS rules, and your file isn't stored.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check what applies to your business with your accountant or tax advisor.