Belgium makes structured B2B e-invoicing mandatory from 1 January 2026
This page records one dated change. For the rules in Belgium as they stand today, see the Belgium guide →
- Jurisdiction
- Belgium
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- E-invoicing
- Status
- In force
- Impact
- FYI
- Announced
- 20 February 2024
- Effective
- 1 January 2026
- Instrument
- BE-LAW-2024001635
- Authority
- SPF Finances (FPS Finance), Belgium
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Taxable persons established in Belgium supplying non-exempt goods or services to Belgian VAT-identified business customers, except businesses under the article 56 small-business franchise and bankrupts.
No action — monitoring only. Obligation in force from 1 January 2026.
Law of 6 February 2024 (Moniteur belge 20 February 2024, p. 24025, Numac 2024001635) inserts Article 53, §2bis into the Belgian VAT Code, in force from 1 January 2026 (art. 6). Every taxable person established in Belgium must issue a structured electronic invoice for supplies of goods or services not exempt under Article 44 made to a taxable customer that must give its VAT number for the transaction (art. 50 §1, 1° or 3°). The invoices must follow the semantic, syntax and transmission standards set by royal decree; by agreement the parties may depart from them if they respect EN 16931-1 and CEN/TS 16931-2. Taxable persons under the Article 56 franchise regime and bankrupts are excluded. The recipient must be able to receive the invoice in that format. A Law of 10 February 2026 (Numac 2026001291) later limited the counterparty side to customers identified under art. 50 §1, 1° from 20 February 2026.
What changed in detail
The Belgian Law of 6 February 2024 was published in the Moniteur belge on 20 February 2024 (p. 24025, Numac 2024001635). Its article 2 inserts article 53, §2bis into the VAT Code. Under article 6 it applies from 1 January 2026.
Every taxable person established in Belgium must issue a structured electronic invoice, or have one issued in its name, when it:
- supplies goods or services that are not exempt under article 44;
- to a taxable customer that must give its Belgian VAT number for the transaction under article 50, §1, first paragraph, 1° or 3°.
The invoice must follow the semantic, syntax and transmission standards set by royal decree. The parties may agree to depart from those standards, but only if they respect EN 16931-1 and CEN/TS 16931-2. The customer must be able to receive invoices in that format.
Two groups are excluded on the supplier side:
- taxable persons under the article 56 small-business franchise;
- bankrupts, for the activity covered by the bankruptcy.
What it means
The obligation has been in force since 1 January 2026, so domestic B2B invoices between Belgian businesses must now be structured e-invoices.
Its scope has already been narrowed. The Law of 10 February 2026 (Moniteur belge 20 February 2026, Numac 2026001291), in its articles 4 and 11, limited the customer side to customers identified under article 50, §1, first paragraph, 1° from 20 February 2026. Customers identified only under 3° fall outside it.
The next step is a separate one. The government has approved a preliminary draft law for e-reporting of invoice data (no official commencement date stated). That draft would build on this mandate, not replace it.
Proof
§ 2bis est inséré et § 3 est remplacé (Art. 2, L 06.02.2024, M.B. 20.02.2024, p. 24025, Numac : 2024001635) à partir du 01.01.2026 (Art. 6, alinéa 1er, L 06.02.2024).§ 2bis is inserted and § 3 is replaced (Art. 2, Law of 06.02.2024, Belgian Official Gazette 20.02.2024, p. 24025, Numac: 2024001635) from 01.01.2026 (Art. 6, first paragraph, Law of 06.02.2024).
Archived from the official distribution · Fisconetplus 3295c43b-f632-4c76-af1c-21d249b36cf3: Article 53, Code de la TVA (texte actuel et historique) · www.minfin.fgov.be
No source snapshot. The source is the official consolidated text published by the Belgian Federal Public Service Finance. A copy of that text is kept with this record.