Belgium’s plans to introduce mandatory e-invoicing and use a four-corner model for digital reporting

On November 16th, 2022, IDSt held a conference on the topic of "Digital Transformation in VAT." In one of the sessions, the Belgian National Plan for Digital Reporting was revealed. This plan includes a proposal that the PEPPOL framework and a four-corner model for digital reporting be used in Belgium in the future. This plan also includes the introduction of mandatory e-invoicing, and it is seen as a way of saving billions of euros for the country, where machine-to-machine e-invoices currently make up only about 15% of all invoices.

The idea is to introduce structured M2M e-invoicing that allows automated processing, where the participants have to fulfill two interoperability conditions:

• Have at least one common format
• Have receiving capabilities and be able to test them

This will be achieved through an open network where companies simply need to connect once, and they’ll be able to easily connect with everyone else who is on the network.

Companies will be able to act as service providers, as long as they choose suitable software and get the contact details of the receiver and the provider.