Belgium will introduce mandatory B2B e-invoicing for VAT-registered businesses from 1 January 2026, with limited scope, a technical fallback rule, and a three-month grace period.
Belgium’s tax authority (SPF Finances) announced on 19 December 2025 that all Belgian companies subject to VAT must use electronic invoicing with each other from 1 January 2026.
The draft law includes several measures concerning this mandatory e-invoicing. To avoid the temporary and unnecessary costs that this delay would entail for businesses, the tax authority agreed that the following two VAT measures will be applied from 1 January 2026:
The limitation of the scope of the e-invoicing obligation to companies established in Belgium: The obligation to issue and receive electronic invoices will not apply to companies not established in Belgium (those which have neither the headquarters of their economic activity nor a permanent establishment in Belgium), even if they are identified for VAT purposes in Belgium.
The introduction of a so-called “fallback” measure (or fallback rule): When the recipient of an electronic invoice is unable, for technical reasons, to receive electronic invoices (either themselves or through a third party acting on their behalf), the supplier or service provider is not required to issue an electronic invoice.
However, they remain obligated to issue a physical invoice, which may be provided in paper or electronic format. This fallback measure does not relieve the invoice recipient of their general obligation to receive electronic invoices from their supplier or service provider in the format in which they are issued. They must take the necessary steps to ensure this without delay.
Earlier, on 2 December 2025, SPF Finances announced that businesses subject to VAT will have a three-month grace period to comply with the new electronic invoicing requirement.
