Managing Electronic Documents in Belgium
As a customer in Belgium, you can exchange electronic documents through the Peppol eDelivery Network. Additionally, you can receive electronic documents directly into Continia Document Capture via email attachments.
Belgium is at the forefront of adopting electronic invoicing and believes in the benefits of using digital invoices and making purchasing processes electronic. One of the leading countries in electronic invoicing, they have aligned their laws with Peppol requirements.
To enforce electronic invoicing in public administration (B2G), Belgium passed a law in April 2019 that makes it mandatory for invoices in PDF or Word formats to be replaced by electronic invoices. Additionally, the Belgian Parliament has decided to approve the obligatory adoption of B2B electronic invoicing and enforcing the Peppol platform for the private sector by January 2026.
The table below outlines the current regulatory states and future outlooks for B2G, B2B, and B2C (business-to-consumer) sectors.
| Transaction Type | Current Regulatory | Regulatory Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| B2G | Electronic invoicing has been mandatory since 2019. Supported by Document Capture. Supported by Document Output. | No changes are expected. |
| B2B | Electronic invoicing between B2B companies is possible through Peppol eDelivery. Supported by Document Capture. Supported by Document Output. | Electronic invoicing will be mandatory for B2B from January 1st, 2026. Legislation states that B2B must be able to issue and receive e-invoices by this date. Supported by Document Capture. Supported by Document Output. |
| B2C | No legislation is in place. | No changes are expected. |
Additional information
Since the introduction of electronic invoicing formats, Belgium has been using a temporary centralized platform called Mercurius which is used to convert various formats to the Peppol BIS 3.0 format and send these through the Peppol Network.
Belgium has evaluated the Peppol eDelivery Framework and decided this to be the mandatory platform for B2G invoicing without any Belgium-localized adaptions to the Peppol BIS 3.0 XML format.
The Belgian Parliament has approved mandatory B2B electronic invoicing, and will enforce the Peppol platform in the private sector by January 2026.