New e-invoicing mandate: What your business should do now

A key announcement in Ireland’s Budget 2026 was Revenue’s publication of a preparatory roadmap for the phased rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) and real-time VAT reporting for Irish trading businesses.

Revenue announced this roadmap on 8 October 2025, outlining a phased approach to domestic B2B e-invoicing and digital reporting.

This is part of the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) requirements, which aims to modernise VAT systems across Europe to better support trade, while also strengthening the fight against VAT fraud.

However, the first step in Ireland’s roadmap is the planned rollout of mandatory e-invoicing for large corporate VAT-registered entities from November 2028.

The current VAT reporting system requires businesses to file periodic returns based on aggregate sales and purchases.

This new digital system will allow businesses and government bodies to send, receive, and process invoices electronically in a standardised format and to report in real-time.

It will remove manual handling and should reduce errors and processing time.

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In short, businesses will be obliged to:

• issue structured e-invoices including all required data in standard format within 10 days from a chargeable event; and
• transmit data from these invoices in real-time to Revenue’s electronic portal.

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As Revenue says: “This transformative initiative represents the most significant modernisation of Ireland’s VAT system since the tax was introduced over 50 years ago.”

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Roadmap of implementation

A roadmap has now been set out in terms of implementation of mandatory e-invoicing and real-time reporting for domestic B2B transactions in Ireland, starting with large companies:

Phase 1 (November 2028)

Large corporate VAT-registered entities will be required to implement mandatory e-invoicing and real-time reporting for domestic B2B transactions.

This phase will affect a small number of businesses, who will be best positioned to adapt to the digital changes, as many already have international experience with similar systems.

By starting with these larger, more experienced companies, it should help to resolve any issues, before expanding the system.

Phase 2 (November 2029)

The obligation will extend to all VAT-registered businesses engaged in domestic and certain intra-EU B2B trade, including those benefiting from 0% VAT arrangements.

Exact scope will follow Revenue’s detailed guidance.

Phase 3 (July 2030)

Full implementation of EU ViDA requirements for cross-border EU B2B transactions will become mandatory across all member states.

Irish businesses already operating under the domestic system will transition to meet these EU obligations.

Additionally, from November 2028, all businesses will be required to have the capability to receive e-invoices, regardless of whether they are yet obliged to issue them.

What it means for businesses today

With a lead time of 3 years for large VAT-registered companies, and 4 years for all VAT-registered companies, it should give enough time to prepare for what will be a major change in processes and systems.

It will be a major transformation for small businesses, that may have limited IT capacity and for instance may employ a bookkeeper to update their books and prepare VAT returns, normally on a bi-monthly basis.

For such businesses, changing to daily reporting will be a significant change.

But for all companies, planning will need to start now, as the transition will require time and investment for the necessary system upgrades and process changes.

The first step will be to assess the quality of your current underlying data and its flows across the company in terms of accounting, invoicing and reporting.

Bear in mind that ViDA requires that e-invoices be in a structured format that is machine-readable and where key details are in key fields that can be automatically processed by IT systems.

Therefore, during this initial process, you should identify the gaps relative to structured e-invoices, including looking out for inconsistent data formats.

Under the forthcoming structured e-invoicing regime, a simple PDF image alone may not meet the definition of a ‘structured e-invoice’.

However, hybrid formats — such as PDFs with embedded XML — may be acceptable.

Further steps include:

Consider what investment may be required (software upgrades, vendor costs, training).

Communicate with staff across departments such as finance, sales and IT to make sure they are aware of the upcoming changes and how processes will be changing.

Keep up-to-date with Revenue in terms of the rollout of ViDA.

Guidance and technical specifications will be published ahead of each phase to ensure smooth onboarding.

Lastly, use the change as an opportunity to improve overall efficiencies in terms of data collection and reducing manual processes.

In addition, with this increasing digitalisation, your company will have more data at its fingertips and could enable your business to gain more insights.

Technical requirements

As outlined above, the ViDA Directive requires that e-invoices use structured data formats that enable automatic processing.

These must comply with European Standard EN16931.

The new system will use various existing technical infrastructures, including the Pan-European Public Procurement Online (PEPPOL) framework, already used by some Irish public sector bodies for e-invoices since 2019.

This infrastructure provides a secure, standardised platform for electronic document exchange that businesses can readily adopt.

Revenue will issue guidance on these specifications in the years to come.

Role of software providers

As VAT obligations shift to continuous, digital, and standardised procedures, your software provider will play a key role in managing the process.

So, you need to check whether your accounting/ERP/invoicing system supports Standard EN16931 e-invoices and can transmit the required data to Revenue in real-time.

In terms of e-invoices, you should ensure that your software system can:

• Issue structured e-invoices in EN16931 format
• Deliver invoices machine-to-machine, not just PDFs
• Manage both domestic and cross-border B2B e-invoices
• Validate VAT numbers in real-time.

In terms of real-time reporting, your software will need to:

• Automatically report transaction data through Revenue’s APIs
• Handle Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) for cross-border sales
• Generate reports immediately.

Benefits of ViDA

In the long run, ViDA should benefit businesses, as the current VAT rules are complex, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises operating across multiple EU member states.

For instance, there are different required formats and different filing rules across member states.

Therefore, the implementation of standardised digital e-invoicing should simplify procedures.

ViDA will also help to combat VAT fraud through fast, automatic and digital exchange of information between companies and tax authorities and between individual EU tax authorities on cross-border B2B transactions.

How does Ireland compare with other EU members

The ViDA Directive, which was adopted by the EU in March 2025, is scheduled to be fully implemented by July 2030.

From that date, businesses that trade across EU borders will need to use the new system to continue to have access to the current 0% VAT on EU Business-to-Business (B2B) cross-border trade.

However, Ireland lags behind in terms of e-invoices. It is one of very few EU member states not yet operating or rolling out mandatory e-invoicing, with reporting still only required on a three-month basis.

In terms of how EU member states are approaching the rollout, initially member states are making B2G (Business-to-Government) transactions mandatory and then progressing to B2B.

Italy has required B2B e-invoicing since 2019, and Romania introduced mandatory B2B e-invoicing in 2024.

While Ireland, along with Cyprus and Malta, has made the least progress.

In Ireland, in terms of B2G, while public-sector bodies can send and receive e-invoices, suppliers are not required to issue them.

Further aims of ViDA

The implementation of e-invoicing and real-time reporting is the first pillar in terms of the broader implementation of ViDA.

Pillar 2 will focus on updating VAT rules for companies that sell services via marketplaces/platforms, with the aim of levelling the playing field between platforms and traditional providers in the short-term accommodation rental and ride-hailing sectors.

Currently, many online providers do not pay VAT.

In addition, a person renting out their apartment or drivers are not always required to register for VAT or are often unaware of their obligations.

Under the new rules, the platform will be responsible for collecting and remitting the VAT.

Pillar 3 will enable single VAT registration across EU member states rather than one per country.

The use of One-Stop Shop (OSS) has already reduced the need for businesses to register for VAT in other member states.

However, there are still some gaps. ViDA seeks to close these gaps with Single VAT Registration.

It will also extend OSS to cover B2C (Business-to-Consumer) sales and the reverse charge mechanism for B2B sales (this is a simplification measure by which the buyer accounts for the VAT, rather than the seller).

Essentially, with ViDA, companies will no longer need to hold multiple costly VAT registrations.

Instead, they can report and pay VAT for all EU sales in one place, via a single online portal, and in one language.

What can business do now

While the first phase of ViDA for Irish businesses is still a few years away, you should start preparing now.

Below are some key actions that your business can do now:

• Assign an internal ViDA working group
• Map your invoicing flows – where date originates, who touches it and how it is validated
• Clean your core data in terms of VAT numbers, tax codes, legal names etc
• Train your finance, sales and IT staff on the new processes, roles and exception handling
• Run a pilot with a few B2B domestic customers/suppliers to test end-to-end exchange and reporting
• Keep track of Revenue updates

In terms of your IT system:

• Speak to your software provider about its ViDA upgrade roadmap
• Confirm whether your system can generate structured invoices in the EN16931 format
• Confirm whether your system can communicate with Revenue’s APIs for real-time reporting

Final thoughts

E-invoicing and real-time reporting represents a major shift from periodic VAT returns and will significantly reshape VAT compliance for businesses operating in Ireland and across the EU.

In the long run, the shift should reduce costs, minimise fraud, and provide Irish businesses with a more streamlined operating model for cross-border EU trade.

However, until there is full harmonisation, businesses should continue to keep track of the varying local e-invoicing and reporting rules across member states.

Crucially, early preparation will be essential to avoid disruption. And your IT partner will be central to making the transition seamless.

Discover how invoicing software can help you stay organised, get paid faster, and focus on growing your business.