ViDA stands for “VAT in the Digital Age”. It is a package of EU legislation that the European Commission designed to make the VAT system fit for a digital economy. For businesses that trade across borders within the EU, one part matters most: e-invoicing becomes the norm for cross-border B2B transactions, together with digital reporting to tax authorities. This page explains what ViDA covers, what it sets out for invoices between EU Member States and how you can prepare.
What is ViDA? The three pillars
The European Commission presented the ViDA proposal in December 2022. The EU Member States formally approved it in 2025. The package amends the existing EU VAT rules and rests on three pillars.
Digital reporting requirements and e-invoicing
The platform economy
Single VAT Registration
What does ViDA set out for cross-border invoices within the EU?
The core of ViDA for your invoicing is this: for cross-border B2B transactions within the EU, the structured e-invoice becomes the norm. A PDF sent by email is then no longer enough. Data from those e-invoices is linked to digital reporting to tax authorities.
The directive provides that this obligation for cross-border B2B transactions is to apply from 2030 (source: EUR-Lex, directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC). Older publications sometimes mention 2028; that does not appear in the adopted text.
ViDA sets a framework for the EU as a whole. For e-invoices, that framework is based on the European standard EN 16931, which defines what data an e-invoice must contain and how it is structured. You can read more in What is EN 16931. At the same time, the directive leaves Member States room to decide on national implementation. Member States may also introduce their own national obligations that go further than ViDA or apply earlier, for example for domestic B2B invoices. The exact rules can therefore differ from country to country.
Peppol is an international network for exchanging structured e-invoices based on EN 16931. That makes it a logical infrastructure for businesses preparing for the requirements of ViDA.
What this means for you as a business
If you do business across borders within the EU, e-invoicing will become the norm for those transactions. You can prepare step by step:
Check your invoicing software
Can your software send and receive structured e-invoices, for example through Peppol? A PDF invoice is not a structured e-invoice.
Ask about the approach to digital reporting
Ask your Peppol Service Provider or your accounting software vendor how they handle the digital reporting that ViDA requires.
Map your cross-border flows
Find out which customers and suppliers in other EU Member States you invoice or receive invoices from. Then you know where the obligation affects you.
Follow national legislation
Keep track of the rules in the countries where you operate. National obligations may apply earlier or go further than ViDA. You can find up-to-date news with country-specific dates on this site.
Look at the bigger picture
The page Mandatory e-invoicing explains how to approach mandatory e-invoicing in general.
Ready for e-invoicing through Peppol?
Not sure whether your current solution is ready for e-invoicing through Peppol? The comparison tool shows which Peppol Service Providers suit your situation.
Compare on peppol.nuWhat this means for software vendors
For software vendors, ViDA has a direct impact on the product roadmap. Sending and receiving structured e-invoices based on EN 16931 becomes a basic requirement for customers who trade across borders. Functionality for digital reporting of transaction data is also needed. Because Member States have room for their own national implementation, a flexible architecture that can support several reporting models is an advantage. A Peppol connection, either your own or through a Peppol Service Provider, gives you an internationally usable foundation for exchanging e-invoices.
What this means for public sector organisations
For public sector organisations there are two sides. Tax authorities need systems to receive and process digital reporting data and to exchange it with other Member States. Organisations that receive invoices themselves, such as ministries, municipalities and other public bodies, need to align their receiving processes with structured e-invoices, including those from suppliers in other EU Member States. Many public authorities in Europe already receive e-invoices through Peppol. That is a solid starting point for aligning further with ViDA.
From ViDA to your next step
ViDA sets the European direction: structured e-invoicing and digital reporting become the standard for cross-border trade. Next, read the page Mandatory e-invoicing for the broader approach. Want to know which solution fits your organisation? Compare Peppol Service Providers in the comparison tool on peppol.nu.
