Types of Electronic Invoices in Belgium: B2B, B2G, B2C, Formats & Compliance

In Belgium, e-invoicing is regulated under EU Directive 2014/55/EU requiring the use of structured, machine-readable formats, such as UBL or CII] for all B2B and B2G transactions. While digital formats like PDFs are widely used, they do not qualify as e-invoices under this directive due to their lack of structured data. To ensure compliance and automation, businesses must distinguish between human-readable formats and legally recognised structured e-invoices.

Starting 1 January 2026, Belgium will mandate structured e-invoicing for B2B transactions. Non-compliance may lead to administrative penalties, disqualification of VAT deduction rights, and invalidation of invoices for tax purposes. Choosing the correct invoice format is therefore essential, not only for legal compliance but also to streamline accounting and enable end-to-end automation.

What Is an Electronic Invoice in Belgium?

A Belgian electronic invoice is an invoice issued, dispatched, and received electronically in a standard form that can be processed automatically and electronically without human intervention. According to Directive 2014/55/EU, the standard form guarantees interoperability with ERP and accounting software, being efficient and eliminating errors.

In contrast to visual digital bills (e.g. PDFs), electronic invoices are required to meet standardised formats like EN 16931, UBL, or CII. These formats are mandatory for public sector procurements and are typically used by private companies seeking to automate processes and meet regulatory requirements in Belgium's e-invoicing regime.

Types of Digital Invoices in Belgium

Belgium has the harmonised European electronic invoicing model, whereby only structured and machine-readable invoices are accepted for official and commercial purposes. This will allow for smooth automation between financial systems as well as support the European e-invoicing standard.

Rather than following traditional digital papers such as PDFs, these bills are built to enable complete system processing and integration. Depending upon how automated and readable they are, electronic bills in Belgium are categorised into certain classes, with some being reserved for manual reading purposes and the others being optimised for automated operations.

Below are the most common types of e-invoices in Belgium:

Visual Digital Invoices (Human-Readable, Not System-Processable)

These invoices are intended primarily for manual processing. While they are in electronic form, their layout is not intended to permit automatic data capture or import into accounting systems.

• PDF (.pdf): Used most frequently in email, but does not have embedded structured data. While technically an XML-based format, its presentation is intended for visual viewing and not automation.
• Image Files (.jpg, .png, .gif, .tif): Most often scanned documents have them; image-only and not directly convertible to system-level processing unless with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software.

Unstructured Data Formats (Minimal Automation Capability)

These digital forms contain data, but not in an accurately retrievable form for accounting systems without additional configuration or involvement.

• Spreadsheets (.xls) and Word Documents (.doc): Can contain tables and values, but not in a structured form, thus they are incompatible with automated systems.
• HTML Files: Employed in email-generated invoices or web-based billing systems, but typically lack structured encoding for automation.

Structured Data Invoices (eInvoices – System-Processable)

This is the essence of electronic invoicing in accordance with Directive 2014/55/EU. These invoices are provided in structured, standardised computer-readable data formats without any human intervention.

Standardised Structured Formats:

• These are EN 16931 compliant and share schemas with common usage like: UBL (Universal Business Language), CII (Cross Industry Invoice), EDIFACT.
• Invoices generated using these templates are ideally compatible with public procurement websites and ERP solutions. They are designed to support high levels of automation, which makes validation, matching, booking, and archiving smooth.
• Un-standardised Structured Formats: Internal or proprietary data files used within private systems. While structured, they do not follow publicly shared specifications and may face integration issues across systems.

Benefits of Using Electronic Invoicing

Electronic invoicing does a lot more than paper substitution; it's about faster, smarter, and cheaper invoicing. Businesses can eliminate a lot of manual effort and improve accuracy at the billing stage by using structured data formats that enable automation.

The following are the most important advantages of electronic invoicing:

• Cost Savings: Reduces printing, postage, and storage costs and cuts administrative overhead.
• Accelerated Processing: Facilitates faster payment and approval cycles by automating data entry, validation, and matching.
• Reduced Errors: Reduces manual entry and prevents duplication, errors in entries, and non-payment.
• Improved Cash Flow: Accelerates the invoicing and payment process, resulting in improved liquidity and budgeting.
• Regulatory Compliance: Adheres to EU standards such as EN 16931 for easier compliance with public procurement regulations.
• Environmentally Friendly: Streamlines paper usage and carbon footprint by electronically processing the entire billing process.
• Increased Transparency and Tracking: Provides real-time updates of status, audit trails, and recovery ease of archived invoices.

Conclusion

Belgium’s e-invoicing system distinguishes between visual digital invoices (like PDFs) meant for manual processing and structured electronic invoices (such as UBL or CII) that comply with EU Directive 2014/55/EU. From 1 January 2026, all B2B transactions must use structured, machine-readable formats to ensure legal compliance, automation, and seamless integration with accounting software. Using unstructured formats (PDFs, images, spreadsheets) will not meet regulatory requirements and may risk penalties or VAT deduction disqualification.

Structured e-invoices, built on standards like EN 16931, enable cost savings, faster payment cycles, fewer errors, and easier regulatory compliance. As Belgium transitions to mandatory structured e-invoicing, businesses must adopt accepted e-invoice formats.