ViDA explained: VAT in the Digital Age timeline and what to do before 2030

Updated 22 October 2026. This article was first published after the political agreement in November 2024. It now reflects the adopted legal text.

The EU adopted the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package on 11 March 2025. It consists of Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, Council Regulation (EU) 2025/517, and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/518, and it entered into force on 14 April 2025. ViDA modernizes EU VAT in three areas: e-invoicing and digital reporting, the platform economy, and single VAT registration. The measures apply in stages until 2035.

In 2020, the VAT gap, the difference between expected and collected VAT, was estimated at EUR 93 billion in the EU. A significant part comes from fraud in cross-border trade, in particular missing trader intra-Community fraud, estimated at EUR 40 to 60 billion (Directive (EU) 2025/516, recital 3). ViDA replaces fragmented national reporting systems with common digital reporting based on e-invoices, so tax administrations can cross-match transaction data and detect fraud earlier.

From 1 July 2030, invoices are issued as e-invoices by default. Under the new definition, an e-invoice is issued, transmitted, and received in a structured electronic format that allows automated processing. A PDF sent by email no longer qualifies. E-invoices must comply with the European standard EN 16931, although member states may allow other standards for domestic supplies.

For cross-border B2B supplies within the EU, the invoice data is reported to the tax authority transaction by transaction, no later than when the invoice is issued. For cross-border invoices, this also means:

ViDA sets the legal requirements, not the technology. Peppol already provides an established network for exchanging EN 16931 e-invoices between service providers across borders, and Belgium, for example, uses it for its domestic mandate. Digital reporting to tax authorities is not yet part of the network. OpenPeppol has set up a ViDA pilot to test how service providers can report the tax data.

ViDA’s digital reporting is a form of continuous transaction controls (CTC). Italy, Poland, Hungary, and several other countries already run national CTC systems, and those that had real-time reporting in place before 2024 must align with the EU model by 1 January 2035. Read more in What is CTC? Continuous transaction controls and the five-corner model explained.

Since April 2025, member states can introduce domestic B2B e-invoicing without first getting authorization from the EU Council. Germany has required businesses to receive e-invoices since January 2025, Belgium introduced its mandate in January 2026, and France started in September 2026. In Sweden, a government inquiry into mandatory e-invoicing and transaction-based reporting will report by 30 November 2027. See our complete list of Peppol mandates and e-invoicing compliance by country.

Platforms that facilitate short-term accommodation rental (up to 30 nights) or passenger transport by road become the deemed supplier when the underlying provider does not charge VAT, for example because it is not VAT registered. Member states apply the rule from 1 July 2028 at the earliest and from 1 January 2030 at the latest, and they may exclude providers that use the special scheme for small enterprises.

To reduce the need to register for VAT in several countries, ViDA extends the One-Stop-Shop to more B2C supplies, adds a new scheme for transfers of own goods, and phases out call-off stock arrangements. No new call-off stock arrangements can start after 30 June 2028. From 1 July 2028, reverse charge is also mandatory when a supplier that is not established or VAT-identified in the member state sells to a customer already VAT-identified there.

Qvalia is a certified Peppol Access Point. Invoices are exchanged in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, which is based on EN 16931, and validated before delivery. If your system produces another format, such as CII or XRechnung, Qvalia can take it in and deliver it on Peppol. See how to send e-invoices in the format your system already produces and Qvalia’s Peppol and e-invoicing country coverage.

For a short summary, read What is ViDA? in our knowledge base. Sources: Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 and the European Commission’s ViDA page.

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