E-Invoicing in United Kingdom

Mandatory Electronic Invoicing in the United Kingdom

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The UK is on the Road to E‑invoicing

Though there is no e-invoicing obligation in the UK except for the National Health Service (NHS), the British government encourages businesses to send, receive, and process e-invoices when making B2G transactions.

The 2015 Small Business, Enterprise, and Employment Act gives ministers the power to regulate the use of electronic invoicing in the field of public procurement in England. This does not apply, however, to Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, which have their own regulations. Also, there is no single or central governmental platform for e-invoicing applicable to the whole UK territory, but there are such solutions in Wales and Scotland. Solutions delivered by a third-party service provider are used based on a 'three-corner' model, where contracting authorities and economic operators use a common platform, supported as required by interoperability agreements with other service providers.

On November 26, 2025, the UK government published Budget 2025, confirming a major step toward digitalising tax administration. As part of a broader investment in HMRC, the government confirmed that e-invoicing will be mandatory for all VAT invoices (B2B and B2G) from April 2029.

On October 28, 2026, HMRC and the Department for Business and Trade published the Roadmap for E-Invoicing Implementation. The UK will rely on a decentralized model built on Peppol: businesses will exchange e-invoices through certified Peppol Access Points without routing invoices through a government platform. Technical standards and Access Point certification requirements are still to be defined, with a public consultation expected in Spring 2027.

Implementation Timeline

  • October 2024 – E-invoicing consultation.
  • February 2025 – Public consultation for businesses, trade associations, and tech vendors.
  • November 2025 – Announcement of the proposed regime at the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Budget.
  • November 2026 – Detailed roadmap and system concept in the Budget 2026 announcement.
  • October 28, 2026 – Implementation roadmap published at Budget 2026; consultation on possible e-invoicing digital reporting launched (closes January 20, 2027).
  • Spring 2027 – Technical consultation on UK standards and Access Point certification; primary legislation expected through Finance Bill 2026.
  • October 2027–April 2028 – Final requirements published, including scope, exemptions, technical standards and business identifiers.
  • April 1, 2029 – Mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT invoices (B2B and B2G) via Peppol.

Who Is Obligated to Use E‑Invoicing in the UK

Electronic invoicing is not yet mandatory at either the B2G or B2B level. However, from April 1, 2029, all VAT-registered persons, including public sector bodies and non-established taxable persons, must be able to issue and receive e-invoices, with no phasing by company size. Contracting public authorities need to be able to receive and process e-invoices if their suppliers want to do so. One exception in this regard applies only to the healthcare sector, where e-invoicing to the National Health Service (NHS) is mandatory.

Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTD)

Making Tax Digital (MTD) was introduced in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2019, and is a kind of digital tax system. MTD introduces the obligation to conduct tax settlements via online services. MTD for VAT initially applied to businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold. Since April 1, 2022, it applies to all VAT-registered businesses in the UK, regardless of turnover. The planned e-invoicing mandate builds on MTD, as most VAT-registered businesses already use MTD-compatible software.

What is the Required Format of an E-Invoice

  • Until March 2029: Flexible (PDF, XML, EDIFACT).
  • From April 2029: Mandatory structured e-invoices exchanged via Peppol. UK standards will build on international standards and are due to be finalized between October 2027 and April 2028. PDFs, scanned images and ordinary email attachments will not qualify.
  • Specific sectors: NHS transactions must continue to use the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 standard.

Archiving Requirements for E‑Invoicing in the United Kingdom

The required storage period is 6 years after the end of the accounting year.

How Integrity and Authenticity May Be Ensured?

In terms of integrity and authenticity, the following, mentioned in the Public Notice, are accepted, among others: advanced electronic signature, qualified electronic signature and EDI.

Acts / Government sites

How We Can Help

Comarch is awaiting the Budget 2026 e-Invoicing roadmap announcement and plans to offer our own solution to support the envisioned e-Invoicing regulations.

As a global Peppol Access Point provider, we are ready to support your transition to the 4-corner model well ahead of the 2029 deadline, ensuring your systems are prepared for the technical standards to be finalized in late 2026.

Why is Comarch the best choice?

We have 20+ years of experience in carrying out various EDI, e-invoicing, and other document exchange projects around the world. In those years, we have successfully connected more than 130,000 entities from over 60 countries.

  • 1. Legal compliance

    Full compliance with the latest data exchange regulations and modern data transfer standards

  • 2. Digitization

    Applying new technologies and IT solutions in order to streamline workflows and automate activities and procedures

  • 3. Individual approach

    Tailor-made solutions based on processes specific to each company – own road map and a suitable pace of changes

  • 4.Security

    Highest level of security for all sensitive and important company data

    Read more about Comarch e-invoicing

    Legal regulation changes in United Kingdom

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