Dutch Cabinet Formally Backs 2030 E-Invoicing Mandate in Contourenbrief
The Dutch cabinet set out its formal policy position on 11 September 2026 in a letter to parliament: mandatory structured e-invoicing for B2B transactions from 1 July 2030, with digital VAT reporting phased in from the same date for intra-EU transactions and a year later for domestic ones.
On 11 September 2026, State Secretary of Finance Eelco Eerenberg sent the "Contourenbrief elektronisch factureren en rapporteren" (outline letter on electronic invoicing and reporting) to the Tweede Kamer, setting out the Dutch cabinet's formal policy position on domestic B2B e-invoicing for the first time. This moves the Netherlands from the advisory stage — a third-party policy analysis submitted to parliament in March 2026 had merely recommended a framework — to an actual cabinet decision.
What the Cabinet Has Decided
- 1 July 2030: Structured e-invoicing becomes mandatory for B2B transactions, covering both domestic and intra-Community supplies between businesses.
- 1 July 2030: Per-transaction digital reporting to the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax authority) becomes mandatory for intra-Community transactions, aligning with the EU's ViDA Digital Reporting Requirements which take effect on the same date.
- 1 July 2031: The digital reporting obligation extends to domestic B2B transactions — one year after the intra-EU reporting start date.
- Small business exemption: Entrepreneurs using the Kleineondernemersregeling (KOR, the Dutch small business VAT scheme), with annual turnover up to €20,000, are exempt from the domestic e-invoicing and reporting requirements.
The chosen approach places the invoicing and reporting obligation primarily on the seller side of a transaction, and is built around Peppol as the exchange network with EN 16931-compliant structured formats — consistent with the direction already signaled in the March 2026 advisory report.
What Happens Next
Nothing is law yet. The cabinet's letter sets policy direction, not legislation. A public consultation on the draft implementing legislation is expected to open in late 2026, with the draft bill itself targeted for submission before parliament's mid-2027 summer recess, and formal parliamentary approval sought before 1 July 2028 — two years ahead of the mandate's 1 July 2030 start date.
Source
Rijksoverheid, "Kabinet kiest voor invoering e-facturatie en rapportage voor bedrijven", 11 September 2026: rijksoverheid.nl.
