ViDA, or VAT in the Digital Age, is an EU VAT reform that makes cross-border B2B invoicing structured and automated. Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, which entered into force on 14 April 2025, stipulates that the rules on cross-border digital reporting and e-invoicing must be implemented from 1 July 2030. The deadline applies to VAT payers who make intra-Community supplies of goods, acquisitions or reverse charge services to a business in another Member State. This does not automatically cover all invoices. Until then, ViDA will not force Estonian small businesses to change their PDF invoice sending overnight, but it is worth getting the invoice data in order earlier, as there will be no time for this in 2030.

Who is subject to the July 1, 2030 requirement?

The requirement concerns specific types of transactions, not the entire billing cycle. Text of the directive lists intra-Community supplies and acquisitions of goods and taxable reverse charge transactions of goods and services. Reverse charge is a procedure where VAT is calculated and declared by the buyer, not the seller. Domestic invoices to Estonian customers and normal B2C sales do not fall under this specific deadline. There is no exemption threshold based on small business turnover here – ViDA final text links applicability to the type of transaction and the VAT liability of the parties, not to the size of the company.

What to do in 2026 and what will change in 2030?

The three deadlines are not the same thing and are often confused. Directive 2025/516 entered into force April 14, 2025. From that point on, member states can start preparing for mandatory national e-invoicing, but the EU cross-border core obligation will start separately, July 1, 2030. Latvia is ahead of the EU average here: B2B transactions must be formalized as e-invoices and transmitted to VID from January 1, 2028, in 2026–2027, the submission of data will be voluntary. In Estonia, an accounting entity will be able to from July 1, 2025, have yourself registered in the commercial register as an e-invoice recipient and then demand an e-invoice for payment. This is currently a right, not a general obligation for everyone.

Why doesn't the PDF invoice meet ViDA requirements?

The PDF sent via email looks like an invoice, but According to ViDA, an e-invoice must be issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format., which allows for automatic processing of data. A human-readable PDF does not meet this requirement. Invoices subject to cross-border reporting obligations must comply with the European e-Invoicing standard EN 16931, which describes a unified semantic model of invoice data, or an agreement on which fields and in what format an invoice contains. Peppol is a common network for securely transmitting this data, but ViDA itself does not explicitly require the use of Peppol. It is one of the working paths, not the only official requirement.

ViDA Invoice Data Checklist for Small Business

Data composition listed in the directive depends on the transaction type, but in most cases these fields are repeated:

  • Invoice number: According to § 37(7)(1) of the VAT Act The invoice must include the serial number and date of issue; the law does not explicitly stipulate uninterrupted numbering.
  • Dates: the date of issue of the invoice and the date of the transaction (turnover).
  • Parties: the name of the seller and buyer and the VAT number of each.
  • Description of the goods or services: content and quantity.
  • Taxable value: the amount on which VAT is calculated.
  • Tax treatment: tax exemption or reverse charge reference.
  • Amending invoice reference: which original invoice the credit note applies to.
  • Payment account ID: where the payment is made.

As simple as this list may seem, this is where most small businesses are missing. VAT numbers are out of date, invoice numbers are broken off with a new table every month, and the credit note has no reference to the original invoice.

How to make the invoicing process reliable?

Instead of month-end crafts, it's worth setting up a permanent workflow:

  • VAT number check: made before the invoice is issued, not after.
  • Invoice number sequence: one locked logic all year, not starting over every month.
  • Credit note connection: Each correction invoice refers to a specific original invoice.
  • Structured file maintained: A machine-readable format of the invoice (e.g. XML), not just a PDF copy.
  • Responsibility in place: If invoices are sent by an operator or software on your behalf, it is clear who is responsible for the accuracy of the data.

Example: 1,200-euro service invoice from an Estonian company to a Latvian client

An Estonian consulting company sells a service to a Latvian VAT registered client for 1,200 euros. This is a reverse charge cross-border transaction, where the Latvian client calculates the VAT. From From July 1, 2030, such an invoice must be issued no later than 10 days after the turnover occurs., in case of advance payment, 10 days after receipt of the advance payment. The seller shall submit the data to the tax authority at the time of issuing the invoice; the buyer generally has until five days after receipt of invoice, although a Member State may waive this obligation of the buyer for some transactions. The Estonian technical channel through which the seller will actually transmit this data to the tax authorities in 2030 has not yet been officially published and cannot be mentioned until confirmed.

Baltic States Action Plan: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

In Estonia take advantage of the fact that the accounting entity can from July 1, 2025, have yourself registered in the commercial register as an e-invoice recipient and an invoice that complies with the requirements of EN 16931-1 is already assumed to be compliant. In Latvia there is a clearer timetable: B2B e-invoices and their submission to VID will become mandatory on January 1, 2028, before that, data can be provided voluntarily. In Lithuania offered by the tax authority e-invoice issuance and receipt service in the i.SAF subsystem, but the general domestic B2B obligation arising from ViDA has not yet been established there. In the meantime, there is time to get the source data, VAT numbers and invoice number logic in place before 2030.

FAQ

Who is subject to the ViDA 2030 requirement?

The requirement applies to intra-Community supplies, acquisitions and reverse charge transactions. Domestic invoices and B2C sales are not covered by this deadline.

Why doesn't the PDF invoice meet ViDA requirements?

ViDA requires a structured electronic format (EN 16931) that allows for automatic processing of data. PDF is not machine-readable and does not meet the requirements.

What must the bill contain from 2030?

The invoice must include the invoice number, dates, parties and their VAT numbers, description of the goods/services, taxable value, tax treatment, correction invoice reference, and payment account identifier.