Overview

From early 2026 onward, a series of European Union member states will require electronic invoices for B2B transactions, tying the invoicing process directly to VAT reporting. The staggered rollout creates multiple deadlines that sellers on Amazon’s European marketplaces must meet to avoid fines and cash‑flow disruptions.

Key Points

• Staggered roll‑out — Each country sets its own go‑live date, meaning a seller operating in Germany, France and Poland must track three separate compliance calendars.
• B2B focus – The first wave targets invoices issued to other businesses, such as wholesale orders or marketplace‑facilitated sales, while consumer‑facing invoices remain exempt for now.
• VAT linkage – Tax authorities will validate the invoice data against the seller’s VAT return, making any mismatch a trigger for penalties.
• Diverse technical standards – Nations may demand different XML schemas, JSON structures or transmission gateways, so a single file format will not satisfy every market.
• Amazon’s tool updates – Amazon plans to embed basic e‑invoice formatting into its seller‑center, but the ultimate responsibility for meeting each country’s specifications stays with the seller.

How the New E‑Invoicing Mandates Operate

1. Data standardisation – Sellers must generate invoices that follow the EU‑wide EN 16931 schema or the country‑specific equivalent. For example, a French‑based seller shipping to a German business must produce an XML file that includes the German VAT identification number, the French seller’s VAT ID, and the line‑item details in the exact tag order prescribed by Germany’s upcoming e‑invoice gateway.
2. Transmission to national platforms – Once the structured file is created, it is sent to the designated national hub. In Poland, the invoice is uploaded to the KSeF portal via an API call; in Italy, the same file is forwarded to the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) using a certified web service. Failure to use the correct channel results in the invoice being rejected at the tax authority level.