Summary

• B2G mandate: Yes, Finland has a Business-to-Government (B2G) eInvoicing mandate. Since 1 April 2019, all central government bodies are required to receive and process structured eInvoices compliant with the European standard EN 16931, as mandated by the national eInvoicing Act 241/2019. The law also extends to contracts above national thresholds.
• B2B and B2C mandates: There are no mandatory Business-to-Business (B2B) or Business-to-Consumer (B2C) eInvoicing requirements. However, under the eInvoicing Act 241/2019, companies with an annual turnover exceeding EUR 10,000 are entitled to request eInvoices from their suppliers.
• eInvoicing standard: The European eInvoicing standard (EN 16931) has been adopted in Finland by public authorities. All public contracting authorities in Finland are required to accept and process electronic invoices that comply with the European Standard for eInvoicing for all public procurement contracts above national.
• Operating model for B2G eInvoicing: eInvoices are centrally processed by the Finnish Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR. Public authorities receive eInvoices through a network of eInvoice operators or via two free platforms provided by the Finnish Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR, including the Handi service and the Basware Supplier Portal.
• Use of CIUS and Extensions: Finland applies a national Core Invoice Usage Specification (CIUS) tailored to government VAT requirements. This CIUS is publicly available through the State Treasury’s website.
• VAT Real-time reporting system: No real-time reporting system for eInvoicing is available.
• Monitoring mechanism: Finland has a mechanism to monitor eInvoicing.

Highlights 

Finnish legislation requires all public bodies to process exclusively EN-compliant eInvoices as part of broader efforts to streamline public procurement and administrative processes. The Finnish government participates in regional initiatives, such as the Nordic Smart Government project, to enhance the interoperability of financial reporting across Scandinavian countries.

Legislation 

B2G 

Electronic invoicing is mandatory for all Business-to-Government (B2G) transactions in Finland. Since 1 April 2019, all central government bodies have been required to receive and process eInvoices compliant with the European Standard (EN 16931), in line with the eInvoicing Act 241/2019 and the European Directive 2014/55/EU. 

However, Finnish law extends the scope of Directive 2014/55/EU by applying the mandate to contracts above national thresholds but below EU thresholds and Granting contracting entities and traders the right to request EN-compliant eInvoices from other contracting entities or traders.

B2B 

There is no business-to-business (B2B) mandate.

However, under the eInvoicing Act 241/2019, companies with an annual turnover exceeding EUR 10,000 are entitled to request EN-compliant eInvoices from their suppliers.

B2C 

There is no business-to-consumer (B2C) mandate.

Status on the implementation of the European eInvoicing standard 

The European standard EN 16931 has been adopted by contracting authorities. The most frequently syntax^[2] used when exchanging eInvoicing is XML. The operators have the possibility to either use format defined by the European standard such as UBL 2.1 and Cross-Industry Invoice (CII)^[3] or national formats such as Finvoice 3.0 and TEAPPSXML 3.0 (provided their compliance with the European Standard) or Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.

These formats ensure that invoices are machine-readable, interoperable, and accepted by public procurement platforms.

Mandatory fields such as invoice number and date must be completed in accordance with VAT invoice requirements. European standard codes must be included unless otherwise agreed bilaterally between trading partners. Consolidated eInvoices are not permitted.

Operating model for eInvoicing

Finland operates a centralized model for B2G eInvoicing. Public authorities at central, regional, and local levels receive eInvoices through a network of eInvoice operators or for central government, via two free platforms provided by the Finnish Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR:

• The Handi service which allows suppliers to produce and send eInvoices directly to government entities.
• The Basware Supplier Portal which requires suppliers to register and be approved by public contracting authorities. It supports both Finnish and foreign suppliers and stores submitted eInvoices for up to three months.

The eInvoices sent to the government are centrally processed at the Finnish Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR. Today, most of the EN-compliant eInvoice processing and payments are done automatically by software automation, software robots and AI. The Finnish government has also started to implement electronic receipts (e-Receipt) for both businesses (and consumers), called eKuitti in Finland and is expected to go live in 2025.

Use of Core Invoicing Usage Specifications (CIUS) at national level  

Finland applies a national Core Invoice Usage Specification (CIUS) tailored to government VAT requirements. The CIUS is designed to ensure that eInvoices meet the specific business and fiscal needs of public authorities. It is publicly available through the State Treasury’s website.

VAT Real-Time reporting system

Currently there is no real-time reporting system in Finland.

Monitoring mechanism

The Finnish government has established a monitoring mechanism to track the uptake of eInvoicing across public bodies. This includes monthly reporting on the total number of electronic invoices submitted to public sector entities. According to the latest available data (May 2023), 99% of invoices sent to public buyers were submitted electronically. 

Next steps 

While B2B eInvoicing is not obligatory in Finland, its popularity and advantages for businesses are on the rise. B2B companies with an annual turnover exceeding EUR 10 000 are entitled to request eInvoices from their suppliers, in line with the Finnish eInvoicing Act 241/2019. By 2028, the Finnish government plans to begin preparations for implementing electronic invoicing for intra-EU transactions.

[1] The European Standard on EU law sets minimum harmonised rules for tenders whose monetary value exceeds a certain amount and which are presumed to be of cross-border interest. More information can be found via: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement/legal-rules-and-implementation/thresholds_en [2] The information defined in the semantic data model of the eInvoicing standard, documented in the eInvoicing standard, must be carried in an electronic message that may be transferred from one computer to another. The semantic eInvoicing standard does not define the structure of the electronic message. The message structure is called syntax. [3] CII is a structured XML format developed by UN/CEFACT (United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business).

Last updated:  Aug 14, 2025 17:12