eInvoicing Documentation
eInvoicing in Estonia
Legislation
Starting from 1st July 2025, sellers will be obliged to provide an eInvoice if the buyer is publicly registered as an e-invoice recipient in the Commercial Register. In that case, and if no other format has been agreed upon between the parties, the European eInvoicing standard (EU EN16931) should be used by default, giving the latter a more preferable legal status. However, Estonia will neither prohibit the use of any existing eInvoice format (Estonian standard, a national XML-based standard) nor hinder the introduction of new ones. Instead, e-invoicing is treated as a work-in-progress, evolving (eco-)system, kept open for new emerging solutions in the future.
If adopted, starting 1 January 2025 sellers will be obliged to provide an eInvoice if a buyer requests it. In that case and if no other format has been agreed upon between he parties, the European eInvoicing standard (EU EN16931) will be used by default. However, the Head of the Financial Information Policy Department underscored that Estonia will neither prohibit the use of any existing eInvoice format (Estonian standard, a national XML-based standard) nor hinder the introduction of new ones.
Estonia’s approach to processing eInvoices is decentralised whereby contracting authorities within the public sector receive eInvoices individually and not via a central platform. Consequently, several private service providers offer eInvoicing exchange services. Estonia’s private sector eInvoicing service providers include: Billberry, E-arveldaja, Finbite, Telema, Unifiedpost.
All of them are linked by means of mutual agreements (the so-called roaming agreements), which allow for eInvoices to be sent from an accounting software or enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution of one operator to the software of the other operator. Additionally, a connection to Peppol is developed to simplify communication between eInvoice operators and to create more opportunities for companies for cross-border exchange of eInvoices[1].
The Estonian government does not mandate nor recommend any eInvoicing service providers and economic operators are free to choose their eInvoicing solutions. All entities invoicing electronically are registered in the RIK, which manages all information to transmit eInvoices to the registered companies and institutions[2].
Approach for receiving and processing
Economic operators must have an accounting software or ERP in place to generate eInvoices or can alternatively outsource the generation of eInvoices to different software providers.
The eInvoicing service providers mentioned above also provide eInvoicing management services including the creation of eInvoices. Economic operators are free to contract other private or public software providers such as Merit Tarkvara or the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK).
No electronic signature is needed for eInvoices and the archiving period for eInvoices amounts to seven years. While archiving abroad is allowed, it is conditional on a possible fast submission of eInvoices to the tax authority.
Digital reporting requirements
Estonia has introduced the obligation to report VAT transactional data by filling in the appendix to the VAT return (the KMD INF form). The obligation to submit the appendix to the VAT return applies to all taxable entities registered in Estonia for VAT, including non-resident businesses.
The scope of requirements is as follows:
- Transactions subject to standard or reduced VAT (except invoices issued under the special scheme), when the total amount of invoices per transaction partner in the taxable period is at least EUR 1 000, exclusive of VAT.
- B2B and B2G.
- Sales and purchases.
- Domestic transactions.
The reporting frequency is monthly or quarterly (i.e. the frequency of the VAT return). Information must be reported on a transaction-by-transaction basis since January 2016. The invoice information to be submitted include the following: Invoice date, Invoice number, Tax rate, Taxable amount, Total amount (in purchases list only), VAT amount payable (in purchases list only), Trading partner name.
Data can be submitted: (i) by entering data manually or uploading files in the XML or CVS format on the tax authority portal; (ii) via X-Road by means of machine-to-machine interface; and (iii) exceptionally, on paper[2].
Additional information
More info may be found at the Ministry of Finance.
[1] (E-invoice specification Estonia, 2021), [2] (VAT in the Digital Age Report, 2022),
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Last updated: Oct 21, 2024 16:23