Belgium e-invoicing in 2026: the Peppol mandate and where Guliel stands
Since 1 January 2026, VAT-registered businesses established in Belgium must issue and receive structured electronic invoices for their domestic B2B sales, by default in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 over the Peppol network. A PDF sent by email no longer meets the obligation for those sales. Guliel is accounting and finance-operations software that runs invoicing, expenses, purchasing, payroll, reporting and a double-entry general ledger on one engine. Belgium is not one of the 39 countries Guliel supports as an organisation's home country, and Guliel does not produce Peppol e-invoices today.
Where Guliel stands (October 2026). Documents are PDF today. Guliel's own Peppol access point is built and awaiting OpenPeppol certification; it is not yet connected to the app, and producing Peppol BIS Billing files is planned. A business in a supported country, such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg or Germany, can bill Belgian customers from Guliel today with an EU VAT invoice in PDF.
The mandate in short
| Rule | |
|---|---|
| In force since | 1 January 2026 |
| Who must comply | VAT-registered businesses established in Belgium, including through a Belgian fixed establishment, for sales to other Belgian VAT-registered businesses |
| Default format | Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, built on the European standard EN 16931 |
| Default channel | The Peppol network, through a certified access point. Two parties can agree on another channel if the invoice still meets EN 16931 |
| Out of scope | Sales to consumers; suppliers not established in Belgium, even with a Belgian VAT number; businesses that make only VAT-exempt supplies |
| Authority | FPS Finance (FOD Financiën / SPF Finances). OpenPeppol governs the network |
| Fines | €1,500 for a first infringement, €3,000 for a second, €5,000 for each further one |
| Next step | E-reporting of invoice data to the tax administration, planned for 2028 |
These rules describe the law, not Guliel; check the current text with FPS Finance or your accountant. Under the EU's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package, adopted in 2025, B2B sales between member states move to structured e-invoices and digital reporting from July 2030. Until then, cross-border invoices follow the ordinary EU VAT invoicing rules.
How Peppol delivery works
Peppol uses a four-corner model:
- The supplier's software creates a structured invoice.
- The supplier's access point validates and sends it.
- The buyer's access point receives and validates it.
- The buyer's software reads it, with no retyping.
Neither party runs the network; each connects through a certified access point. The invoice content still comes from the supplier's software, so that software has to produce the Peppol BIS Billing file.
Which situation are you in?
You are established in Belgium. The mandate applies to your domestic B2B sales. Guliel cannot invoice those sales today: Belgium is not a supported home country, and Guliel does not produce Peppol files. Belgian home-country support is planned.
You are established in a supported country and sell to Belgian businesses. The Belgian mandate covers businesses established in Belgium, so it does not oblige you to send Peppol invoices unless you have a Belgian establishment. Your own country's rules apply. Guliel issues your EU VAT invoice as a PDF. Some Belgian buyers will ask for Peppol delivery anyway, and Guliel cannot send it today.
You buy from Belgian suppliers. Their invoices to a business outside Belgium need not use Peppol and may arrive as a PDF by email. Guliel captures bills from scans and from Gmail, Outlook, IMAP or POP3 inboxes, assigns a category from your own list, and holds each one for a person's approval before it reaches the ledger. Guliel does not receive Peppol invoices today.
What Guliel does today for a business billing Belgium
From an organisation in one of the 19 countries on the EU/EEA VAT format (17 EU member states plus Norway and Iceland):
- EU VAT invoices and credit notes as PDF, with a receipt when you record a payment. Your VAT ID prints in the header. Your customer's VAT ID prints in the bill-to block when it is stored on the customer record; a Belgian VAT number is BE followed by 10 digits.
- Numbering, checks and currencies. Numbers are allocated in sequence at issue, totals come from the line items, each issued document is checked against your country's rules, and a document in another currency stores its exchange rate.
- The ledger. Invoices, receipts and approved expenses post to a double-entry general ledger on a fixed chart of accounts. You get a trial balance, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow and general ledger report, manual journal entries that must balance, a books lock date set by a manager, and a CSV export of the ledger. Custom accounts in the chart are planned.
- Receivables and tax reports. AR aging, unpaid and overdue invoices, customer statements and a tax report by period, among 49 report definitions.
- Suppliers and purchasing. Purchase orders to EU suppliers, with each supplier invoice linked to the order it bills. A supplier you invite by email can accept with its own Guliel organisation; it then sees your purchase orders and invoices against them.
- Automations and AI. 14 automation triggers; the action is any API operation or an outbound webhook. Any MCP client, such as Claude or ChatGPT, connects through OAuth 2.1 and acts within your role and scopes. A built-in AI companion runs in the app.
What Guliel does not do today
- Peppol output. No Peppol BIS Billing or UBL files, and no sending or receiving on Peppol. If a Belgian buyer requires Peppol delivery, that invoice has to be issued through a Peppol-capable provider for now.
- Reverse charge. The document form has no reverse-charge option. When your organisation is VAT-registered, the form charges your home country's standard VAT rate; when it is not, 0%. The notes field prints on the PDF. Confirm the VAT treatment of each cross-border sale with your accountant before you issue.
- VAT returns and EC sales listings. Guliel does not file either. Its tax report gives your accountant the figures for the period; VAT return preparation is planned.
Planned, with no dates committed: Peppol BIS Billing output sent through Guliel's own access point once it is certified, with Singapore InvoiceNow first (/singapore); Belgium as a supported organisation country; GST and VAT return preparation.
Pricing
Per organisation, not per seat. Free is $0 with 200 invoices, 100 expense scans, 10 reports and 5 automations a month. Standard ($20) and Premium ($99) are published prices; paid plans are not on sale yet. See /pricing, and /invoicing for the document types.
FAQ
Is Belgium's B2B e-invoicing mandate live?
Yes. Since 1 January 2026, VAT-registered businesses established in Belgium must issue and receive structured e-invoices for domestic B2B sales, by default in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 over the Peppol network.
Does Guliel send Belgian Peppol e-invoices?
No. Guliel documents are PDF today. Guliel has built its own Peppol access point, which is awaiting OpenPeppol certification and is not yet connected to the app. Producing Peppol BIS Billing files from Guliel documents is planned.
Can a business established in Belgium use Guliel?
Not for its Belgian invoicing today. Belgium is not one of the 39 countries Guliel supports as an organisation's home country. Belgian home-country support is planned.
I bill Belgian customers from the Netherlands. Does the Belgian mandate apply to me?
Not unless you have a Belgian establishment. The mandate covers businesses established in Belgium; your own country's rules apply. Guliel issues your EU VAT invoice as a PDF, with your customer's VAT ID when it is stored on the customer record.
Does Guliel apply the reverse charge on invoices to Belgian businesses?
Not today. The document form charges your standard VAT rate when your organisation is VAT-registered, and 0% when it is not. Check the VAT treatment of cross-border sales with your accountant.
Is Guliel accounting software?
Yes. Guliel is accounting and finance-operations software with a double-entry general ledger: journal entries that must balance, a trial balance, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, a books lock date and a CSV ledger export. Invoicing, expenses, purchasing, payroll and reporting run on the same engine.
Start free at /pricing.
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