ViDA: the EU's digital VAT reporting from 2030
ViDA stands for VAT in the Digital Age and is the EU's package for making VAT more digital. The most important date for businesses that trade across borders is 1 July 2030. The article explains what has been decided, what is still up to the countries, and how you can use the coming years to get your data in order in Business Central.
What ViDA is
The dates in this article are as the rules stood in October 2026. On its page about ViDA, the European Commission writes that the digital reporting requirements affect cross-border B2B transactions from 1 July 2030. Check the European Commission's page and your national tax authority for the current rules, because implementation in individual countries may differ.
The Commission also writes that member states can, from entry into force, introduce mandatory e-invoicing on certain terms. So there is not one common EU requirement for e-invoicing that takes effect on the same day everywhere.
What changes
The core is that trade between businesses across borders must be reported digitally. The idea is that the authorities get data from the transactions themselves instead of only from a periodic return. Exactly how this is implemented in your country, you must check with your national tax authority.
This places demands on invoice data. VAT numbers, item codes, VAT codes and country codes must be correct in the transaction itself, not corrected afterwards.
What you can do now
2030 seems far away, but the work is not waiting time. Many of the country requirements that apply today point in the same direction: structured invoices, correct master data and a system that can send and receive them.
Business Central has an E-Documents module, and Microsoft Learn describes that it can be used in countries where businesses must handle e-documents under local rules. The module is a framework that can be extended with local formats and access points. What will apply in 2030 is not fixed in Microsoft's documentation, so do not read this as a promise of features.
- Review VAT numbers and VAT codes on customers and vendors.
- Make sure items have the information an invoice must carry.
- Try Peppol exchange with one or two customers where possible.
- Keep an eye on how your country implements the rules.
What we do not know
ViDA has several parts, and some are set for dates other than 2030. This article covers only digital reporting for cross-border trade, and the date we have checked with the Commission. If you need to assess what it means for your company, ask your auditor or your national tax authority.
We also do not know the technical requirements of each individual member state. You must find them with the country's own authority once they are published.
Watch the national rules
The Commission writes that member states can introduce mandatory e-invoicing on certain terms. In practice this means that you can meet countries with their own requirements and their own dates long before 2030. This applies, for example, to Germany, Belgium and Poland, which we write about in other articles.
Make a simple overview of the countries you trade with, and note what each authority has announced. Update it when there is news. It is cheaper to have the overview than to discover a requirement when a customer rejects an invoice.
Where Addverk comes in
We can help clean up master data and set up e-documents in Business Central. We are working on an e-invoicing app for Business Central. It is an idea under development, it is not available, and it has no price or date. You can see what we are working on at the link below.
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