Ireland Announces Phased Rollout of Mandatory e-Invoicing and Real-Time VAT Reporting

On 8 October 2025, Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners announced a phased plan for mandatory e-invoicing and real-time VAT reporting to meet the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) Directive by 1 July 2030. The announcement followed the Minister for Finance’s Budget speech on 7 October. Revenue published a dedicated implementation paper, VAT Modernisation – Implementation of eInvoicing in Ireland, alongside a press release detailing the phased approach and reporting requirements. Together, these materials set out how VAT-registered businesses will transition to digital reporting and structured electronic invoices, and explain the connection to the EU-level ViDA rules. Businesses should treat the 8 October materials as the authoritative baseline for planning, noting that ViDA was adopted by the EU in March 2025 and that Irish measures are being aligned now to avoid a late scramble as July 2030 approaches.

Why is Ireland Implementing B2B e-Invoicing? 

Ireland is moving to e-invoicing to modernise a VAT administration model that has remained largely unchanged since 1972 and to align with the EU’s ViDA reforms. ViDA requires structured electronic invoices and real-time VAT reporting for cross-border B2B trade from 1 July 2030, helping maintain access to existing 0% VAT arrangements for intra-EU supplies. Revenue’s paper explains that the reform is about integrating reporting requirements directly into normal business processes, reducing compliance costs for tax-compliant businesses and strengthening the fight against VAT fraud. The focus is on process and data (not changing tax rates), using high-quality transaction data already generated electronically by businesses. The EU expects these reforms to reduce the VAT gap and administrative burden over time, while enabling faster processing and fewer interventions for compliant taxpayers. In short, Ireland’s plan is both an EU-driven necessity and a domestic opportunity to streamline VAT administration and support digital transformation. (Revenue)

Who Will be Affected? VAT-registered Businesses, Cross-border Traders, B2G Stakeholders

The reforms primarily affect VAT-registered businesses that issue or receive invoices for B2B transactions, with priority attention on those engaged in cross-border intra-EU trade by 2030. Revenue has confirmed that all businesses must be able to receive e-invoices from November 2028 - even if they are not yet mandated to issue them under the phased rollout.

Beyond taxpayers themselves, the stakeholder group includes software providers, business associations and tax practitioners, all of whom Revenue intends to engage through guidance and dedicated forums.

The public sector is also relevant: Ireland has prior B2G e-invoicing experience on the Peppol network (used by some public bodies since 2019), and the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), Ireland’s Peppol Authority, will work with Revenue to support the significant network expansion expected as mandatory e-invoicing scales to domestic and intra-EU B2B trade. This existing public-sector foundation should help the market mature more quickly as the private sector on-boards.

What Irish e-Invoicing is and How it Will Work: Peppol, Structured Data, and Real-time Reporting

Irish e-invoicing will mean issuing structured electronic invoices (compliant with European Standard EN16931) and reporting a subset of invoice transaction data to Revenue in real time. Crucially, PDFs and scanned paper invoices will not satisfy ViDA reporting requirements; the process must be fully digital, end-to-end, and processed electronically.

The implementation will leverage existing infrastructure such as Peppol, which already underpins B2G flows in Ireland, offering a secure, standardised way to exchange documents across borders. Revenue is collaborating with the Office of Government Procurement (the Irish Peppol Authority) and will consult industry on technical specifications, with detailed guidance to be published well in advance of each phase.

For finance and IT teams, the operational picture is clear: your ERP and invoicing tools will need to create EN16931-compliant invoices, transmit them over approved channels (such as Peppol), and support real-time reporting to Revenue - all while integrating with existing processes to minimise disruption.

Timeline to 1 July 2030 – Phased Implementation in 2028, 2029 and July 2030

Revenue will phase the rollout to give businesses time to prepare for the EU’s hard deadline of 1 July 2030.

• Phase One from November 2028: mandatory e-invoicing and real-time reporting for domestic B2B transactions by VAT-registered large corporates.
• Phase Two from November 2029: extension of the same domestic B2B obligations to all VAT-registered businesses that engage in intra-EU trade, allowing them to bed in domestically ahead of the EU-wide ViDA go-live.
• Phase Three from July 2030: mandatory e-invoicing and real-time reporting for all cross-border EU B2B transactions.
• In addition, all businesses must be enabled to receive eInvoices from November 2028. Revenue will publish technical and operational details in good time before each milestone to support orderly transition and compliance.

Businesses should treat these dates as a planning horizon: 2025–2027 for mobilisation and vendor selection, 2028–2029 for build, test and cutover, and 1 July 2030 for full EU ViDA alignment.

How to Prepare Now

A readiness review should be conducted across finance, tax, IT and procurement to assess organisational preparedness. Invoice flows, covering domestic B2B, cross-border intra-EU and B2G transactions, should be mapped to identify which systems currently generate invoices and VAT data.

Capabilities to receive e-invoices by November 2028 should be prioritised, followed by planning for the issuance of EN16931-compliant invoices and the integration of real-time reporting to Revenue. The level of Peppol connectivity offered by ERP or e-invoicing providers should be verified, with early engagement on certification, implementation timelines and testing. Internal controls for reporting requirements should be established, taking into account reconciliation impacts as ViDA removes the need for VIES monthly returns, a change expected to streamline compliance processes. Governance and training for AP and AR teams should be developed, and appropriate budget allocated for integration, data quality, and change management through 2028–2029 to ensure readiness by 1 July 2030. 

To stay informed as Ireland’s e-invoicing framework develops, businesses are encouraged to read the eezi blog for regular updates on VAT reporting, ViDA alignment and implementation progress. Organisations seeking hands-on support or a reliable Peppol integration partner should reach out to us, a certified Peppol e-invoice provider, for expert guidance on achieving full e-invoicing compliance.