The Irish Revenue Commissioners (“Revenue”) have announced preparations for implementing mandatory eInvoicing and real-time digital reporting for domestic business-to-business (“B2B”) transactions in Ireland. This represents the most significant modernisation of Ireland's VAT system since the tax was introduced over 50 years ago.
What's Changing for Irish Businesses?
From November 2028, VAT-registered large corporates will be required to implement mandatory eInvoicing and real-time reporting for domestic B2B transactions. From November 2029, this domestic obligation will extend to all VAT-registered businesses engaged in cross-border EU B2B trade.
Current practices, including issuing PDF invoices or scanned paper invoices, will no longer satisfy VAT compliance requirements. Businesses will need to issue invoices in a structured electronic format and report transaction details to Revenue in real-time.
Who Will Be Affected?
Even if your business is not yet required to issue eInvoices under the phased rollout, you will need to have the capability to receive them in the required structured electronic format. This means all VAT-registered businesses will need to prepare for these changes, regardless of size or sector.
What Stays the Same?
Importantly, these changes relate solely to invoicing and reporting processes. Tax rates, payment requirements, and liability calculations remain unchanged.
Background: EU-Wide Modernisation
These domestic changes are being introduced in preparation for the European Union's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) requirements, which will require businesses trading cross-border with other EU businesses to implement eInvoicing and real-time reporting from 1 July 2030.
What to do next?
If you have any questions about how these mandatory eInvoicing requirements will affect your business or need guidance on preparing for the transition, please contact our Indirect Tax Team who will be happy to assist you.