If your business operates in Europe or sells to European customers, this could change how you handle invoicing and tax reporting. The European Union is in the middle of the biggest overhaul of VAT rules in decades, called ViDA, VAT in the Digital Age.
ViDA is a package of EU reforms that modernises how VAT is collected and reported. The core idea: replace periodic, retrospective VAT reporting with real-time digital reporting. Instead of filing a VAT return every quarter, you’ll report transaction data to tax authorities as you issue and receive invoices.
The rollout is phased. Different parts of the regulation take effect between 2025 and 2030, and the timeline has shifted as member states work through implementation. The direction is clear: digital, real-time reporting is where this is going.
If you trade across EU borders, you’ll need to issue structured electronic invoices that follow a defined format and include specific data fields. In some cases, you’ll need to report those invoices to tax authorities digitally before they reach the customer.
For cross-border B2B transactions within the EU, yes. For domestic transactions, it depends on the member state. Most EU countries are aligning national requirements with ViDA. The trend is toward universal e-invoicing requirements across the block.
PEPPOL is the delivery network most European e-invoicing mandates are built on. It already supports the structured formats and secure delivery protocols ViDA requires. If you’re connected to a certified PEPPOL access point, you’re already ahead.
Unimaze Dispatcher is a certified PEPPOL access point. It handles the formatting, delivery, and government portal submission that ViDA and related national mandates require. The compliance burden stays with Unimaze, not your team.
When you send an invoice, Dispatcher looks up the recipient’s registered PEPPOL address and formats the document correctly, so you don’t manage endpoint lookups or delivery protocols yourself. In countries with government portal requirements, such as Serbia and Croatia, Dispatcher submits directly to the portal on your behalf.
Not every supplier can send a structured invoice today, and ViDA’s definition of an electronic invoice excludes standard PDFs. Digitizer closes that gap. It takes a scanned or PDF invoice, extracts the data through OCR, and turns it into a structured document that moves through your workflow the same way a PEPPOL invoice would.
Supplier Portal covers suppliers who can’t integrate at all, giving them a branded web page to submit invoices with no technical setup on their end. As the regulation phases in, the platform updates to stay current.
Country and network coverage varies. Ask Unimaze whether the country you want to trade with is supported.
