VIDA requires all EU cross-border B2B transactions to be reported in real-time from January 2028. For Finance Directors and Heads of Tax, the window to prepare is now.
VIDA is an EU Council regulation — not a directive, not a proposal. It is binding law across all 27 member states. The three pillars address different parts of the EU VAT system.
From January 2028, every intra-EU B2B transaction requires a structured e-invoice (EN16931) and real-time digital reporting to the EU DRR portal. The authority sees your invoice within 10 days — before VAT is settled. This is the pillar that most directly affects Finance Directors and Heads of Tax.
Deemed supplier rules for accommodation platforms (Airbnb-type) and passenger transport platforms (Uber-type). Platforms become responsible for collecting and remitting VAT on transactions facilitated, even when the underlying supplier is not VAT-registered. Live from 2028 onwards.
A significant extension of the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme to cover more transaction types. Businesses selling across EU borders will need fewer country-specific VAT registrations. Designed to reduce the compliance burden of operating in multiple EU markets. Fully phased in by 2028.
18–24 months of implementation time is not unusual for a change of this scale. If planning starts in 2027, it will be too late.
VIDA removes the requirement for member states to seek European Commission approval before mandating domestic e-invoicing. This is already accelerating national timelines. France goes live in September 2026. Germany’s B2B mandate is live from 2025. Belgium, Poland, and Romania are all active. Planning should start now.
The European Commission is expected to publish final DRR technical specifications and make sandbox environments available. Businesses that have already adopted EN16931 e-invoicing will be able to connect to the DRR hub with a single API update — no format migration required.
All cross-border B2B invoices between EU-registered businesses must be structured (EN16931) and reported to the EU DRR portal in real-time. Late or missing reports are a compliance failure, not a filing delay. Authorities will have a complete picture of every intra-EU B2B transaction before any VAT return is filed.
Member states that have not already implemented domestic DRR must do so by 2030. In practice, most major economies will have gone further faster — France, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Spain will all have full domestic mandates operational well before this date.
Any business that is VAT-registered in an EU member state and issues B2B invoices to businesses in another EU member state is in scope for Pillar 1 DRR from January 2028.
This includes non-EU companies that hold EU VAT registrations — a US or UK business with a German or French VAT number invoicing B2B into another EU country is subject to VIDA DRR.
The scope covers both goods and services. If you invoice a business in another EU member state, VIDA applies.
Under VIDA DRR, every invoice you issue to an EU B2B buyer must be reported to the EU’s central DRR portal within 10 days of issuance — or within 10 days of receiving payment, whichever is sooner.
This is not a periodic filing. It is transactional reporting. The authority sees each invoice individually, in structured EN16931 format, before the relevant VAT period closes.
The practical implication: your invoicing system must be capable of generating EN16931-compliant structured documents and submitting them to an authority-connected reporting hub at the point of invoicing — not at month-end or quarter-end.
The EN16931 format is already defined. The implementation window is open. Every month of delay in 2026 becomes two months of pressure in 2027.
Map every EU entity in your corporate structure. Identify every cross-border B2B invoice relationship — which entity invoices which, in which countries, and how often. This is the scope assessment that determines your VIDA exposure. Many businesses discover more intra-EU flows than their finance team realised.
The VIDA DRR format is EN16931 — the European e-invoicing standard. This is not changing. Choose an e-invoicing platform that uses EN16931 as its native data model today, so your invoice data is in the correct shape before the 2028 DRR hub goes live. Don’t wait for final VIDA specs to start this work.
Clearvo’s Common Data Model is EN16931-native across all 32 countries. Adding the EU DRR reporting endpoint is an API update — not a new integration. Providers that use proprietary formats or per-country translation middleware will require full re-integration when the DRR hub opens. Choose the architecture that is already aligned.
Clearvo’s sandbox simulates authority responses per country using the same EN16931 validation rules that will apply to the EU DRR hub. Test your invoice data against the standard now — discover and fix data quality issues before 2028, not under deadline pressure. France’s September 2026 mandate is a full preview of VIDA at national scale.
VIDA mandates EN16931. Clearvo runs on EN16931 today — across 32 countries, with live authority connections. There is no migration to run when the DRR hub opens.
| Capability | Clearvo | Traditional approach |
|---|---|---|
| EN16931 CDM across all countries | ✓ Native — all 32 countries use the same CDM today | ✗ Country-by-country integrations with separate formats |
| Live authority connections (IT, FR, DE, PL, RO, HU, ES, PT, GR) | ✓ 14 direct authority connections, no middleware | ✗ Typically routed through third-party middleware per country |
| Real sandbox with authority-accurate validation | ✓ Per-country sandbox with EN16931 validation today | ✗ No sandbox or mock-only responses without validation |
| Peppol Access Point certified | ✓ Certified AP (PIE001162) — owns its own infrastructure | ✗ Requires third-party AP, adds latency and dependency |
| EU DRR reporting endpoint | ✓ On the product roadmap — API update, no re-integration | ~ Migration Format translation middleware required |
| France mandate live (September 2026) | ✓ Implementation ready — DGFiP connected | ✗ Separate implementation project required |
| Self-serve — no sales call, no implementation partner | ✓ API key in minutes, start testing today | ✗ Typically 3–8 month enterprise implementation |
January 2028 for intra-EU Digital Reporting Requirements (Pillar 1 DRR) — the obligation that affects most businesses. Member states can mandate domestic e-invoicing immediately without seeking EU derogation, so national mandates (France September 2026, Germany from 2025) are already proceeding under VIDA’s new framework.
All intra-EU B2B transactions — goods and services — where the seller is VAT-registered in an EU member state. This includes non-EU companies that hold EU VAT registrations. B2C transactions are not in scope for Pillar 1 DRR, though they may be affected by Pillar 2 platform rules.
EN16931 — the European e-invoicing standard. Clearvo already uses EN16931 as its Common Data Model across all 32 countries. If you integrate with Clearvo today for Italy, Germany, Poland, or any other mandate market, your invoice data is already in the format VIDA requires. Adding DRR reporting is an API endpoint update, not a migration.
No. VIDA adds the EU-level cross-border DRR layer on top of existing national mandates. Businesses operating in Italy, France, Germany, Poland, and other mandate countries must continue to comply with those national systems. VIDA does not replace them — it adds a new cross-border reporting obligation that sits alongside them.
VIDA has three pillars. For most Finance Directors and Heads of Tax, Pillar 1 (Digital Reporting Requirements) is the most operationally significant — it changes how every cross-border B2B invoice is created and reported. Pillar 2 affects accommodation and transport platforms specifically. Pillar 3 reduces VAT registration complexity for multi-country businesses through an extended OSS scheme.
Clearvo’s EN16931 CDM is already VIDA-ready. Connect now, add DRR reporting when the spec is final.