B2B Electronic Invoicing in Italy: 2026 obligations and the impact of ViDA

B2B electronic invoicing in Italy has been mandatory for years. Yet 2026 marks a turning point: new SDI technical specifications in force since May, a first formal legislative act transposing ViDA, and a European deadline in 2030 that will completely reshape how companies and software manage intra-community invoices.

B2B e-invoicing obligation: the current state in 2026

Since January 1, 2024, the B2B electronic invoicing obligation applies to all Italian VAT-registered entities, without exception: structured businesses, professionals, flat-rate taxpayers, and advantageous-regime taxpayers. There are no longer any revenue thresholds or temporary exemptions.

The system is centralized: every invoice, whether issued or received, must pass through the Exchange System (SDI) of the Agenzia delle Entrate. Italy is today one of the few European countries with a full clearance model, in which the tax authority sees every transaction in (near) real time.

What Changed in 2026

New SDI Technical Specifications 1.9.1

On May 15, 2026, the Agenzia delle Entrate's updated technical specifications came into force. The main updates concern:

• Introduction of document type TD29 for irregular invoices (omitted or irregular transactions, pursuant to Art. 6, para. 8 of Legislative Decree 471/97)
• Update of VAT codes RF20 and related tax regimes
• Revision of transmission channel accreditation procedures
• Progressive alignment with the European standard EN 16931

For IT teams and software houses, verifying compliance with spec 1.9.1 is an action to be taken immediately if you haven't already done so.

EU Derogation Extension. With Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/3150 of December 10, 2024, the European Council authorized Italy to maintain its mandatory e-invoicing system until December 31, 2027. The expiry of this derogation will coincide with the launch period of the ViDA regime for cross-border transactions.

Updated Penalties. Since September 1, 2024, the penalty for failure to issue an electronic invoice is 70% of the tax amount (previously 90%), with a minimum of €300 per violation. The reduction should not be misleading: for companies with high transaction volumes, the cumulative cost of non-compliance remains significant.

How the exchange system works in 2026

The Exchange System is not just a transmission channel: it is an active validation hub. Every XML file is checked against more than 100 formal controls before being routed to the recipient. The updated 2026 SDI specifications make some of these controls more stringent, particularly regarding VAT rates, tax regimes, and the consistency between document type and the nature of the transaction.

For those managing software integrations, the lifecycle of an electronic invoice remains asynchronous: transmission generates a sequence of notifications (delivery receipt, rejection, recipient outcome, deadline expiry) that the system must be able to interpret and archive. The new spec 1.9.1 introduces changes to error codes that require an update to existing parsers.

The permitted transmission channels remain: SOAP web service, FTP, PEC, and the AdE web portal. For high volumes, the web service is the only viable option in production.

ViDA: what changes for Italian companies

ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) is the most significant regulatory package for European VAT since the Sixth Directive of 1977. Approved at the Ecofin of November 5, 2024, it introduces three structural reforms that will impact every company invoicing counterparts in other EU countries.

Italy's First Formal Step

On March 17, 2026, with the publication of Law 36/2026 (European Delegation Act 2025) in the Official Gazette, Italy took its first formal legislative step towards transposing ViDA into its legal system. These are not yet operational rules — the delegation grants the Government the powers to align Italian VAT legislation — but it is the signal that the implementation process has officially begun.

For CFOs and compliance officers, this is the right time to begin an impact analysis: not in 2029, when deadlines will be imminent.

The three ViDA reforms

1. Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) — From July 1, 2030, intra-EU B2B transactions subject to reverse charge will need to be reported in structured electronic format within 10 days of the transaction. The data must be transmitted to the tax authority of the seller's country, which will automatically share it with that of the buyer's country. This marks the end of periodic reporting: the direction is towards a continuous, near real-time reporting model.

2. Single VAT Registration (SVR). From July 1, 2028, the OSS (One Stop Shop) mechanism is extended to also cover B2C supplies of goods with installation and assembly, supplies of gas and energy, and transfers of own goods between EU countries. The goal: to drastically reduce multiple VAT registrations across different countries.

3. Platform Economy. From July 1, 2028, digital platforms in the short-term rental and passenger transport sectors become "deemed suppliers" for VAT purposes: they must collect and remit VAT in place of individual providers. A reform that impacts marketplaces and aggregators, not traditional B2B companies.

Digital reporting requirements and the end of the Esterometro

The reform with the most direct impact on Italian companies is the one on Digital Reporting Requirements. To understand its implications, we need to start from where we are today.

The Esterometro as we know it

Since July 1, 2022, the esterometro is no longer a quarterly report: transactions with foreign counterparts are communicated to the SDI as self-invoices or XML integrations by the 15th of the following month. It is already a "near real-time" system compared to the old periodic model. Italy, in this sense, is ahead of the direction that ViDA will impose on all EU member states.

What changes with ViDA from 2030

With the entry into force of intra-EU DRRs on July 1, 2030:

• The obligation to submit the Intrastat return for goods supplies will be abolished, replaced by DRRs
• Electronic invoices for intra-EU transactions will need to comply with the European standard EN 16931 and transit over interoperable networks such as Peppol
• The format must be structured and automatically readable by the tax authority systems of all member states

For Italian companies that already manage the esterometro via SDI, the transition will be less disruptive than for European competitors still using paper or PDF systems. But it will still require significant technical updates — particularly on the cross-border interoperability front.

Peppol and the European e-invoice

Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is the standardized communication network that the European Union has chosen as the infrastructure for cross-border electronic invoice exchange. Already used for PA invoicing in many countries (in Italy it is mandatory for certain public procurement), it will become the primary channel for intra-EU DRRs.

How Peppol works

Peppol is not a software: it is an ecosystem of accredited service providers (Access Points) that exchange structured documents through a certified private network. To issue or receive an invoice via Peppol, a company registers in the Peppol Directory through its own Access Point, which handles transmission and reception transparently.

The standard document format is UBL 2.1 or CII (UN/CEFACT Cross-Industry Invoice), both compliant with EN 16931. This is exactly the format that ViDA will require for intra-EU DRRs from 2030.

The Connection with the Italian SDI System

Italy has already launched an SDI-Peppol interoperability project: invoices to the PA transmitted via Peppol are routed into the SDI and vice versa. This hybrid architecture will be the model on which Italy's transposition of ViDA will be based.

For Italian software houses, the ability to handle both the domestic SDI flow and the cross-border Peppol flow will become a market requirement — not an optional feature — by 2028–2030. Those who integrate an API supporting both channels today will find themselves ahead of competitors when clients start requesting intra-EU compliance.

APIs and integration: the strategic choice for software vendors

For a software house, the implications of ViDA go beyond technical compliance. They are a product decision.

The technical debt problem

Many Italian electronic invoicing solutions were built in 2019 to meet the domestic obligation: they handle the FatturaPA format, the SDI channel, and little else. With ViDA, the same system will need to:

• Support the EN 16931 format (UBL/CII) for intra-EU transactions
• Connect to the Peppol network as an Access Point or via an intermediary
• Manage DRRs in near real-time mode towards the tax authorities of multiple countries
• Adapt to the technical specifications of each country (which ViDA harmonizes, but does not completely eliminate)

An integration built in-house in 2019 is unlikely to withstand these requirements without deep restructuring. The maintenance cost — which already today absorbs resources with every AdE spec update — will grow exponentially with cross-border expansion.

The calculation changes with ViDA

Before ViDA, the "build vs buy" debate for electronic invoicing APIs was primarily about time-to-market and initial development cost. With ViDA, a third factor comes into play: geographic coverage.

A pan-European electronic invoicing API provider automatically updates its system as specifications change in individual countries. An Italian software house that wants to serve clients active in Germany, Spain, or France — or that wants to enable its clients to invoice intra-EU in a compliant manner — cannot reasonably build and maintain a multi-country infrastructure in-house.

The economic calculation changes: it is no longer just about "how much does it cost to build it" but "how much does it cost to keep it updated across 7 countries for the next 10 years."

How fiskaly prepares companies and software vendors for 2030

fiskaly is the European partner for digital tax compliance for over 1,600 companies operating in 7 markets: Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Sweden, and Portugal.

fiskaly's E-INVOICE solution is designed for those who want to manage Italian B2B electronic invoicing today and prepare for the intra-EU flows required by ViDA tomorrow:

• SDI transmission compliant with spec 1.9.1 — automatically updated with every new AdE version
• Peppol network access — for cross-border flows and towards the PA
• EN 16931 support — the European format that ViDA will make mandatory for intra-EU DRRs
• 2-in-1 API — same interface for e-invoicing and POS fiscalization, one single contract
• Pan-European coverage — IT, DE, AT, ES, FR, SE, PT on a single platform

There is no need to wait until 2030 to benefit from a ViDA-ready infrastructure. Software houses that integrate fiskaly today are in the best position to offer their clients multi-country compliance, without building and maintaining every single country-by-country integration.

Free API testing available, no initial integration costs, no contractual commitment to get started.