Peppol invoice (BIS Billing 3.0)

A Peppol invoice is a UBL 2.1 XML document following the BIS Billing 3.0 specification, compliant with EN 16931. It carries seller and buyer Peppol IDs, line items, VAT breakdowns and payment details, and is validated by Schematron rules before delivery.

The invoice is by far the most exchanged document on the network. Key facts:

• Syntax: UBL 2.1 Invoice, profile urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0.
• Mandatory content: seller/buyer identification with electronic addresses, invoice number and dates, at least one line, VAT category per line, document totals that must add up (validated arithmetically).
• Attachments: supported as embedded base64 or external references.
• National variants: some countries require a CIUS on top (XRechnung, NLCIUS) — see the country pages for what applies where.

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Updated: August 29, 2026