EU E-Invoicing Mandates, Corner Models, and 2026 Convergence

Corner Models in Europe

The “corner” terminology describes the parties involved in transmitting and validating an electronic invoice. The distinction lies primarily in whether the invoice passes through the tax authority, and at what stage.

A 3-corner model places the tax authority at the centre: the supplier transmits the invoice directly to the tax platform for validation; only then is it made available to the buyer. This is the model used in Italy, Romania, Hungary and, increasingly, Portugal. It grants authorities the highest level of fiscal oversight but offers limited interoperability, as formats tend to be national and integration can be complex.

The 4-corner model, familiar to organisations operating within the Peppol network, differs significantly. Here, the supplier sends the invoice to its Access Point, which routes it via Peppol to the buyer’s Access Point, with no mandatory tax clearance. This model, currently the predominant framework in the EU, is applied in Germany, the Nordics, the Netherlands and many additional Member States. It offers strong interoperability and low entry barriers, although the absence of clearance may lead to mismatches between invoice exchange and VAT reporting.

Finally, the 5-corner model combines the strengths of both systems. The invoice travels first to the supplier’s Access Point, then to the tax authority for clearance, and is subsequently passed on to the buyer via the buyer’s Access Point. This hybrid model enhances both interoperability and fiscal control, but it is also the most complex to implement. France, Poland, Spain and Belgium will deploy variants of this model by 2026.

National Timelines

Although policy objectives are converging, each Member State is progressing at its own pace. Italy has operated mandatory clearance since 2019. Romania followed in 2024, while Portugal will enforce clearance gradually from 2025–2026.

France will introduce mandatory business-to-business e-invoicing in July 2026 under a 5-corner logic, relying on Chorus Pro and Peppol routing. Poland will require the use of its KSeF platform from February 2026, and Spain is preparing the roll-out of its national portal in 2026–2027. Belgium is also moving to a hybrid clearance system by 2026, anchored on Peppol infrastructure.

Germany will continue operating within a 4-corner Peppol-based environment, beginning with a voluntary phase in 2025 accompanied by its XRechnung standard. Most of the remaining EU-27 countries will expand their Peppol usage until 2027, with many expected to move gradually toward hybrid or clearance-enabled models.

From Connectivity to Process redesign

The transition toward clearance-based e-invoicing has profound operational implications. Under 3- and 5-corner frameworks, invoices must pass tax validation before they are considered sent. This adds a regulatory “gate” between issuance and payment. Any discrepancy in master data, VAT logic, contractual references or mandatory identifiers may trigger rejection.

Such rejections often require human intervention and can rapidly accumulate, creating bottlenecks in Accounts Receivable and delaying cash collection. For high-volume organisations, even a modest rejection rate can translate into significant working-capital strain.

As a result, companies must move beyond the simple ability to transmit invoices and focus on improving data accuracy upstream. This implies tighter integration between commercial, logistics and tax data, stronger validation rules, and continuous monitoring of new and evolving requirements. A high first-pass-acceptance rate becomes the measure of readiness: companies capable of consistently submitting compliant invoices will be able to accelerate payments and reduce internal rework; those that fail risk continuous disruption.

Convergence with the eFTI Regulation

This shift does not occur in isolation. The EU’s eFTI Regulation, applicable from August 2025, will require logistics and transport actors to exchange freight information digitally with public authorities through certified platforms. Over time, authorities are expected to reconcile e-invoice data with transport events, dispatch information and customs declarations.

This marks a further step toward integrated financial–logistics compliance. It is expected that the technical ecosystems supporting e-invoicing and eFTI will become increasingly interoperable. Organisations active across supply chains will therefore need systems capable of managing both invoice validation and freight-data exchange within a shared architecture, ensuring a consistent audit trail and reducing fragmentation.

By 2026–2027, multi-jurisdiction actors will benefit from adopting Peppol-compatible platforms capable of handling both invoice clearance and freight-data processing. The convergence promises improved regulatory certainty, but also introduces new requirements that reinforce the need for resilient data governance.

Strategic Considerations for Financial Leadership

Finance leaders should therefore anticipate a landscape where the three models coexist until at least 2027. Multinational organisations will be required to operate across them simultaneously, which implies investing in platforms capable of managing multiple transmission channels and tax workflows.

Preparation will need to begin with the countries leading the clearance transition—France, Poland, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. However, rather than treating e-invoicing as a mandatory IT exercise, successful organisations will recognise its deeper impact on data quality, operational efficiency and working-capital performance.

A structured pre-validation capability will become essential to support high FPA rates. In parallel, growing overlaps between e-invoicing, eFTI, customs and logistics data will require closer operational alignment, supported by improved data architecture and process integration.

How Fincargo Supports this transition

Fincargo assists organisations facing this convergence by providing a platform designed to meet multi-jurisdictional invoicing requirements while improving the quality and efficiency of internal processes. Our systems combine Peppol connectivity with pre-validation capabilities, ensuring that invoice data is aligned with local tax rules before submission.

Because requirements evolve rapidly, our approach centres on continuous improvement: business rules, reference data and validation logic are monitored and refined to maximise acceptance rates. Furthermore, by integrating financial and logistics information, Fincargo delivers a coherent lifecycle view—from invoice creation to clearance, dispatch, delivery and payment—supporting reliable reconciliation and auditability.

This enables finance and operations teams to reduce rework, accelerate cash collection and address regulatory changes with minimal disruption. In essence, Fincargo helps companies move from reactive compliance to proactive optimisation, positioning them to benefit from the working-capital advantages that digital clearance makes possible.

Acronyms

• AR (Accounts Receivable)

• AP (Accounts Payable)

• CFO (Chief Financial Officer)

• eFTI (Electronic Freight Transport Information)

• Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online)

• SDI (Sistema di Interscambio – Italy)

• KSeF (Krajowy System e-Faktur – Poland)