Slovak e-invoicing mandate 2027
From 1 January 2027, Slovak VAT payers must issue invoices for domestic B2B and B2G supplies as structured electronic invoices, XML files conforming to the European standard EN 16931 (UBL syntax), delivered through the Peppol network via certified delivery service providers. Every Slovak business entity must be able to receive such invoices. This guide summarises the mandate for international companies and their advisors.
Updated 2026-08-12
Legal basis and timeline
The mandate was introduced by Act No. 385/2025 Coll., an amendment to the Slovak VAT Act (Act No. 222/2004 Coll.). Section 76a (effective 1 January 2026) regulates certified delivery services; Section 85o (effective 1 January 2027) defines the electronic invoice and the issuing obligation.
Timeline: a voluntary transition period runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026. Mandatory issuing and receiving for domestic B2B and B2G supplies starts on 1 January 2027. Cross-border B2B transactions are expected to follow from 1 July 2030 in line with the EU ViDA initiative, when Slovakia's VAT control statements are also set to be replaced by digital reporting.
Who is affected
Issuing: Slovak-established VAT payers must issue e-invoices for supplies of goods and services with a place of supply in Slovakia made to taxable persons or non-taxable legal entities, including invoices for advance payments received.
Receiving: every legal entity and every business that is a taxable person in Slovakia must be able to receive e-invoices, including businesses not registered for VAT.
Out of scope for now: B2C invoices, proforma invoices (requests for payment), and supplies to the Slovak Information Service, Military Intelligence or involving classified information (where e-invoices must not be issued). Foreign entities registered for Slovak VAT under special regimes (e.g. registration of non-established persons under Section 5) should assess their position case by case.
Format and delivery
An e-invoice is a structured XML document conforming to EN 16931, in practice UBL 2.1 under the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 profile (Invoice and CreditNote documents). PDF, even digitally signed, does not qualify. Legacy EDIFACT flows may continue commercially, but the invoice data must additionally be produced as EN 16931 XML (mapping per CEN/TS 16931-3-4:2017).
Delivery runs through the Peppol network via certified delivery service providers (informally “digital postmen”), registered with the Slovak Financial Administration (register: vpds.financnasprava.sk). The provider also reports invoice data to the Financial Administration automatically: at issuance for outbound invoices and within 5 days for received ones.
Slovak participants are addressed by Peppol ID scheme 0245 with their Slovak tax identification number (DIČ), e.g. 0245:2122749607. Without a Slovak DIČ, a recipient cannot be addressed in the Slovak e-invoicing regime.
Penalties
Failing to report invoice data, reporting incorrect data, or reporting late carries a fine of up to €10,000, rising to €100,000 for repeated violations. No fine applies to an obvious error corrected immediately, or where a contracted certified provider demonstrably failed and the data was reported promptly after the outage.
How to comply
A Slovak trading partner (subsidiary, customer or supplier) needs an account with a certified provider: the provider issues invoices in the correct format, delivers them over Peppol, registers the company for receiving in the Peppol SMP and handles reporting to the Financial Administration automatically.
eFaktúra (eFaktúra s. r. o.) is a certified delivery service provider (Financial Administration ID EFSK000028) operating its own production Peppol Access Point. Sending and receiving are live today; receiving is free permanently, and sending is free throughout 2026. A REST API (OpenAPI 3.1, HMAC-signed webhooks, free sandbox with a test Peppol ID) and a white-label programme are available for ERP and SaaS integrations, with documentation in English at developers.efaktura.sk.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 2027 mandate apply to invoices issued to Slovak customers from abroad?
The mandatory regime covers domestic supplies by Slovak-established VAT payers. Cross-border B2B e-invoicing is expected from 1 July 2030 under ViDA. Non-established entities with Slovak VAT registrations should assess specific transactions individually.
Is a PDF invoice acceptable?
No. From 1 January 2027 a domestic B2B invoice must be structured XML per EN 16931 (UBL). PDFs remain useful as human-readable copies only.
What is a “digital postman”?
The informal Slovak term for a certified delivery service provider under Section 76a of the VAT Act, an accredited Peppol Access Point operator that delivers e-invoices and reports their data to the Financial Administration.
How are Slovak companies addressed on Peppol?
By Peppol ID scheme 0245 with the company's Slovak Tax ID (DIČ), for example 0245:2122749607. Only one provider per Peppol ID may be registered for receiving.
Exchange e-invoices with Slovakia today
Electronic invoicing becomes mandatory in Slovakia in 2027. Find out how to prepare and whether it applies to you.