e-Invoicing and digital tax
The UK put the work between the parties.
Mind the gap.
From April 2029 the UK moves to Peppol-based B2B e-invoicing on a four-corner model. Read the decision carefully and something unusual emerges: HMRC did not put itself in the middle.
The model
No central portal. Two access points instead.
Invoices pass directly between businesses, through access points each side chooses. The document never lands with the tax authority on the way, which is why the failure modes sit between the parties.
- C1 Supplier
- Their accounting system raises the invoice.
- C2 and C3 Access points
- Validation, routing and archive. This is where Aratun sits.
- C4 Buyer
- The document arrives structured, ready to match against the order.
The timetable
- Apr 2026
- MTD for Income Tax
- Apr 2027
- Threshold £30,000
- Apr 2028
- Threshold £20,000
- Apr 2029
- B2B e-invoicing
Income over £50,000
Quarterly updates
Penalty points apply
Peppol, four-corner
What to do now
Three things worth starting early.
- 01
Clean the master data
Participant identifiers, VAT numbers and unit codes are where the first rejections come from.
- 02
Structure the invoice
A PDF attached to an email is not an e-invoice. The line data has to exist as data.
- 03
Decide who owns rejections
A rejection with no owner is the nine-day problem. Name the owner before the volume arrives.
Honest answers
What is settled and what is not.
Is the 2029 design final?
The direction is confirmed: mandatory B2B e-invoicing from April 2029, built on Peppol, using a four-corner model. The detail is not final — a roadmap is expected at the November 2026 Budget.
Do we need to change our accounting system?
Not necessarily. An access point sits beside your system. If it can produce structured invoice data, we can carry it. If you would rather have one supplier for both, that is what Aratun is.
What about Germany and Türkiye?
Germany already requires businesses to be able to receive e-invoices, with issuing obligations phasing in. Türkiye has been mandatory since 2013 and we have operated in it throughout.
And the rest of Europe?
The EU's VAT in the Digital Age programme is moving the same way, towards structured invoices and digital reporting. We are not going to put a date on your country until the legislation does.
Start early. Start quietly.
The businesses that arrive calmly in 2029 are the ones that fixed their data in 2026.