Finlad

Finland adopted e-invoicing early and widely. Most B2B invoices already travel as structured data, carried by a well-established network of e-invoicing operators that exchange invoices with each other. For many Finnish companies, a paper or PDF invoice is the exception rather than the rule. Finland's 2019 e-invoicing law takes a different approach from most mandates. Instead of forcing every business to issue e-invoices, it gives any business buyer the right to request them.

If a buyer asks for an e-invoice, the supplier must provide one, unless it is a very small business (verify the threshold). In practice, this works like a mandate, since most large Finnish buyers make the request. B2B B2G Infrastructure Next deadline

On request (buyer's right) Mandatory Operator network and Peppol None announced HubBroker – Country pages: PL, FI, HR, NL, UK, GR Page 4 of 16 HubBroker – Country pages: PL, FI, HR, NL, UK, GR The national Finvoice format and local operators sit alongside Peppol, which is increasingly used for cross-border invoicing and public procurement. As ViDA approaches, this combination puts Finnish businesses in a strong position.

All suppliers to Finnish public-sector bodies must send e-invoices, including foreign suppliers. On the B2B side, any business that receives a request for e-invoices from a business customer must comply, unless it falls under the small business exemption based on annual turnover (verify the threshold).

Businesses do not need to make the request formally each time. Once a buyer has asked for e-invoices, the supplier should send all future invoices in a structured format. Foreign suppliers to Finnish companies are increasingly expected to support this as well.

E-invoices must be structured, machine-readable and meet the European standard EN 16931 when sent to public bodies or requested by a buyer. Suppliers need the buyer's einvoicing address and operator ID, or their Peppol ID, so that invoices reach the right destination.

In practice, suppliers need a connection to the Finnish operator network or to Peppol, plus an ERP that can produce invoices in an accepted format. PDF and paper invoices can be refused when the buyer has asked for e-invoices.

The main national format is Finvoice, a Finnish XML format maintained by the banking sector. TEAPPSXML is also used. For public-sector and cross-border invoicing, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is increasingly the standard.

Invoices are exchanged through e-invoicing operators, which connect with each other in a roaming network, and over the Peppol network through Access Points. Many Finnish businesses also receive e-invoices through their bank.