Croatia is introducing mandatory e-invoices in B2B business from January 1, 2026 – between all taxpayers.
The goal of the law is clear: to digitalize business processes, increase transparency, and reduce the administrative burden for entrepreneurs.
What does mandatory e-invoice mean specifically for the B2B sector?
From 2026, all entities that issue and receive invoices – regardless of the size of the company – will be required to use e-invoices in a structured format.
This means that paper and PDF invoices will no longer be considered valid in business communication between taxpayers.
The exchange of invoices will take place exclusively through certified information intermediaries and access points aligned with European Peppol standards. Thus, each invoice will have its own unique identifier (JIR) and will be automatically reported to the Tax Administration through the eReporting system.
Why was the requirement for B2B invoices introduced?
Although Croatia already introduced e-invoices for the public sector (B2G) in 2019, a large part of the economy still used paper or PDF documents.
The new law now extends the obligation to business-to-business (B2B) transactions in order to:
- increased fiscal discipline,
- reduced the grey economy,
- enabled faster processing and control of invoices,
- and ensure compliance with European digital standards.
In other words – B2B e-invoice becomes the foundation of digital business .
Key benefits for entrepreneurs
Although the obligation brings certain technical adjustments, the benefits are long-term:
- Less administration and paperwork
- Faster processing and payments between partners
- Greater accuracy and data security
- Automated exchange and archiving
- Full compliance with EU standards (EN 16931)
In addition, through eReporting, the Tax Administration gets transparent insight into transactions, which reduces the need for additional reports and forms.
How to prepare on time?
The transition period lasts until the end of 2025 – which means that entrepreneurs now have the ideal opportunity to prepare:
- Check if your accounting system supports e-invoices.
- Arrange cooperation with a certified information broker.
- Activate eArchive for digital preservation of documents.
- Test sending and receiving e-invoices before the law begins to apply.
- Educate employees on new procedures.