What is new?
The Storting has passed new rules on e-invoicing in the business sector. The requirements are being introduced in stages:
January 1, 2027
Obligation to send e-invoices to customers with bookkeeping obligations who are able to receive them.
January 1, 2028
The organization number of the buyer subject to bookkeeping obligations must be included in the sales document.
January 1, 2030
Obligation to be able to receive e-invoices and to use an electronic accounting system, with certain exceptions.
Who does the requirement apply to?
The obligation to send applies when both seller and buyer are subject to bookkeeping obligations, and the buyer is registered as a recipient in the ELMA/Peppol directory. If the customer is not registered, you can invoice as before. Sales to private individuals are not covered.
Some are exempt. Parties subject to bookkeeping obligations with a turnover of at most NOK 50,000 in the calendar year only have to send e-invoices if the invoicing system they use supports it. This primarily applies to sole proprietorships. There are also exemptions for parts of financial and insurance activities, and the Norwegian Tax Administration can grant time-limited dispensations in special cases. See the Norwegian Tax Administration's guidance on the obligation to send e-invoices from January 1, 2027.
What is considered an e-invoice?
An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured format that the accounting system can process automatically. The standard is EHF and Peppol BIS in version 3.0 or newer. Until 2030, other structured formats, such as EDIFACT and E2B, can also be used when agreed with the buyer.
A PDF sent by email is not an e-invoice, and it does not satisfy the requirement when the sending obligation applies. The details can be found in the Norwegian Directorate of Taxes' statement on the regulations.
What your business should do now
Check that the system can send e-invoices. Catacloud supports sending EHF, allowing you to send e-invoices to customers who are registered as recipients.
Check the organization numbers of your business customers. It is used to look up whether the customer can receive e-invoices.
Consider registering the business as a recipient. It is voluntary until 2030 and is done by the system provider. Digdir explains how you register the business in ELMA.
Choose a solution that also covers the requirements in 2030. By then, you must have an accounting system that both sends and receives e-invoices.
