Croatia to Launch Mandatory B2B E-Invoicing: 2026 Rollout & Public Consultation

Earlier this year, the Croatian Deputy Prime Minister announced the government project Fiscalization 2.0, which includes implementing mandatory business-to-business (B2B), to be launched next year.

As part of the process to implement mandatory e-invoicing, the Ministry of Finance opened a public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Law on Fiscalization of Cash Transactions (Fiscalization Law).

Proposed Amendments to the Fiscalization Law

The Fiscalization Law was adopted in 2012, effective January 1, 2013, and has been amended several times since then. Its implementation meant the introduction of real-time reporting of transactions paid in cash. However, fiscalization includes only part of the data on realized turnovers, primarily for B2C transactions paid by cash or cards, which are treated as cash from a fiscalization perspective.

In 2019, Croatia introduced rules and regulations for the mandatory issuance and sending of invoices in electronic form for B2G transactions as part of the Fiscalization 2.0 project. Now, the project's second phase is taking place, and the focus is on setting rules and regulations for implementing mandatory B2B e-invoicing and unifying tax procedures for B2C, B2G, and B2B transactions under a single regulation.

The proposed amendments include the timeline for implementing mandatory e-invoicing. Starting September 1, 2025, taxable persons will be able to test systems for e-invoice exchange and reporting. 

VAT-registered businesses must start exchanging and reporting e-invoices for B2B transactions on January 1, 2026. Taxable persons that issue B2C invoices on final consumption must also report each transaction, regardless of the payment method. 

January 1, 2026, also marks the date from which non-VAT registered businesses, such as cities, municipalities, and counties, will have to accept e-invoices. However, these entities will have until January 1, 2027, to implement a system for issuing e-invoices.

Conclusion

As the Ministry of Finance stated, implementing the e-invocing system should bring numerous advantages in terms of time saving in processing and sending invoices, reducing administrative burdens for taxable persons and competent government bodies. Moreover, the Ministry underlined that more than ten tax return forms will be eliminated once the system is established.

Furthermore, the Ministry estimated that Croatian taxable persons will save more than EUR 120 million due to reduced administrative burdens. Nevertheless, implementing a new regulatory framework will ensure better monitoring of taxable persons.

Source: Public Consultation, VATabout