Countdown to Belgium Mandate Go Live

Good morning and welcome ladies and gentlemen to our webinar today which is brought to you by shared services link in association with our sponsor today

Pagarero part of Thompson Reuters. Today

we are looking at Belgium. We have a six-month countdown until Belgium goes live. And so we are studying uh um what

live. And so we are studying uh um what we need what needs to happen in order for us to be uh comfortable about

January 1st, 2026 when uh big the big bang is introduced in Belgium. So thanks

for joining us today. My name is Susie West. I'm the founder and CEO at Shared

West. I'm the founder and CEO at Shared Services Link. And I'm delighted to be

Services Link. And I'm delighted to be introducing as our two experts today, Herz Casius who is regulatory associate

at Thompson Reuters and Tim Vanderbach who is account executive at Thompson Reuters. It's been a pleasure working

Reuters. It's been a pleasure working with Herz and Tim over the past couple of months. So I'm delighted uh that they

of months. So I'm delighted uh that they are with us today.

You will have questions to ask. I know

you will. is becoming a very overwhelming and intense time for many of you on the line today. So do make sure that you get your questions answered. Post those through to me uh on

answered. Post those through to me uh on the go to webinar chat and question panel and I will put those through to Tim and to Herz in the last 10 minutes

of this webinar. You also will likely want to share these slides with your colleagues. So as um mandates and the

colleagues. So as um mandates and the invoicing is very much a cross- function collaborative um effort. So you'll want to share these size with your colleagues

in IT, finance, etc. Uh so these slides will be made available for you afterwards. Um and and um you you'll

afterwards. Um and and um you you'll want to listen again. These slides will be made available for you to do that too. So let's just jump straight in and

too. So let's just jump straight in and we then we've got a couple of polls and then I'll be handing over to her. So,

um, many of you will be here because you you'll be here because you have operations in in Belgium. And of course, January 1st, 2026 is a huge deadline for

businesses in Belgium. And it's

approaching uh us very very rapidly indeed. It's a sweeping change from a an

indeed. It's a sweeping change from a an e- invoicing perspective because January 1st, 2026, um companies operating in

Belgium must be live with electronic invoicing. Um and the the processes that

invoicing. Um and the the processes that we have today to issue invoices or receive invoices are no longer will no longer be accepted, will no longer be

valid. And this is one step. The January

valid. And this is one step. The January

21st 2026 step is the one the first step towards real time reporting uh which is happening in Belgium in 2028. So uh

we're going to be looking at what you need to do, what you need to have covered is a bit of a checklist really for what you need to have in place in

order to be live and ready um for that 1st of January 2026 date. Uh we'll also be looking at how the Belgium Belgium

approach is really um a bit different to the approach that's happening in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain and and what these kind of differences uh mean for you. So the idea is that you

will come away knowing quite quite a bit more than perhaps that you what you know already or at least confirming um the kind of the huge research that you've

done so far. So let's jump in and look at our first couple of polls. Um like to find out who we have on the line today, please. So if you could tell us uh what

please. So if you could tell us uh what function are you operating in today? Are

you mainly in tax? Are you in accounts payable, accounts receivable? Are you in IT? Or would you say you have a bit more

IT? Or would you say you have a bit more of a crossf functional role, shared services or GBS role? So we've got a lot of people on the line today. is a very

popular webinar. So, just a reminder, we

popular webinar. So, just a reminder, we do share results live. Um, so we've got about four or five polls. So, each poll we will be sharing the results live. So,

we're at about 70% of you responding, which is great. Uh, any final responses coming in, please closing the poll in three, two, one. Let's have a look at those results coming up on the screen

now. Thank you. I'm loving the

now. Thank you. I'm loving the participation here. 78% of you

participation here. 78% of you responding. So, that's great. Now,

responding. So, that's great. Now,

interestingly, the winner here is um we got 29% of you from crossf functional uh GBS shared services and then second

position 25% of you uh from from tax, 18% AP, 18% accounts receivable and 11% of you are from it. Hopefully, those

results actually are helping you um develop some thinking as well. So, let's

um go on to our second poll, which is how prepared do you feel right now for what's coming January 1st, 2026? How

prepared do you feel um for Belgium, the Belgium mandate? Would you say that you

Belgium mandate? Would you say that you feel very prepared? Uh you just want to make sure that you're up to date and you've covered all your bases. Would you

say that you're mostly prepared, but there's a bit of fine tuning that needs to happen that you're hoping to get from this webinar? Would you say that you're

this webinar? Would you say that you're somewhat prepared, but you've got a lot of work to do in the next six months ahead? Or would you say that you're

ahead? Or would you say that you're actually a bit concerned about how prepared you are for the mandate? So, if

you haven't already responded, please do so. We're at about 63% of you responding

so. We're at about 63% of you responding to this one. And if we could get the numbers up a tiny bit higher, be closing the poll in three, two, one. Let's have

a look at the results. Again, thank you.

Bang on 70 there. Let's share the results with you. So, um, we've got, uh, none of you saying that you're very prepared. You just wanted to make sure

prepared. You just wanted to make sure that you've, you know, checked off everything. Um, 18% of you saying that

everything. Um, 18% of you saying that you're mostly prepared, but with some fine tuning needed. Uh, 53% of you say that you're somewhat prepared, but

you've still got a lot of work to do.

And 29% of you are saying that you're a bit you're concerned um about how much preparation there is to do for the mandate. Right. So thanks for sharing

mandate. Right. So thanks for sharing that with um with us and now I would love to hand over to Herz. Over to you please Herz.

>> Thank you so much Susie. So essentially

I want to run through an agenda for the audience first and foremost.

Uh so basically taking you through what we'll be showcasing in this session today just to make sure that everybody's on par and you know post session really does have a full understanding of the

mandate mandate requirements the impact and so on. So really what I'm going to showcase for you all is an overview of the new and upcoming requirements in the realm of CTC and e invoicing as well as

showcase some relevance of the peple framework as it intertwines with some beta requirements as well as the Belgian mandate and then I will defer to my uh I guess co-panelist Tim to give you guys a

um I guess description on the impact that these mandates and requirements will have on business and then we'll I guess reserve some time for uh Q&A.

at the end of the session.

So I will dive right in and approach things from a bit of a reverse pyramid, right? So showcasing sweeping

right? So showcasing sweeping legislation across the entire European Union and showcase furthermore how that whittleles itself down into more specific Belgian legislation and then

ultimately um describe to you all how you're supposed to be adhering to these requirements, implementing them and the like. So really what I'm showing here is

like. So really what I'm showing here is uh the VA initiative so to speak right so VAT in the digital age uh you know chronologically as of November of last

year achieved unanimous agreement within the ecoin right uh and then you know just a handful of months later it received its final stamp of approval now

the initial legislation was published in 2022 so it did take some time to you know get fine-tuned and then ultimately received stamp of approval. But as soon as it got that stamp of approval in

March of 2025 or you know March of this year, uh it didn't take long for certain things to come into force. So by that I

really do mean that as of April of this year, um the requirement to obtain a deriggation to implement domestic e

invoicing uh and DRR obligations uh no longer exists. Right? So markets within

longer exists. Right? So markets within the European Union as of today don't need to request permission from the European Commission to implement domestic e- invoicing obligations.

Right? So the VITA ratification did away with that requirement. So we're seeing a lot of markets um expressing their intent to implement domestic e invoicing

at a very rapid pace and Belgium is really no exception. Right? there a

market that definitely did have their sights set on receiving a deriggation.

They put in all the paperwork to do so, but with the ratification of the VA uh initiative, they no longer needed that dergation. So, they they really did um

dergation. So, they they really did um transpose into their legislation e- invoice requirements and now as of January 2026, they'll be able to, you know, fullon uh implement those

requirements for taxpayers.

So showcasing you know the timeline not just from a Belgian standpoint but let's say a VA timeline right we'll see that once again from April we will uh no

longer require deriggations for markets to implement e invoicing obligations and then from 2026 to 2027 we see the implications of VA on let's say

invoicing formats and some content requirements that all member states have to adhere to and if all member states have to adhere to it naturally all Businesses need to equip themselves with uh you know the tools that they need to

make sure that they're adhering to these different requirements. And then to take

different requirements. And then to take it even a step further, certain things become even more mandatory. Right? In

2030, we now have mandatory uh e invoicing for crossber or in community transactions and as well these mandatory uh DRRs, these digital reporting

requirements. um still sprinkling in the

requirements. um still sprinkling in the the option as well for domestic mandates to pop up even simultaneously. There's

potential for all these things. So

there's multiple angles in which um I think it behooves the audience to to know about so that they can tackle all of these different requirements as they do come in uh from different angles

and uh you know we're not just looking at e invoicing and DRR exclusively right uh there are other transactional reporting obligations that are not necessarily promoted per the VA

regulation but VA does welcome them right so this is transport this is potentially B2C these are different digital controls for different types of transactions that governments want to

monitor. And so the VA initiative um

monitor. And so the VA initiative um essentially allows that, right? They

they state that it is very much allowed that outside of e- invoicing and DR markets may implement these different transactional reporting obligations digitally just to make sure that they

can have a greater grasp uh on the economic traffic that goes on in their particular jurisdiction.

And then lastly on the VA timeline, we see that by 2035, member states that had an existing CTC framework prior to January 1st of 2024 now have to

harmonize their DRRs and e invoicing requirements with those laid out by the VA initiative. So it seems like a lot of

VA initiative. So it seems like a lot of sweeping legislation all-encompassing or rather headed in a particular direction.

But um yeah, once again behooves the audience to know these things because they're coming swiftly. They're coming

fast and they do have a lot of potential to change a lot of processes. So, it's

better that participants get on board now or at least educate themselves now so that they can rest a bit easier as these things start to come into force.

But with that, as I stated, we're reverse pyramiding here. Now, we can home in on a more specific and particular case, which is Belgium. So,

Belgium has opted to essentially align itself with a lot of the VA proposal or the Vita initiative. uh sooner rather than later, right? So, they have a mandate commencing in January 1st of

2026 that they no longer required a deriggation for which uh put them in a pretty good position. Once again, as I stated previously, they had already put in all the leg work to receive

deriggation, but it was never finally approved by the European Commission because there was no need as the VITA initiative was going to receive approval prior to to anything else. So they

really put themselves in an advantageous position to to implement this uh obligatory B2B invoicing uh mandate without having to do uh you know more

than you know implementing the legislation domestically. So the scope

legislation domestically. So the scope now encompasses Belgian VAT registered businesses for domestic B2B transactions right with you know the focus being

fixed establishments on Belgian soil. So

you have to have a Belgian VAT registration and your standard place of business has to be on Belgian soil, right? And this will exclude B2C and VAT

right? And this will exclude B2C and VAT exempt entities. So when I say VAT

exempt entities. So when I say VAT exempt entities, I mean those that engage in um let's say business within the sectors of health care, education,

um oftentimes insurance and certain financial services and B2C is excluded uh come 2026, but there are some implications for them moving into 2028

and beyond. And that's something that

and beyond. And that's something that I'll outline as we proceed through this presentation. But uh I think once again

presentation. But uh I think once again these are um definitely points that behoove you all to know. So moving

forward we can discuss the format that is encompassed by the mandate which is by default the PEPO bis standard because

the promoted transmission uh method for issuing and receiving electronic invoices which is the requirement moving into January of 2026. The promoted

transmission method is using the PPE network, right, which by default requires the use of a PPE bis 3.0 format. There is room for deviation from

format. There is room for deviation from Peple uh given that there is mutual agreement between buyer and seller and if that is the route that market

participants choose to head down, the overarching requirement is that invoices must still be exchanged in an EN16931

compliant format. But uh Pepo Bis will

compliant format. But uh Pepo Bis will always be touted and promoted first and foremost and then everything becomes a bit more subsequent.

So that essentially is the the scope the transmission method and the like. But to

to really bring home the scope of taxpayers u I want to showcase even more some of the exemptions and some of the tweaks that have occurred in the context

of um the Belgian mandate. Right? So

when we talk about exemptions, there are even special flat rate regimes that were uh supposed to be encompassed. Uh and

they are exempted for a certain period of time. That's really up until January

of time. That's really up until January of 2028.

Um but you know to take it even a step further as I stated there are certain um I guess sectors that are completely uh out of scope. uh and yeah that is if you

carry out VAT exempt transactions almost exclusively if that's the nature of your business but simultaneously VAT exempt transactions in general are exempt from the requirement of issuing and receiving

electronic invoices. So if you are in a

electronic invoices. So if you are in a sector in which you know you exchange goods or or services that aren't exempt but let's say you prever perform a

taxexempt service or you are transacting with a a VATex exempt uh entity you are not required to issue and or receive electronic invoices on that front and I

think once again that's something that's very um important for uh taxpayers to know or market participants to know so that they can uh essentially

configure some kind of setup to make sure that what's VAT liable ultimately issues and receives electronic invoices and what's not VAT liable follows a

completely different process. But it's

not to say that um you cannot issue an electronic invoice for those VAT transactions. You can if that is your

transactions. You can if that is your desire, but it's not mandated. So that's

something that I want to make abundantly clear. And the last thing I want to make

clear. And the last thing I want to make clear here is that um to clear up any confusion, right? because there has been

confusion, right? because there has been a lot of information and news that has come out into the market. If you are a foreign taxpayer, so if you have a Belgian VAT registration number, but you

are headquartered or you have offices in, you know, any other member state, Austria, Sweden, Finland, and the like, you are not on the hook for AP requirements, which means that you do

not need to have the capabilities to receive electronic invoices from your Belgian counterpart. you are completely

Belgian counterpart. you are completely out of scope. So once again, the mandate boils itself down to domestic VAT

transactions between domestic seller and buyer that have a VAT registration with a fixed establishment on Belgian soil.

That is essentially the scope of the mandate. Who is on the hook for these e

mandate. Who is on the hook for these e invoicing obligations?

So some more mandate requirements as it doesn't just uh apply to B2B and the mandate does have the potential to evolve and Belgium has essentially

already announced its intent to evolve the the mandate. I want to showcase that you know B to B2G rather transactions have been in scope since 2019 and that

is not going to change moving into 2026.

So those same processes for issuing invoices in the public sector remain the same. So the Mercurious platform will

same. So the Mercurious platform will still act as a uh repository operating on the Pepo network for um public sector entities to receive their electronic

invoices, but suppliers still need to issue electronic invoices via PPE to their public sector counterparties.

Right. And so now some more updates on that front or on the e- invoicing front rather is that we talked about what comes into place in 2026 things expand

to B2B but then into 2028 Belgian Belgium intends to um expand some of the requirements right into near realtime reporting a transaction between VAT

liable businesses. And as I stated

liable businesses. And as I stated before, B2C is out of scope for 2026, but in 2028, if you have a GKS system, which is a registered cash register

system, you will then be on the hook to report data from that system in real time. So things do graduate, right? So

time. So things do graduate, right? So

the intent is to graduate the mandate to receive data in real time from cash registers, payment and invoicing systems. The last thing I want to convey here as

well is I'm sure that you know market participants in Belgium are aware of the Hermes platform and those for those of you that aren't it was essentially a platform that operated on the Peplo

network as well that could um transcribe or transform uh structured data into a PDF that faces obsolescence

in that the obligation beginning January 1st, 2026 is that market participants issue and receive electronic invoices in a structured format. Because the Hermes

uh I guess portal or platform in and of itself uh transforms data into a PDF, it no longer fits the obligation or mandate requirements and thus it becomes

obsolete. So market participants really

obsolete. So market participants really do need to do everything in their power to make sure that they're covering the mandate requirements from end to end and that is being capable of issuing and

receiving electronic invoice data in an EN6931 structured format.

So as I was discussing the future requirements, um I stated that there will be a requirement to uh I guess report data in near real time. And it

seems that all roads point to uh the CTC model evolving into a a decentralized PPE approach, what we call a DCTCE.

And what that entails is seamless issuance and reception of an electronic invoice uh via the PPE network with a simultaneous reporting obligation from

the sending service provider uh to kind of report the invoice or transaction data to the tax authority in real time still operating on the Pepo network. And

while once again this hasn't been officially confirmed, uh attendance in a lot of these different forums concerning the Belgian mandate um have yielded a

lot of um pointing in the direction of PPO, right? And stating that the Pepo

PPO, right? And stating that the Pepo will be the approach to satisfy all real or near real time uh data transmission and anything that doesn't uh comply with

that will yield audits. Right? So if you are um choosing you know between a selling and buying party to issue and receive electronic invoices outside of

the PPO framework you still need to be able to report via the PPE network.

Right? So once again PPO will always be promoted while it's not mandated. Um

certain requirements will push market participants in that direction and anything that once again doesn't comply or doesn't match has the potential to yield audits. So, I want to make that

yield audits. So, I want to make that very abundantly clear to the audience to to showcase that, you know, moving forward, once again, it behooves you to have a all-encompassing solution to make

sure that nothing slips through the cracks and so that you're you're not up against the wall when the tax man comes and knocking. Uh, and just making sure

and knocking. Uh, and just making sure that all of your data is on par with what's being requested by the Belgian tax authority.

So those are the future requirements and I think showcasing uh a visual of what complying

through and through would look like is essentially the uh the diagram before you. So you'll see in the primary

you. So you'll see in the primary business flow and supply chain what things look like by and large, right? So

suppliers and buyers issuing uh an e- message over the ple network quite seamlessly or just adhering to EN16931 standards and you can still do that via service providers but that is the

seamless exchange of let's say an electronic invoice from point A to point B from supplier to buyer and then it showcases the the governmental flow right how to comply with the the reporting obligations right and making

sure that data ends up where it's supposed to uh you know that's the E taxpayer registry uh and the tax data feed platform and then ultimately when everything's all

squared away and everything's done, you know, we'll push things to the government back end or at least the tax authority will have that obligation, right, to make sure that they're analyzing the data accurately and making sure that everybody's playing fairly and

doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing. And that essentially is a

be doing. And that essentially is a closed loop uh of how Belgium really is approaching the mandate from 2026 into 2028 and beyond and ultimately aligning themselves with the VA uh requirements

when it comes to not only making sure that e invoices are issued but the e invoice data and transaction data is ultimately uh reported.

So you know things have more or less uh come from two different perspectives.

We're looking at a business perspective and a fiscal perspective. The fiscal

perspective is you e-report your data once upon a time. You know, this was just uh manual submissions that were done on, you know, quarterly basis, monthly basis and the like. And you

know, invoicing or e-invoicing is the business perspective, right? Making sure

that you can uh minimize your DSOs, right? Making sure that you get paid as

right? Making sure that you get paid as abruptly as possible. of making sure that your invoicing um I guess processes were as efficient as humanly possible. Right? Those are

the two perspectives. But when we showcase convergence, we see that in the model that um Belgium plans on operating, CTC sits in the middle in

that it brings together the fiscal and business perspective to make sure that once again there is seamless issuance and reception of electronic invoices, making things a bit more efficient,

especially when it comes to minimizing DSOs and DPOS while simultaneously making sure that the government is happy and that they get the data that they're requiring to make sure that they

minimize the the tax gaps and also adhere to these overarching uh you know obligations uh and legislations that are sweeping more or

less the the VA proposal.

So I want to I guess bring things home here with saying why could PPE be the option, right? Why would Belgium lean

option, right? Why would Belgium lean towards PPE? Why would the VITA

towards PPE? Why would the VITA initiative lean towards PPE? Well, the

fact of the matter is it satisfies a lot of the uh obligations that are outlined by the legislation by default. Right? So

in the upper diagram we see that historically it really is an efficient means and method of issuing and receiving electronic invoices by a parties that can validate data and make

sure that it gets from point A to point B uh quite seamlessly. Uh it is showcased you know standing the test of time. It's well established. It's proven

time. It's well established. It's proven

for crossber data exchange and it has all of these accolades and it's used not only across the EU in a lot of BCG obligations already but it has expanded

to a global extent right and now you know they've figured out a way to move past the standardized form into the regulated form which doesn't interrupt processes at all right it's still

seamless issuance and reception between uh buying and selling parties but simultaneously still allowing for the tax authority to get involved and get

that requested data and all service providers have to do is issue in different directions. Right? So there

different directions. Right? So there

will be the tax data reporting obligation that service providers have you know the built-in functionality to satisfy which will never interrupt or detract from the the angle in which

they're supposed to validate data from a corner two perspective and make sure they issue that to the receiving service provider and then the receiving service provider ultimately gets that data into the hands of the buyer and that is a

closed loop as far as transactions are concerned.

So that's essentially why it I guess Peple could satisfy things in the context of Vita and the Belgium mandate more specifically. But you know we can

more specifically. But you know we can look at it from you know even further right like not just Belgium and Vita but

Vita sweeping across the entire uh EU and kind of closing things off based on those very specific requirements that Belgium is planning on satisfying

preemptively. So the e- invoicing aspect

preemptively. So the e- invoicing aspect once again is seamless issuance and reception between suppier and buyer. um

moving into let's say data reporting requirements right so Belgium has expressed its intent to implement that nearrealtime data reporting in 2028 and

that showcases alignment with the VA proposal because you know the DRR associated with Vita are supposed to be done in near real time for suppliers and if it's a self bill or from the

purchasing perspective it's supposed to be done more or less in 5 days all right so you know it showcases the technology involved olved. It showcases alignment

involved olved. It showcases alignment and then it also showcases ultimately what's supposed to end up in the hands of the tax authorities and into the hands of the central VIS which

essentially is the central data repository for all transactions for you know all crossber and potentially domestic trade within the EU as a whole.

That is something that um governments want to monitor to ultimately minimize tax gaps and make sure that their economies are flowing um as efficiently as possible and moving just towards this

digital age, right? Digitalization

um taking the administrative burden off of not only taxpayers and market participants but tax authorities as well.

So you know moving on to why the move towards decentralized approaches you know it showcases that um the business processes don't need to be interrupted

by these tax bolt-ons right so essentially once again showcasing seamless issuance and reception never being interrupted and the tax authority still getting the data that they want right it's flexible and democratic in

that once again it doesn't interrupt anything and everybody more or less gets what they want naturally In a democracy, um, you know, not everybody gets 100%

what they want, but everybody attempts to get what they need, and we try to make it as fair as humanly possible.

moving into the future, you know, there's a lot of flexibility and custom customization that is um possible in the

context uh of Pebble as well, you know, or where it comes to adding attachments, adding different uh obligations that VA promotes as well. There is a lot of room

to to introduce so much more and scale in the context of of Pebble and DCTCE.

So these are a lot of the reasons why um you know markets are moving towards that approach. Vita aligns with that approach

approach. Vita aligns with that approach and naturally we discussed how Belgium is preemptively aligning with that approach just to make sure that they're you know essentially futurep proofing

their their CTC model. So that uh yeah concludes why you know markets are moving towards that and that essentially is the regulatory aspect of what is going on in Belgium in accordance with

veto.

>> Great. Thanks so much. Uh that's that was highly informative and we have a lot of questions coming in already. So uh

let me move through these two polls at a pace please and then let's hand over to Tim. So where are you with invoicing in

Tim. So where are you with invoicing in Belgium in terms of a solution? Would

you say that you have a solution in place and you're satisfied with it?

Maybe you have a solution in place, but you're unsure about the compliance of the actual uh solution that you're working with or your your approach. Uh

we are about to choose a solution or would you say that you're you're looking you're evaluating the market and and looking for a solution today? If uh you

could let me know please. We're at about um 55% of you responding. If you haven't already, uh, let us know. Please do so.

And we'll be closing the poll in three, two, one. Thank you so much. Let's have

two, one. Thank you so much. Let's have

a look at the results here. 60, but just over 60% of you responded. Um, so you can see that uh 21% of you say that you have a solution in place and you're

satisfied with it. Um, 32% of you talk about how you have a solution in place, but you're unsure about the compliance.

Um, and that I imagine is making you a little bit uncomfortable. 27% of you are saying that you're about to choose a solution and 20% of you are looking for a solution today. Thank you. Um, oh,

okay. Sorry, I don't think I actually pressed the share button. So, let me just do that now. Um, okay. So, um,

let's, uh, move on to the next poll that I've got and then I can hand over to Tim for Ian voicing. other countries are in

scope for you. Is it just Belgium that you're looking at? Is it Belgium and a cluster of other countries? Is it really the whole of the EU? So, all 27 member

states, or is it the EU and international?

Um, so what other countries are in scope for you um and and are on your road map ahead? Is it just Belgium? Belgium and a

ahead? Is it just Belgium? Belgium and a cluster of countries, all of the EU or would you say it's the EU and international? So again, we're at about

international? So again, we're at about 66% of you responding there. Closing the

poll in three, two, one. Let's have a look at the results. Thank you. Uh

coming in at yep 70%. So that coming up on your screen now. 11% of you just say it's Belgium. 35% of you saying it's

it's Belgium. 35% of you saying it's Belgium in a cluster of countries. 15%

of you are saying it's the whole of the EU. and 39% of you are actually saying

EU. and 39% of you are actually saying it's the EU and international. So a

large task ahead. All right, thank you for that. Um and now let's hand over to

for that. Um and now let's hand over to Tim.

>> Thank you Susie and thanks so much Herz on the details on FIDA and of course the Belgium mandate and also sharing a little bit on what the future will hold for us. In this next section, we're

for us. In this next section, we're going to spend some time on how this is actually impacting business, the way we do business, and what is needed for you

to ensure you're working with the right partner in Belgium. So when we're talking about impact, it's fair to say that this mandate is here to

significantly transform the way we're doing business and the way we handle invoices and compliance in Belgium, which will offer both challenges to your

organizations as well as uh some great opportunity there as well. So the rules are very simple. Start in January 1st,

2026. No more PDF or other non-

2026. No more PDF or other non- electronic invoices are allowed for any domestic transactions in Belgium, which

will require you to adapt to new processes as well as new technologies to comply to this mandate. And although

this does involve initial costs and of course time and effort to investigate what is the right solution for us, the benefits are really there and they can actually really show. An example, the

second point on this slide, and this is known to many of us, um, e invoicing is definitely there to streamline your accounting processes, and this benefits

both sides of the trade. So, from a buyer point of view, obviously, if you're doing this manually right now, this takes away a lot of your workload

on keying in data from PDF or other types of invoices. Maybe you've

automated it some way with OCR technology. So you have a scanning

technology. So you have a scanning solution that is actually reading those invoices for you. Now you're actually spending less time on mapping out those different PDF formats or making sure

that your OCR has captured that data correctly. So there's a great time

correctly. So there's a great time efficiency there uh which improves your invoice processing. but also for a

invoice processing. but also for a supplier because this buyer is actually benefiting from better processes and better data. This will also positively

better data. This will also positively influencefluence your day sales outstanding and then overall it will of course also uh reduce

the back and forth communication between the different part parties. And these

benefits they they really really show.

In one of our more recent case studies, we found a customer that saved 65% of their working hours by switching to e- invoicing. And this was actually in a

invoicing. And this was actually in a market where e invoicing was not mandated at all. So imagine the benefits you can gain when 100% of your domestic

invoices switch to electronic.

In the case of the customer, it actually resulted in a very fast return on investment. I believe was a little bit

investment. I believe was a little bit less than 10 months. Uh which is of course also a great result to have especially if you consider uh the

initial investment um in time and money to find the right solution.

Finally, it will also require you to think beyond what's happening today and you also need to strategize for the future as these mandates constantly

evolve and Herz made this very clear in this part of the presentation that also the Belgium mandate will likely change over time and even though it is some

additional effort right now to find the right solution that's also thinking forward you are actively futureproofing your business for what's what is coming which will also save you time later on

because you don't have to go to market again and again every time something little changes. So do find yourself a

little changes. So do find yourself a solution that's flexible and easy to adopt.

So with all the different options that are out there, how do we actually find the right solution for our organization and how can we tell the difference between the different service providers

especially with so many service providers providers that are out there.

There are of course many ways to compare u we want to focus on three of them today. Uh we want to have a look at the

today. Uh we want to have a look at the compatibility of the solution to your IT landscape. um the value at because it's

landscape. um the value at because it's often also more than just meeting mandatory requirements. You actually

mandatory requirements. You actually want to improve the processes of your AP and AR teams as well. And then the final point we want to discuss today is how

scalable is this solution. So if you look at number one which is going to be the IT landscape ease of integration with your existing systems is critical

here and it's here very important to work with the different stakeholders in your organization. So think about your

your organization. So think about your IT team your AP team as well as the AR team to make sure that you have mapped out all the systems that are in play.

This could be multiple ERP systems used across the business. It could also be any other financial management system like an AP automation solution where you might want the service provider to be

connected to. And ideally in this

connected to. And ideally in this scenario, you find yourself a solution that can actually cater for all these systems that you have in use instead of

having multiple solutions in play to deal with this mandate. So focus here on something that's actually either ERP

agnostic or in your solution design consider to maybe um put some middleware in between to simplify this this setup because if you end up with a very

complex setups as these mandates evolve over time it will be a big project to keep up those systems up to date. Also

an important thing to mention about the IT landscape. Um if you're still about

IT landscape. Um if you're still about to implement the solution or maybe you just have started do take into consideration that it does take time to

properly implement and integrate the solutions to your systems and you want to leave enough time for proper user acceptance testing to make sure that everything is working before this

mandate will go live. because it is going to be a clear cut when the first of January is there.

The second point we want to consider is the value at the uh service pro provider will bring to your organization. So

differentiate between service providers offering more basic functionality versus more advanced features that can actually

improve the processes along the way. So

a good one to mention is a service provider that potentially can also cover other document types. So even though the mandate only requires you to send

electronic invoices, it's actually also an opportunity to start looking into e orders or the exchange of any other document you find in your purchase to

pay or order to cash cycle. Um and

another example could be advanced analytics or dashboards to support you um measuring KPIs to financial forecasting and even ESG. There are

providers that are out there that actually can um show what the impact is of switching to electronic invoicing. So

is if this is a KPI for your organization, um there's actually something to gain there as well to actively measure the improvements that

are made. And even though this uh list

are made. And even though this uh list is not exhaustive, another great one to look at to look at is um well, can it

add value to our AP and AR processes? So

can we potentially work with the data with enrichments and validation? So

before it leaves or enters your systems, you can actually add information or just making sure that everything is correct before it leaves our uh system. So it's

all about not just meeting your mandatory requirements, but also thinking about enabling your AR and AP teams to do their work effectively.

The final point I'd like to mention today is the scalability of the provider. Um, as your business grows,

provider. Um, as your business grows, your service provider should also be able to grow with you. So, they need to be able to handle increased transaction volumes without compromising on the

performance. And of course, it doesn't

performance. And of course, it doesn't only go for your own transaction volumes, but actually for any customer they may serve. And it's also about the

required effort to implement a solution.

We can definitely expect an influx of work for of organizations that try to be ready in time for the mandate. So do

make sure that your partner or your service provider that you've decided to work with can actually support you and make sure that you are implemented in time for the mandate

because this mandates constantly change.

Also think about the flexibility and the ease of adapting to new requirements.

And in this case actually it would be great if this can be done with as little intervention from your side. Of course

there's always a even balance between service provider doing all the work and needing to engage with the end customer to make sure that the systems are up to

date. But you do want to find a solution

date. But you do want to find a solution that actually doing most of the heavy lifting for you and making sure that the small little technical requirements that

are changing on a constant basis are also accounted for. And then the final point um there were some business some businesses on this call that actually

have a scope beyond just Belgium. Um

when considering a partner think also beyond Belgium. Ideally, you find a

beyond Belgium. Ideally, you find a partner that can support you across all the markets where you're operating.

Otherwise, you will have endless projects each time a country decides to um introduce a e- invoicing mandate or something similar. And we can guarantee

something similar. And we can guarantee that these mandates are here. They're

coming fake and fast and they're definitely here to stay.

So as we wrap up uh today's session, let's res revisit some key points uh to consider uh when looking at 2026 and

beyond. First of all, this invoicing

beyond. First of all, this invoicing mandate, it is imminent. It will

significantly change the way we do businesses business in Belgium and it will impact all businesses that are operating in Belgium. It's only it will

be a clearcut. So on the 1st of January, no more PDF or other non- electronic invoices are allowed. And second, it's also only 6 months left to prepare. So

the countdown, it is really on and it's now your time to ensure are our systems and processes up to date and are they ready for this? And then don't forget

that it takes time to properly implement a solution and test a solution before you go live. Third, remember that the regulatory landscape is evolving. Beyond

this mandate, future changes will be expected. So adaptability and forward

expected. So adaptability and forward thinking is essential here. And then the final point, it's more than just a compliance exercise. It's actually an

compliance exercise. It's actually an opportunity for your business to drive better efficiency and better processes overall. So that said, um, thank you

overall. So that said, um, thank you very much. which I'm now passing back to

very much. which I'm now passing back to Susie for the final polls and also the Q&A.

>> That's great. Thank you so much to Tim and to Herz. So um let's just do a a final poll um whilst we've got you uh just before we go into Q&A. So it's

regarding what you'd like to do uh for the followup. So I think there are a lot

the followup. So I think there are a lot of people on the line that might appreciate a little bit more handholding over the next few months. So, what kind of uh specific type of follow-up would you appreciate? Is it a conversation

you appreciate? Is it a conversation with an expert like Tim or Herz? Maybe a

demo of the Pagarero solution and how it can help you in Belgium um but also for your cluster of countries, Europe or EU I should say and beyond the EU. Um or is

it a demo uh would you like a demo so as soon as possible or would you like a demo of of Pagarero in the next few weeks? Um, would you like more

weeks? Um, would you like more information about the Belgium mandate?

Uh, and or would you just like more information about compliance generally?

You can tick as many boxes as you like.

Let's leave that open whilst we move into questions. We've got some good time

into questions. We've got some good time for questions and we have a lot of questions. So, um, okay, I think this

questions. So, um, okay, I think this one might be for you, Herz. Will the XML um that we send to Purple in Belgium be

considered as the final invoice in the case of a VAT audit or can we still use a PDF in case of a VAT audit? That's the

first question I've got for you and I think that one's for Herz, please.

>> Understood. Yeah. No, absolutely. The

tax valid invoice will always be the XML, right? The the EN6931 compliant

XML, right? The the EN6931 compliant structured document. uh a PDF or

structured document. uh a PDF or anything that kind of replicates the structured data will only be considered supplementary, but it would not suffice or it would not be sufficient in the

terms of an audit in Belgium moving forward beyond January 1st, 2026.

So, what's paramount here is knowing that uh your pepleis, your XML, your your structured invoice, that's your your northstar. That's what'll get you

your northstar. That's what'll get you through an audit. That's what you're supposed to archive. That's your tax valid documentation.

>> Okay. Um and the second question from the same um audience member. Is it

acceptable that XM X the XML sent to Pepple is on header level and does not contain all details just sufficient just sufficient info to determine that that

treatment?

>> That's an interesting question. And so

there are certain uh I guess content components that are supposed to be in you know your standard uh invoice in general right like certain mandatory

content. Uh and when it comes to the use

content. Uh and when it comes to the use of peple um your invoice will not pass initial validation if it does not have all those content pieces right so if not

all of that content is satisfied. So,

you know, it's a tough question to answer. Um, so that's that's the most

answer. Um, so that's that's the most advice that I could give you in the moment. Uh, but it's something that I

moment. Uh, but it's something that I can probably take offline and and provide more context to at a later time.

>> Okay. Thank you. We have an internal issue popping up in this particular organization on the original invoice reference field required in the PPE format for credit notes. We often have

situations where we have credit notes that are not referring to one specific invoice. For example, a quarterly bonus

invoice. For example, a quarterly bonus paid based on all invoices issued in one quarter. What would your suggestion be

quarter. What would your suggestion be to include in that field instead?

>> This does sound like a tough question.

Very very technical.

>> Exactly.

So yeah, I think and >> if if if you already have found a partner in this scenario, definitely work with your service provider and look

into this. If you're still looking for a

into this. If you're still looking for a provider or about to implement, indeed raise this topic. Uh and we are also happy to take this one offline and look into the specifics.

>> Yeah. Okay. There might be a couple more coming up that get incredibly detailed.

Let's just see how we get on. Um if the um if the Pepple ID was created a long time ago by the connector the provider

and our company um how can we create new Peppa ID for this same entity? Is this

possible?

>> I think I can take this to a certain extent. Um you can have separate service

extent. Um you can have separate service providers for different flows in the ple network but uh if it's exclusively for invoicing um yeah I don't think there is

an opportunity for you to get another peple ID for the same entity uh it really depends on the flows and how you choose to approach it but if it's singularly for e invoicing that is not possible in the context of the

framework. Okay, thank you. Um, and just

framework. Okay, thank you. Um, and just a quick pause. We've got um, uh, a white paper that you might be interested in.

There's a QR code there, so please feel free to, uh, take a photo of that QR code and it will take you through to, um, a link. Um, so if the head office is

based in the UK and Belgium operations are via a branch of the UK head office, then does the branch fall under AP and

AR to follow e invoicing?

So if the Belgian branch once again has a fixed establishment office and and you know a location of operation or business operations on Belgian soil as well as a Belgian VAT registration number, they

are 100% in scope for both AR and AP uh obligations domestically within the borders of transactions happening in Belgium. But as far as the UK head

Belgium. But as far as the UK head office or headquarters, they are completely out of scope.

>> Yeah, thanks. Um, in case of customer unregistered in Belgium, how uh I'm just reading this as it is. How to make sales

to those customers? Um, can you can you help with that if um otherwise I'll move on to the next question. I'm just

reading it as is.

>> No worries. if they're not a so if your transacting party is not registered for let's say VAT um you know once again you could be doing B2C transactions or you can be operating with somebody who

doesn't meet the threshold value for registering for VAT then those transactions are not in scope of issuing electronic invoices either

>> okay um thank you thank you what is the consequence if you are not ready in time for the supplier as well as for the buyer That's also a good question. So, while

it hasn't been made abundantly clear, there are already existing penalties for not complying or adhering to the requirements to issue electronic invoices in the B2G space. So, one could

speculate that those same penalties will then be rolled over to uh or rather they'd be broadened to encompass both B2G and B2B processes. And those

penalties are financial. I think in the realm of 3,000 uh euros uh not necessarily per infraction, but it really depends on scenarios. But what

I guess I'm trying to drive home here is that there are penalties that already exist and the risk of not being compliant by January 1st is that you will be financially penalized.

>> Okay, great. Um thank you. And I that it sounds like we we'll find out a bit more about that as the months go by. So next

question I've got is on uh okay we have a supplier network platform in place it's SAP business network which assures a high integration um automation the

invoices do not pass will this be compliant as of 2028.

So if the invoice or transaction data is both issued and received in a structured XML format and it's replicable in that sense um you know as far as having

digital um target data uh that portion is compliant but it's the reporting piece in 2028 that I think people need to be worried about or watching out for

and if you cannot you know simultaneously report those transactions that are uh happening in the portal to via the uh PEL network to the tax

authority, that's where your biggest concern should be. But as far as issuing and receiving the the invoice, as long as it's in an EN16931 format, uh that's totally fine. But then when you have to

totally fine. But then when you have to report via PPE, that should be your concern because there is no other means and method of reporting come 2028. You

have to do that via the PPE network.

>> Okay. Um thank you. Uh, I want to ask about whether businesses in the gambling sector is exempt from the mandate.

>> That I would not know off the top of my head. Uh, I'll back

head. Uh, I'll back >> come back on that one. Okay. Okay. Fine.

Thank you. We've still got quite a few more questions. So, um, you're doing

more questions. So, um, you're doing great here. Thank you. And if you do

great here. Thank you. And if you do have questions and we don't get to them, I know that, um, Herz and Tim will take them offline. Um, how will the

them offline. Um, how will the customer's uh purple participant ID be communicated?

It is not necessarily the VAT I VAT ID, but could also be the enterprise number.

>> So, there's a an SML and SMP in the PEL network that allows you to search uh not only participants but their capabilities for issuance reception and different document types. So, that's probably the

document types. So, that's probably the the best path forward when it comes to looking up um your your counterparty in a transaction, right? Your service

provider should have those lookup capabilities and they'll do that on your behalf to make sure that from point A to point B, the invoice uh ultimately ends up where it's supposed to end up. Yeah,

I if I may may add to that that would also be one of the the first thing we would do is indeed match your trading partner list against the network to make sure okay these businesses are indeed

already enabled on PPE and are ready to send and receive um Apple invoices straight away.

>> Great. Thank you. Okay. Will there be an option to convert an XML invoice to PDF to book it as in to book the document

based on its PDF version but also attach the XML version for audit purposes?

>> Yes. So I can take this this this question. So as Herz already explained

question. So as Herz already explained in the end the XML or the electronic file will be the the leading document but actually it is indeed possible. Um

and as an organization we would always do it. we would convert that XML into a

do it. we would convert that XML into a human readable file so everyone in the organization indeed can can double check check and make sense of that XML um to

see where where the invoice was all about.

>> Okay, thanks. Um, what is Pep and how does it work and can we might and can we directly connect our

ERP to it rather than using a network like Pero?

Also in in in in the world of PPE um the whole framework is actually built around what they call the four corner model

where we would have our buyer and our supplier serving as two corners and both their service providers as the other two

corners in the four corner model. So to

be able to disperate through PPE or the PEL network in the PEL standard, you need those service providers to be there to facilitate that um that invoice flow.

>> Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Um and what if the invoice includes also a time and expense report? Will this be also included on

report? Will this be also included on the platform?

So here we're referring to sending along attachments with the invoice. Um yes,

that's that's perfectly allowed. It's

possible to to send attachments with the invoice.

>> Okay. Um

what distinguishes Pagarero as a service provider compared to the other providers out there?

>> That's always a a great um great question. I think in the in the terms of

question. I think in the in the terms of PEL to kind of stay in team um Pagarero is a service provider in any country

where PPE exists. Um and even though Peple is a standard, there will always be small deviations between what does PPE mean in Belgium and what does PPE

mean in in Singapore. Um and that's actually something we can support with um all the way.

>> Yeah. Okay. Um, good. All right. Well,

let's let's leave it there for now. Uh,

this has been a highly um in informative webinar. So, thank you for diving deep

webinar. So, thank you for diving deep into the technical detail um both Herz and Tim. And uh to our audience, uh if

and Tim. And uh to our audience, uh if you um would like to just give us your feedback on this webinar, please follow the QR code and give us your feedback.

We always love to hear back from you.

Um, and also just to point out, we have a lot of webinars coming up in the next couple of months specifically on the mandate. So, please make sure that

mandate. So, please make sure that you're up to date, you're getting our webinar alerts for this, our webinar listing, and uh, yes, and sign up to

these webinars um because they are very much engineered designed to help you on this journey ahead. So, thanks for your

time um today and we look forward to welcoming you next time. Thanks a lot.

Goodbye.