Peppol duties for franchise, VAT-exempt and flat-rate businesses

The small business exemption, usually called the VAT franchise, does not take you out of Belgium's e-invoicing obligation. Since 1 January 2026, a franchise business established in Belgium must send structured e-invoices to its Belgian VAT-registered business customers and be able to receive them from its suppliers, like any business that charges VAT. Only the VAT on the invoice differs. The real exceptions are narrower: a business whose supplies are all exempt under article 44 of the VAT Code has neither duty, flat-rate taxpayers must receive but need not issue, and farmers under the special agricultural regime must receive but need not issue for their regime supplies.

This guide sets out the duties per VAT regime and the OrdoGrid set-up for each. Franchise invoice content (threshold, mention, leaving the scheme) is in small business VAT exemption: invoicing; the daily routine for supplier invoices is in receive supplier Peppol invoices.

Send and receive duties by VAT regime

What the law requires. Art. 53 §2bis of the VAT Code (Law of 6 February 2024, amended by the Law of 10 February 2026) applies to taxable persons established in Belgium. They must issue a structured e-invoice for supplies to a taxable person established in Belgium that must give its Belgian VAT number for the purchase, and they must be able to receive structured e-invoices. Peppol BIS on the Peppol network is the default format (Royal Decree no. 1, art. 13ter). FPS Finance, the federal tax administration, lists the exceptions on its scope page; the general rules are in the Belgian e-invoicing obligation.

Lacking the technical means to issue and receive structured invoices is fined €1,500 for a first infringement, €3,000 for a second and €5,000 for each further one; a repeat counts only if established at least three months after the previous fined infringement (Royal Decree no. 44, as amended by the Royal Decree of 8 July 2025). The tolerance for the first quarter of 2026 ended on 31 March 2026.

Article 44 exemption

An exemption tied to the nature of the supply, such as certain medical care, education or social services (article 44 of the VAT Code). It is not the franchise, which depends on the business's own turnover. How each regime looks on an invoice is compared in VAT regimes on Belgian invoices.

Franchise: no VAT on the invoice, the same Peppol duties

FPS Finance's B2B FAQ (Q2) is explicit: 'The obligation applies if you make use of the exemption scheme for small businesses'. FPS Finance's notice of 7 April 2026 confirms that franchise taxpayers are in principle covered. In practice:

• Sending. Invoices to business customers established in Belgium with a Belgian VAT number go out as structured e-invoices, normally on Peppol. That structured invoice is the legal invoice; a PDF copy is optional.
• Content. No VAT is charged. In its place the invoice carries 'Régime particulier de la franchise de taxe' or 'Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting' (Royal Decree no. 1, art. 5 §1 10°quater, since 1 January 2025).
• Receiving. You cannot deduct the VAT your suppliers charge (VAT Code art. 56bis §4), but you must be able to receive their structured invoices.
• Customer not on Peppol. You still issue the invoice, as a PDF or on paper, and the customer is in breach of its own receiving duty (art. 53 §2bis al. 6). Do not resend it later as a structured invoice. See send an invoice to a client not on Peppol.
• Consumers and customers abroad. Outside the Belgian obligation.

When you exceed the threshold

Your Peppol duties stay the same; the VAT on your invoices changes. The threshold is €25,000 excluding VAT for 2026 and €26,000 for 2027 (Law of 23 September 2026), with a 10% tolerance within the year. If you start your activity during the year, the threshold is reduced pro rata to your days of activity (Law of 10 February 2026, in force since 20 February 2026); the amounts below assume a full year.

From the switch date, set Traitement TVA (VAT treatment) to Standard (Standaard in Dutch documents) in OrdoGrid with the right rate per line. Remove any franchise wording you typed in the Notes, and switch invoices you reuse with Dupliquer (duplicate) to Standard too. Your Peppol registration, Peppol ID and invoice series stay the same.

Article 44, mixed activities, flat-rate and farmers

Only article 44-exempt supplies. Since 1 January 2026, the invoicing obligation of art. 53 §2 covers supplies other than those exempt under article 44, and FPS Finance exempts businesses that make only such supplies from issuing and receiving structured invoices. Your suppliers then send PDF or paper invoices, unless you register on Peppol voluntarily, which counts as agreement to receive structured invoices. A single taxed activity alongside your exempt supplies makes you a mixed business.

Mixed businesses. You issue structured invoices for taxed supplies to Belgian VAT-registered business customers, and you must be able to receive. Have your accountant confirm in writing which of your services are exempt. In OrdoGrid, put taxed supplies on their own invoices under Standard (Standaard in Dutch documents): a Peppol send mixing 0% and non-zero lines under Standard is refused. Exempt supplies you do invoice go on separate invoices under Exonération (art. 44 CTVA), which prints the article 44 mention (VAT category E); Régime de la franchise de taxe is only for the small-business franchise.

Flat-rate taxpayers (forfait, art. 56). The law excludes you from issuing structured invoices, but you must be able to receive them. FPS Finance says the exclusion ends on 1 January 2028 at the latest, so plan to send from then.

Farmers under the special agricultural regime (art. 57). You must be able to receive since 1 January 2026. For regime supplies, a buyer that is itself in scope issues the purchase slip as a structured e-invoice by the 15th working day of the following month, unless you issue a structured invoice yourself (Royal Decree of 12 December 2025). Supplies outside the regime carry the full issuing duty.

If your customer uses the franchise or an exemption

The customer's VAT regime matters only through the legal test: established in Belgium and giving you a Belgian VAT number.

Do not ask for a separate Peppol ID: Belgian participants are registered under scheme 0208 with their KBO/BCE (Crossroads Bank for Enterprises) enterprise number, and FPS Finance says you need not ask (FAQ B2B Q15).

Set up OrdoGrid for your regime

Franchise, normal, mixed, flat-rate and farming businesses all need reception, in OrdoGrid or with another provider; flat-rate taxpayers and farmers, even when they need not issue, still sign the authorisation in step 2, because the Peppol pages open only after it. For an article 44-only business, every step is optional. OrdoGrid's Peppol pages need a Belgian VAT number. If you are not identified for VAT, leave Numéro de TVA (Optionnel) empty: the PDF prints that field as your VAT number, so your enterprise number typed there would misstate your status. The Peppol pages then show Numéro de TVA requis, which is fine without a Peppol duty.

1. In Profil entreprise (company profile), enter BE and your ten-digit enterprise number in Numéro de TVA (Optionnel). Only owners and administrators can edit this page. Peppol works only for companies with a Belgian VAT number; without one, OrdoGrid shows Numéro de TVA requis.
2. Open Peppol. On Autorisation Peppol (Peppol authorisation), enter the Nom complet du signataire (signatory's full name), tick the confirmation and click Signer et confirmer l'autorisation. This is a typed confirmation, not a qualified electronic signature.
3. On Réception Peppol, if the page shows Pas encore trouvé sur le réseau Peppol (not yet on Peppol), click Activer la réception (activate reception): OrdoGrid registers you as 0208: plus your enterprise number. If it shows Déjà inscrit sur le réseau Peppol (already registered), another provider receives for you: click Continuer en envoi seul (send only), or have that provider deregister you first. If it shows Référencé sur Peppol, access point non vérifié (listed on Peppol, access point not verified), Activer la réception tries to register you and is refused if another provider holds your identifier.
4. In Peppol → Statut, check that Réception (Inbox) reads Enregistré and note the Identifiant Peppol. Optionally search it on lookup.peppol.org, the tool FPS Finance recommends: it shows that you can receive, not whether you can send.

Details: set up Peppol in OrdoGrid.

Send a franchise invoice over Peppol

1. Click Nouvelle facture (new invoice), pick the customer with Sélectionner un client and add lines with Ajouter un article.
2. Under Options de TVA, set Traitement TVA to Régime de la franchise de taxe (field and option names follow your document language: in English documents VAT treatment → Small business exemption, in Dutch BTW-behandeling → Kleine ondernemingsregeling, in German MwSt.-Behandlung → Kleinunternehmerregelung; Standard reads Standaard in Dutch). Every line goes to 0%.
3. You need not add the franchise wording to the Notes: on French and Dutch documents, OrdoGrid prints the official text itself (see the note below).
4. Click Envoyer, keep Envoi électronique via Peppol ticked and, unless the customer wants a PDF copy too, untick Email. Click Sauvegarder & Envoyer (save and send).
5. In Peppol → Outbox, Traité means delivered on the network, not accepted or paid.

Receive supplier invoices

Supplier documents arrive under Peppol → Inbox, marked NOUVEAU (new), and owners and administrators get an email. Check each one, pay from its Paiement block and select the month's documents and download them as a ZIP (XML and PDF) for your accountant. Answering with Répondre is optional, but FPS Finance asks you to reject an invoice not meant for you (code RE). OrdoGrid does not book received invoices.

Worked example: a franchise web designer in Liège

Julie Lambert, a freelance web designer in Liège, uses the franchise: VAT number BE 1003.456.783, Peppol ID 0208:1003456783, documents in French. Her 2026 turnover in Belgium is €17,850.00. On 28 September 2026 she finished a website redesign for Boulangerie Maes SRL in Liège (BE 0634.512.830), so she must invoice by 15 October 2026.

1. Threshold check: €17,850.00 + €1,200.00 = €19,050.00, which is €5,950.00 below €25,000.
2. When she clicks Envoyer, OrdoGrid finds the bakery on Peppol. The structured invoice shows a VAT total of €0.00 and €1,200.00 payable, and Peppol → Outbox soon shows Traité.
3. The hosting invoice arrives in her Inbox. She checks it and pays €242.00 with the QR code in the Paiement block. Under the franchise the €42.00 VAT is not deductible: her cost is €242.00.

Variant: if the bakery were not on Peppol, OrdoGrid would show Peppol — ignoré with Le client n'est pas enregistré sur le réseau Peppol. Julie would email the PDF, a valid invoice, and keep a dated screenshot as evidence.

A mixed practice. Kiné Sambre SRL in Namur (BE 0543.210.985) is a physiotherapy practice. Its accountant has confirmed in writing that therapy sessions are exempt under article 44 and that ergonomics workshops for companies are taxed at 21%. For a workshop on 22 September 2026 it invoices Transports Gillet SRL (BE 0765.432.146): 4 hours × €95.00 = €380.00 + €79.80 VAT = €459.80, invoice F-2026-0058, on Peppol under Standard. Patient sessions need no structured invoice. As not all its supplies are exempt, it must also receive: a €2,238.50 invoice for a treatment table (€1,850.00 + €388.50 VAT) arrives in its Inbox.

Mistakes to avoid

Evidence to keep

• Your VAT status: the franchise notification (e604), or your accountant's written analysis of which supplies are article 44-exempt.
• Proof that you can receive: Peppol → Statut showing Réception (Inbox) as Enregistré with its 'Depuis le' (since) date, or your other provider's confirmation.
• For customers that could not receive: the date, the Peppol — ignoré reason or lookup result, and the PDF sent.
• Sent invoices: the XML from Peppol → Outbox and the PDF. Received invoices: a ZIP of the month's Inbox documents (select them, then download) and a record of any Invoice Responses you sent.

Keep invoices for 7 years from 1 January of the year after issue (VAT Code art. 60, as amended by the Law of 18 December 2025). OrdoGrid stores the documents it exchanged but is not a legal archiving service.

FAQ

As a franchise freelancer, must I send my B2B invoices via Peppol?

Yes, to business customers established in Belgium that give you a Belgian VAT number: FPS Finance says the obligation applies to the small business exemption. You must also be able to receive. Invoices to private individuals and customers abroad are outside the obligation.

Does a doctor or another VAT-exempt profession need Peppol?

Not if every supply is exempt under article 44: FPS Finance exempts such businesses from issuing and receiving. With any taxed supplies you are a mixed business: you receive, and issue structured invoices for the taxed supplies.

Which VAT code and mention does a franchise invoice carry on Peppol?

The law requires 'Régime particulier de la franchise de taxe' or 'Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting' in place of the VAT. On French and Dutch documents, OrdoGrid prints that wording on the PDF and sends category E at 0% with it as the exemption reason (no VATEX code) and in the document note of the XML, where FPS Finance (specific FAQ Q11) wants extended VAT clauses too. English and German documents carry a translation.

What happens to my Peppol duties if I exceed €25,000?

Nothing: you already send and receive. The VAT changes: up to €27,500 in 2026 you keep the franchise until 31 December; above that you charge VAT from the transaction that crosses the limit.

I am a flat-rate taxpayer. What must I do?

Be able to receive structured invoices now, for example by activating reception in OrdoGrid. You need not issue them while the flat-rate regime lasts, which FPS Finance says ends on 1 January 2028 at the latest.

Can a business with only exempt supplies register on Peppol anyway?

Yes, through a Peppol provider; registration counts as agreement to receive structured invoices. OrdoGrid offers Peppol only to companies with a Belgian VAT number. If you registered through OrdoGrid and want to stop, the owner or an administrator clicks Libérer la réception under Peppol → Statut.