Article 218 Directive 2006/112/EC
Concept of invoice
Title XI · Obligations of taxable persons and certain non-taxable persons › Chapter 3 · Invoicing › Section 2 · Concept of invoice
Open in the compendium4 cases ↓
Text of Article 218
For the purposes of this Directive, Member States shall accept documents or messages on paper or in electronic form as invoices if they meet the conditions laid down in this Chapter.
By way of derogation from the first paragraph of this Article, Member States may, in accordance with the conditions they lay down, require taxable persons established within their territory to issue electronic invoices for supplies of goods and services within their territory, other than those referred to in Article 262.
Consolidated version on EUR-Lex (CELEX 02006L0112-20250414). © European Union. Only the Official Journal is authentic.
Case law on Article 218: 4 cases
Judgments, orders and Advocate General opinions of the Court of Justice and the General Court that cite Article 218 of Directive 2006/112/EC, most recent first.
- C-235/21 Raiffeisen Leasing Judgment · 29 September 2022 · Slovenia
- C-80/20 Wilo Salmson France Judgment · 21 October 2021 · Romania
- C-533/16 Volkswagen Opinion · 26 October 2017 · Slovakia
- C-516/14 Barlis 06 - Investimentos Imobiliários e Turísticos Opinion · 18 February 2016 · Portugal
VAT Committee guidelines on Article 218: 1
Not binding. Positions agreed in the VAT Committee set up under Article 398 of Directive 2006/112/EC and published by the Commission.
- Meeting 126 · 21 March 2025 · document 2.1. New Article 218 – changes in electronic invoicing rules applicable upon the entry into force of the VAT in the Digital Age Directive