PEPPOL IN EUROPE
E-invoicing in Croatia
Since 2018, all contracting authorities in Croatia have been required—pursuant to EU Directive 2014/55 and in accordance with the Law on Electronic Invoicing in Public Procurement—to be able to receive and process e-invoices. Since July 1, 2019, all suppliers doing business with government agencies have been required to issue invoices in electronic form.
The agency responsible for implementing the service for receiving and sending e-invoices between suppliers and public contracting authorities is the government platform Servis eRačun za državu. Through this platform, it is possible to exchange e-documents between public contracting authorities, contracting entities, information intermediaries, and their customers. This platform is also linked to the Financial Agency (FINA), which serves as a PEPPOL access point. Thanks to the link with PEPPOL, all members can send e-invoices to government agencies.
Electronic invoicing for B2B transactions is voluntary but strongly recommended. Invoices are exchanged via the central platform Servis eRačun za državu. The platform serves as a hub for all participants and contributes to the provision of standardized e-invoices. Therefore, EDI providers and the PEPPOL network enable the sending and receiving of B2B e-invoices in Croatia.
The Fiscalization 2.0 project will be completed by the end of 2024. To achieve all the objectives set for the Fiscalization 2.0 project, it is necessary to create a single legal framework for the exchange of e-invoices across all business sectors. With a view to comprehensive oversight of taxpayers across all business segments, it is therefore proposed to establish a single regulation within the Fiscalization Act, which will replace the existing Fiscalization Act for cash transactions and prescribe a single fiscal and legal framework for the fiscalization of all invoices in the final consumption or B2C segment, the issuance and fiscalization of e-invoices between taxpayers in the B2B segment, and the fiscalization of invoices issued in the context of business transactions between taxpayers and government agencies in the B2G segment. During a conference in Zagreb, the Croatian Ministry of Finance announced that the legislative package, which aims to modernize the country’s tax system, is in its final stage of development.
Transmission System under the “Fiscalization 2” Tax Reform:
The “Fiscalization 2.0” tax reform introduces separate but interrelated rules for B2C, B2B, and B2G transactions. Entities offering electronic invoicing services must be capable of AS4 communication. A central registry of endpoints will be established. Taxpayers may also act as access points themselves.
For B2B and B2G transactions, the new reform mandates e-invoicing and the associated tax processing for all domestic B2B and B2G transactions effective January 1, 2026. When e-invoices are sent and received, a process of “tax processing of e-invoices” takes place, which is separate from the exchange of the e-invoices themselves. This process involves extracting specific data from the e-invoice and submitting it to the tax processing system (via web service). Recipients must report information about rejected e-invoices. This includes the issuance date of the e-invoice, the e-invoice number, the OIBs of both the sender and the recipient, the date of rejection, and the reason for rejection.
In B2C transactions, tax registration is performed exclusively by the invoice issuer. When an invoice is issued in a B2C transaction, a tax registration message containing specific data elements is sent to the Tax Authority. The Tax Authority sends a confirmation in the form of a unique invoice identification number (JIR) and a security code from the issuing party (ZKI). The JIR and the ZKI are then printed on the invoice, along with other required information. A QR code is also required as part of the invoice content in B2C transactions. This QR code contains information about the JIR, allowing consumers to verify whether their invoice has been reported to the tax authorities.
