All-in-one Peppol access point
Full access to the Peppol network for both B2G and B2B exchanges.
COMPANY
Digiteal SA
BE 0630675588
LEI 9845000A44AB9CA60605
Rue Emile Francqui 6/9
1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert
Belgium
ABOUT DIGITEAL
What is Peppol?
Peppol stands for Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line. It was initially established by the European Commission to generalize electronic invoicing and e-procurement.
Peppol functions like an address book combined with a secure transport network that enables the standardized and traceable transmission of electronic documents (invoices, credit notes, purchase orders, etc.) from one system to another. The network is not limited to e-invoices only: it supports multiple types of documents.
Peppol in Luxembourg: B2G obligations today, B2B changes on the horizon
B2G: mandatory (and already in force)
Luxembourg regulations cover public procurement contracts and concession contracts. The law requires that electronic invoices be issued and transmitted to government bodies and other public organisations through approved channels only: via the Peppol network (the standard route) or, as a fallback, through the electronic forms available on MyGuichet.lu.
The obligation was rolled out in phases between May 2022 and March 2023 depending on company size, with the final phase bringing small businesses on board on 18 March 2023. Since that date, all public sector suppliers must issue compliant invoices electronically through the Peppol network.
Public sector bodies, for their part, must be able to receive and process these electronic invoices. The State Information Technology Centre (CTIE) provides a shared access point for public entities that do not have their own infrastructure.
Peppol usage in Luxembourg follows the Peppol BIS Billing v3 standard, with no country-specific requirements. The full list of country-specific requirements is available in OpenPeppol’s PASR documentation (Luxembourg is not included, as no specific requirements apply).
B2B: no official obligation yet, but changes are expected
As things stand, the Chamber of Commerce explicitly notes that no date has been set for a mandatory B2B electronic invoicing requirement in Luxembourg. No formal regulatory deadline has been announced. The voluntary use of Peppol for B2B electronic invoicing is already taking place.
That said, many players in the market anticipate that structured electronic invoicing, most likely over Peppol, will become mandatory for B2B too in the near future. Some market projections point to a 2027 timeframe, though this does not (at this stage) reflect an official position from the authorities.
The B2G obligation already in place is a significant first step, clearly signalling that Luxembourg, alongside Belgium and other European countries, is moving towards widespread electronic invoicing in the private sector, even if it is not yet required.
Businesses and software publishers are therefore encouraged to start integrating now: the technical building blocks and processes used in B2B will almost certainly mirror those already in place for B2G.
Who uses Peppol in Luxembourg?
Luxembourg public sector
Peppol is the network chosen for the automated reception of electronic invoices by all public bodies (ministries, government agencies, municipalities, and so on). A Grand-Ducal regulation, passed in 2021, formally established Peppol as the common delivery network for electronic invoices to the Luxembourg public sector. All PSBs (public sector bodies) must therefore be reachable on Peppol to receive B2G invoices, either through their own access point or via the CTIE’s shared access point. Bodies connected through the CTIE are automatically listed in the Peppol directory, making it easier for their suppliers to identify them.
Businesses supplying the public sector (Luxembourg-based or foreign)
Any company invoicing a Luxembourg public sector body is legally required to issue compliant electronic invoices and transmit them via the Peppol network. This obligation applies to all invoices under public procurement contracts, with no minimum amount and no sector distinction, except for a few narrowly defined cases set out in law. In practice, any company working with the Luxembourg public sector must be equipped to send invoices in structured format (XML) over Peppol.
Private companies (B2B)
Outside the public sector, Peppol is optional but already available for business-to-business exchanges. Nothing prevents two private companies from voluntarily sending each other Peppol invoices, to streamline their accounting processes, for instance. The network, originally built for B2G, also supports B2B exchanges, allowing the private sector to use the same infrastructure for secure, standardised and efficient invoicing between businesses.
Why use Peppol?
Even where there is no legal obligation beyond B2G, adopting Peppol brings real advantages for B2B companies. Here is an overview:
- Cost savings: less reliance on PDF emails or paper, and less manual data entry, reducing printing, postage, and administrative processing costs.
- Fewer errors: because data is structured, processing can be fully automated end to end, preventing input errors and missing information.
- Greater security and traceability: Peppol’s infrastructure ensures secure invoice routing and reliable identification of all parties (through unique identifiers), enabling better transaction tracking and reducing fraud risk.
- Faster purchase-to-pay cycles: invoice receipt, validation and payment are all accelerated through automation, near-instant processing, fewer disputes and fewer delays caused by errors.
These benefits explain why many companies choose to adopt Peppol voluntarily, well ahead of any legal requirement.
How does Peppol work?
The Peppol network operates the same way in every country and is built on what is known as the four-corner model.
This model involves four parties in every document exchange:
- The document sender
- The sender’s Peppol access point
- The recipient’s Peppol access point
- The final recipient
In other words, each company, whether sending or receiving, connects to the network through a certified access point of its choice. The two access points handle the transmission of the document from sender to the correct recipient across the network.
The access point’s role is routing. When a sender issues an invoice, their access point queries the Peppol directory to confirm that the recipient is registered and reachable, and to verify that they are able to receive the document type being sent. The invoice is then forwarded to the recipient’s designated access point, from which the recipient retrieves it.
All of this happens transparently and with a high level of security. This decentralised model guarantees interoperability on three levels: technical, through the four-corner model structuring exchanges between access points; semantic and syntactic, through a single document format (UBL / BIS) understood by all participants; and dynamic, through the global directory (SML / SMP) that allows any sender to locate and address any recipient in real time. As long as each participant is connected to a Peppol network access point, they can exchange documents with one another.
What options are there for sending an e-invoice to the public sector?
Companies have two main options for transmitting an electronic invoice to the Luxembourg public sector: sending via Peppol or sending via MyGuichet.lu. For regular, professional use, connecting via Peppol is by far the more efficient route. MyGuichet works well as a practical fallback for very small organisations or businesses in a transitional phase, but it cannot be automated at scale.
Via Peppol, through a certified Access Point (recommended)
This is the smoothest and most scalable approach if you regularly send B2G invoices or want to get ahead of a future B2B obligation.
In practice, it means connecting your invoicing software or ERP to a Peppol access point (a certified provider such as Digiteal) so you can send invoices in a single click. Once the integration is in place, your software automatically sends compliant invoices to the access point, which routes them to the recipient.
As an alternative, a large organisation may choose to run its own Peppol access point, but this route is generally reserved for entities with significant IT resources, as it requires managing and maintaining the entire infrastructure in-house, along with the expertise and costs that entails.
Via MyGuichet.lu (for one-off submissions)
If your software is not yet connected to Peppol and you only have a small number of invoices to send to public authorities, Luxembourg provides two online forms on MyGuichet.lu:
- A web form for manually entering the details of a compliant electronic invoice and submitting it, the system then generates the XML file on your behalf.
- A second form for uploading an already-compliant XML invoice (produced by your software, for example) and transmitting it directly to the public recipient.
These two MyGuichet forms are the “non-automated” alternative technical solutions provided for in the regulations, intended for organisations that do not yet have Peppol access.
Sending and receiving invoices on Peppol
The logic for sending and receiving documents on Peppol is the same whether you are invoicing the public sector (B2G) or another business (B2B).
- Invoice preparation: you create the invoice in your usual software (ERP, invoicing tool, etc.), making sure to include all required information.
- Structured format generation: your software (if compliant) generates the invoice in the appropriate structured XML format (for example, Peppol BIS 3.0 UBL). This XML file contains all invoice fields in a standardised form (customer data, VAT, line items, totals, and so on).
- Sending via the Peppol access point: the software transmits the XML file to the Peppol access point it is connected to (or deposits it via an API or connector provided by the service provider). The access point then takes care of routing it to the recipient, identifying their own access point and delivering the invoice to them. If everything is in order, the invoice is delivered into the recipient’s system within seconds.
On the receiving side, the process mirrors this exactly: if you are connected to Peppol, incoming invoices will reach you through the same automated flow. Your access point will receive invoices sent to your Peppol identifier and forward them to your software, which can integrate them automatically into your accounting system (or your internal approval workflow). This applies equally to B2G invoices (received by public entities) and any B2B invoices received via the network.
For the public sector: if you are not yet connected to the network, the MyGuichet solution described earlier remains the alternative, either by entering invoices manually or by importing XML files through the online forms. These manual options allow you to meet your legal obligation while you work towards a more complete integration.
Finally, once an invoice has been transmitted, the sender receives a technical acknowledgement confirming successful delivery to the access point. If an invoice is rejected for non-compliance via an MLR (Message Level Response), the process differs depending on the context: in B2G, the ministry allows suppliers to obtain the reason for rejection so they can correct and resubmit the document; in B2B, it is the recipient’s access point that communicates the reason for rejection, provided the recipient registered with the capability to receive that document type.
Archiving: don’t overlook invoice retention!
Moving to electronic invoicing does not remove your archiving obligations, far from it. In Luxembourg, accounting documents must generally be retained for a long period, often 10 years, depending on the document type and the applicable legal framework.
For example, Article 16 of the Commercial Code requires merchants to retain their corporate documents for 10 years from the close of the financial year. Invoices (including electronic ones) fall under this same category of accounting records.
Just as with paper invoices, you will need an archiving solution for your e-invoices. This can be provided by your invoicing software (many offer secure storage for both sent and received invoices) or through a certified electronic archiving system.
Make sure your Peppol invoice XML files are kept intact for at least 10 years, with the necessary guarantees of authenticity and integrity. In the event of a tax inspection or audit, you must be able to present these electronic invoices in a readable form, just as you would (or would have) with paper invoices.
Conclusion
In Luxembourg, Peppol has been the mandatory invoicing route for B2G since 18 March 2023. On the B2B side, no official deadline has been set yet, but the European direction of travel is clear. For software integrators and B2B companies alike, the strategy is straightforward: the sooner you connect, the better.
By getting ahead of the curve, you modernise your processes and align with what will become the standard, all the more so because the core implementation work (formats, identifiers, automation, archiving, etc.) is essentially the same for today’s B2G requirements and tomorrow’s B2B mandate.
Whether or not your business deals with the public sector, structured electronic invoicing through the Peppol network is an opportunity to gain efficiency and stay compliant. Getting ready now puts you one step ahead, lets you benefit from the advantages today, and means you can face the B2B regulatory changes expected around 2027 with confidence.
Why choose Digiteal’s Peppol Access Point?
As a certified Peppol access point since 2021, Digiteal supports businesses, public administrations, and software publishers in connecting to the Peppol network, in Luxembourg and across Europe.
Ready to connect to Peppol in Luxembourg?
Whether you are a business invoicing public authorities, a B2B player looking to get ahead of regulatory changes, or a software publisher in need of a reliable Peppol integration, Digiteal supports you from start to finish.
