Passed by the Latvian parliament on 31 October 2024 in their final reading, amendments to the Accounting Act require Latvian invoices to be issued as structured electronic invoices (‘e-invoices’). These changes will apply to all businesses when invoicing government agencies (B2G) from 1 January 2025. E-invoicing will become mandatory between businesses (B2B) from 1 January 2026.
The amendments prescribe the format of a supporting document (invoice) issued to the customer for payment and provide that the invoice must be executed as a structured e-invoice. The Accounting Act includes a reference to the relevant e-invoicing standard and lays down the following requirements:
- The structured e-invoice is an invoice prepared, sent and received in a structured electronic format which allows it to be automatically and electronically processed and which meets EU Standard LVS EN 16931-1:2017 ‘Electronic invoicing – Part 1: Semantic Data Model of the Core Elements of an Electronic Invoice.’
- Businesses issue e-invoices as per technical specification LVS CEN/TS 16931-2:2017 ‘E-invoicing – Part 2: List of syntaxes that comply with EN 16931-1.
The amendments provide that all Latvian-registered businesses will have to issue structured e-invoices from 2026. This requirement will cover all businesses, including companies, partnerships, associations, foundations and other economic operators, as well as Latvian-registered branches of foreign companies.
