What is an e-rēķins and how is it different from a PDF or a scan
Many people think an "electronic invoice" is just a PDF sent by email. In the sense of the mandate, that's not true — and this exact distinction is the foundation of the new regulation: from 2028, structured e-rēķini become mandatory in all B2B transactions in Latvia. So let's start with the essence of it — what actually sets this format apart from a familiar PDF.
An e-rēķins is not a picture of an invoice
A PDF or scanned invoice is like a photograph of a table. A person can read it, but software can't. To a computer it's just an image: it doesn't see where the total is, where the VAT is, where the supplier's registration number is. The accountant ends up retyping the data by hand every time.
A structured e-rēķins is the same invoice, but written in XML, where every field carries a machine-readable label. Here's what that looks like in practice — just two fields out of many:
<PayableAmount>121.00</PayableAmount>
<TaxAmount>21.00</TaxAmount>
The buyer's software understands on its own that 121.00 is the total and 21.00 is the VAT. It's no longer a picture — it's a table with labeled cells.
Why there's a standard behind it — EN 16931
For any piece of software in Europe to understand any invoice, they need a shared "language." That's the European standard EN 16931 — it defines which fields an invoice must have and how they relate to each other (for example, that the sum of the lines matches the total). Latvia uses UBL 2.1 / Peppol BIS 3.0, which is built on this standard.
Altogether the standard contains roughly 1,500 business rules. That's exactly why simply "putting together" an invoice isn't enough — it has to pass validation against these rules.
What this changes for the accountant
| PDF / scan | Structured e-rēķins | |
|---|---|---|
| Who reads it | A person | Software |
| Data entry | By hand | Automatic |
| Risk of error | High | Low |
| Meets the 2028 mandate | No | Yes |
The main benefit: data from the invoice reaches the accounting system without retyping, and can be passed to VID automatically. The main new skill: understanding why an invoice fails validation and how to fix it — that's covered in a separate article on EN 16931 errors.
What's next
If you're preparing for the switch to e-invoicing, the 2025–2028 timeline is worth reading next — when it becomes mandatory, and for whom.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF invoice an e-rēķins?
No. A PDF or scanned invoice is a picture for a human — software doesn't automatically pull amounts and VAT out of it. In the sense of the mandate, an e-rēķins is structured XML (EN 16931), where every field carries a machine-readable label.
What format is an e-rēķins in Latvia?
Structured XML in the UBL 2.1 / Peppol BIS 3.0 format, based on the European standard EN 16931. It's a single format used across the whole EU.
Do I have to write the XML myself?
No. The XML is generated by your accounting software or an e-invoicing tool. What matters to you is that the invoice passes EN 16931 validation — you can check that with the free validator.
When does an e-rēķins become mandatory?
For the state and municipalities (B2G) — already since 2025. Between companies (B2B) — from 2026 businesses can voluntarily submit data to VID, and it becomes mandatory for every company from 1 January 2028.