Electronic Invoicing in Hungary
Is e-invoicing mandatory in Hungary ?
E-invoicing is not mandatory, but real-time-reporting of invoice data is. Starting July 2025, electricity and natural gas providers will be required to use electronic invoices.
Who is affected?
All B2B transactions must be reported to the Hungarian Tax Authorities in real time. Contracting authorities should accept e-invoices if the invoice origin, authenticity, and content integrity of the invoice are guaranteed.
Compliance requirements
An e-invoice must be accepted if its integrity and authenticity can be guaranteed from issuance until the end of the storage period. In Hungary, this can be ensured through qualified electronic signatures, business controls, or a reliable audit trail linking the invoice to the supplier, as well as proper EDI. The implementation of the Real-Time Invoice Reporting (RTIR) system also enables companies to use the reported XML files as e-invoices.
Want to learn more about e-Invoicing compliance?
Download our Global e-invoicing and Tax Compliance fact sheet here for more information.
Key Deadlines
- 1 July 2025: Electricity and natural gas providers must use electronic invoices.
Standards & Platforms
Platform
The National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NAV) uses a system called KOBAK. NAV Online 3.0 allows invoice data in XML format to be sent directly to the NAV system.
What formats are required in Hungary?
Invoice data must be reported in XML format.
Archiving in Hungary
What are the archiving requirements in Hungary?
From a Hungarian VAT perspective, invoices and copies of invoices must be stored over a period of five years from January 1 of the year following the date of issuance. For accounting purposes, invoices must be stored for eight years.
Legal invoice
For suppliers: The legal invoice is the version sent to the recipient in the format they receive.
For buyers: The legal invoice is theversion received from the supplier in the format it was originally sent.
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Key Actions
Ensure compliance: Submit all invoice data to the NAV system in XML format.
Hungarian e-invoicing and archiving requirements at a glance:
| Requirement | Status | Timeline |
| B2G | Voluntary | - |
| B2B | Voluntary | - |
Supplier requirement: Hungarian suppliers must report invoice data in XML format to the NAV system. E-invoicing is optional and must be agreed upon. Suppliers must ensure invoice integrity, authenticity, and legibility.
Buyer requirement: Hungarian buyers must agree to receive e-invoices, unless otherwise stated by law. Agreement can be either implied or explicit.
Archiving requirement: Hungarian businesses must archive records for 5 years for VAT purposes and 8 years for accounting purposes.
