The UK government published its e-invoicing implementation roadmap with Budget 2026 on 28 October. Our UK mandate page had only a search excerpt of it; it now follows the page itself.
What it sets. Requirements start on 1 April 2029 for taxable transactions between VAT-registered businesses where a VAT invoice is required, with no phasing by company size. Consumer and cross-border sales are outside it; unregistered small businesses can opt in. Peppol is the core network. A public consultation on standards and Access Point certification is planned for spring 2027, key requirements (scope, business identifiers, software provider rules) between October 2027 and April 2028, and the roadmap says they should not change after April 2028 unless feedback makes it necessary.
What it does not. No penalty amount. The government plans to use the existing VAT invoicing penalties framework as a basis, aiming for penalties that are robust but proportionate. The page says exactly that and states no figure.
The uncertainty that remains is the technical profile: no UK-specific rule set exists yet, so the checker still tests EN 16931 and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.